While Diego and Finn bonded in their mockery, I sliced into a piece of brisket. “Ha ha. You guys are so salty.”

Not to be bested by the younger generation in the teasing competition, Tesibelle said, “Who remembers the chocolate-covered bananas Adina made for Valerie’s thirty-fifth birthday?” before breaking into a fit of laughter.

“You mean her phallic pops?” Mom said.

Aunt Heather coughed “Dick pops” into her hand.

While Finn cracked up next to me, I side-eyed Heather, the memory of her deep-throating an inadvertently cock-shaped frozen chocolate banana coming back to me with clarity. The demonstration, though shocking to my virgin eyes at the time, had its educational virtues a few years later.

“Maybe we can go easy on the ‘embarrass Adina in front of her new friend’ portion of the evening?” Charles suggested.

“Thank you, Charles.” I glared at my mom and my found-family members one at a time, avoiding eye contact with Finn. Given our current platonic status, the last thing I needed was a reminder of his white-chocolate banana in my mouth earlier that week.

“Is your family this obnoxious at holiday dinners, Finn?” Mom asked.

I perked up at the question. Thanks to Mom’s inquiring mind, I might finally obtain some intel about him. When I’d called her on the drive over to say I was bringing a guest for dinner, she’d been too busy cooking to ask for details. She was better off asking Finn directly than funneling questions through me anyway, since I had so few answers.

“Not quite,” Finn said. “It’s just me and my dad.”

My head lurched back in confusion. What about his sister? Didn’t she come to their family dinners? And, if not, was the reason related to the breadcrumb he’d dropped about his father the night before? I observed him with curiosity. He pretended not to see me, but the clench in his jaw as he stared straight ahead gave him away.

“Quiet is nice,” Mom said at the same time Kate said, “Obnoxious doesn’t require a crowd.”

Finn laughed. “As long as there’s pie, I’m happy. Right, Adi?” He kicked me playfully under the table.

I chuckled at our private joke, even as it occurred to me how often he skillfully swerved questions away from his personal life.

Kate huffed. “Pleasant Hollow might have been a bust, but I’m not ready to let go of the fantasy. I’m sure there are actual quaint small towns with gingerbread cookies and pumpkin farms somewhere. We’ll just have to take another road trip.”

“Kate’s right. Can you write this story about another town?” Regina asked.

“Not by next week, I can’t. Besides, it was the big-city developer coming in that made the pitch work. Or not, as it turned out.” I shot an accusatory glare Finn’s way even though it wasn’t his fault.