“Katy Godwin?”
“Notre Dame.”
I pinched my eyes together. “Seth Congers?”
“State.”
I crossed my arms, determined to stump him. “Avery Preston?”
He bit his lip. “Oh, yeah. She didn’t graduate.”
“Blaine Scott?”
His eyes narrowed. “There was no one in our class named Blaine. Trick question?”
I giggled. “Damn it. You are good.”
He waggled his eyebrows. “So back to you and the liberal arts school.”
“Right. I graduated with a degree in creative writing and a minor in film.”
“Film? Like what? You wanted to write scripts? Screenplays?” He pulled off the end of a loaf of bread. He offered a piece to me.
I took it, knowing I needed something to soak up this alcohol. I was working on an empty stomach. I had planned to eat after my shift. Leo usually left a plate for me in the oven. He was grumpy, but there was a soft side to him.
“Screenplays mostly.”
“So what happened?” He seemed as eager to finish the loaf of bread as I was.
“Let’s see. My mom had breast cancer, so my short stint in Hollywood was just that. I left and came home to help my dad run Bella’s.”
“Oh shit, Evie. I had no idea. Damn. That’s a hell of a thing to go through.”
“It’s ok. She’s ok. She had a complete recovery and is cancer-free.” I smiled. It was a miracle we still didn’t take for granted.
He nodded. “That’s good to hear.”
“The plan was to move back to California, but then my sister Frannie met Marcus.”
“Huh? Who is Marcus?” He was even gorgeous chewing a huge chunk of Italian bread. He dipped it in olive oil before shoving another slice in his mouth. Bella’s bread was as coveted as the chicken parm.
“He moved here from Montreal after you left. Dr. Marcus, the town’s new pediatrician. Anyway, they got engaged. That meant Frannie needed help planning the wedding. So I said I’d stay another six months instead of flying back and forth from California. All the travel seemed expensive. She wanted everything: the engagement party, showers, luncheons. And it had to be with the entire family. We have a huge family. I knew she needed my help since my mom was still recovering, so I didn’t have much choice.”
“I remember your sister. She graduated ahead of us, right?”
I nodded. “Yeah, she was a senior when we were freshmen.”
“Thought so. And she was a cheerleader.”
“Yes.” It was ridiculous, but I had a slight twinge of jealousy that Jeremy remembered details about Frannie. It was practically a lifetime ago. I might have had some little sister issues. It was hard when your sister looked like an Italian goddess.
“Ok, keep going. I can tell there’s more to this story.”
I closed my eyes. “No, there isn’t.”
“What? Your budding writing career couldn’t have gone off-track just because of your family. Come on. There’s something you’re leaving out.”
I shook my head. There wasn’t anything else—that was the most shameful thing about it. The part I couldn’t excuse. I had settled for a mediocre life. “No. I stayed for the wedding. And then I stayed after the wedding. Then Frannie got pregnant. Everyone wanted me to stay for my niece. And then it was a nephew. And then another niece. More showers. More nurseries to decorate.”