The Last Single Garrett

“Is that where you were supposed to go for dinner tonight?” he asked, settling behind the wheel and securing his own seat belt.

“I’m not discussing my plans with you,” she told him.

“Who was your date with?”

“Refer to previous answer.”

He should let it go. It really was none of his business, but he was curious. “Was it a first date?”

“Refer to previous answer,” she said again.

“Because I haven’t heard you mention that you were dating anyone.”

“Should I add my social engagements to the itinerary of GSR’s monthly meetings?”

“That would be helpful,” he agreed.

“Well, it’s not happening,” she told him.

Her response didn’t surprise him. What surprised him was how much he sincerely wanted answers to his questions. But for now, he decided to be satisfied with the knowledge that she’d canceled her date to have dinner with him.

* * *

The waitress introduced herself as Sydney, recited the daily specials as she handed out menus and filled their water glasses, then left them alone to peruse the offerings.

Valentino’s didn’t specifically have a children’s menu, but they did offer child-sized portions of any of their entrées.

Charlotte frowned as she scanned the options. “There’s no chicken fingers on the menu.”

“The cook will make them,” Tristyn assured her.

“How do you know?”

“Because he’s made them for my niece before.”

“I want pizza,” Emily reminded them all.

Tristyn pointed to the section of the menu that listed the various options and toppings, but Emily wanted only cheese.

“Pep-ro-ni,” Hanna said.

“You said you wanted spaghetti,” Josh reminded her.

His youngest niece shook her head. “P’za.”

“Pizza with pepperoni?” he asked, seeking clarification.

She nodded, and then said, “I has to go potty.”

“You just went when we were at the store,” he reminded her.

“I has to go agin,” she insisted.

He looked at Tristyn, who sighed. “This is the real reason you offered to buy me dinner, isn’t it? So that you could escape bathroom duty.”

“Well, I can’t take her into the men’s room, and there’s no way I’m walking into the women’s,” he pointed out.

“I hafta go, too,” Emily said.

“Charlotte?” Tristyn prompted.

She shook her head.

“Why don’t you come, anyway, to wash up before dinner?” Tristyn suggested.

So she herded the three girls off to the ladies’ room, leaving Josh alone at a table for five. Thankfully, he knew what everyone wanted, so when Sydney passed by the table again, he was able to place their order.

Charlotte and Hanna returned first, and Josh was settling his youngest niece into the booster seat again when Tristyn’s sister Jordyn came over. Jordyn was married to Marco Palermo, whose grandparents had started serving pasta in the original downtown location of Valentino’s almost fifty years earlier. Recently, Marco had spearheaded the expansion of their business with Valentino’s II. He and his wife had also recently expanded their family with the addition of twin boys, who were now about nine months old.

“Gemma told me that Josh Slater had come in with four gorgeous females, which I thought was a little excessive—even for you.” Jordyn winked at him before turning her focus to the girls.

“These are my nieces Charlotte and Hanna,” he told her. “Emily must still be in the bathroom.”

“She stuck her hands up under the faucet and sprayed water all over her shirt,” Charlotte explained. “Tristyn’s drying it off under the hand dryer.”

Jordyn’s brows lifted as she turned back to Josh. “My sister Tristyn?”

“She’s the only Tristyn I know,” he acknowledged.

“She was supposed to have a date with Rafe tonight.” Then she shook her head. “Apparently her plans changed.”

“That might be my fault,” he acknowledged. “She saw that I was overwhelmed by the prospect of cooking another meal for three fussy kids and obviously took pity on me.”

“We’re not fussy,” Charlotte interjected. “We just like what we like and don’t like what we don’t.”

“Which is exactly what their mother used to say when she refused to eat what was put on the table,” he acknowledged.

“How long have you been staying with Uncle Josh?” Jordyn asked Charlotte.

“We got here yesterday, and we’re supposed to stay for the whole summer,” she said, her glum tone clearly indicating her displeasure.

Josh wasn’t overjoyed, either, but he couldn’t see a way out of the situation for any of them. “My sister’s in Spain on business for the next eight to ten weeks.”

“The whole summer with Uncle Josh,” Jordyn mused. “That should be...interesting.”

“For all of us, I’m sure,” he remarked drily.

But Charlotte was shaking her head. “He doesn’t have any cool stuff and I had to sleep with Emily.”