Brunch turned into a late lunch, but Amanda didn’t care at all. She was just happy to be a part of the gang. She sat at the island with Lilah and helped her pick out some dresses she was shopping for online. When Evie came back, fresh as a daisy and as gorgeous as ever, Amanda got to watch her in action as she and Miss Leona followed through on cooking enough food for a small village and Jesse. Amanda had caught Evie in a few clips of The Dish and faithfully followed her on Instagram for years now, but the real thing was impressive as hell.

Sam and Zach joined them and then Corie arrived with Vega soon after. She was still a bit overwhelmed being in Miss Leona’s home, but Sam was right. She felt completely comfortable hanging around with him and his family. She insisted on helping Lilah and Zach set the table and when Jesse finally arrived from some meeting in town, they sat down to eat. Amanda found herself between Sam and Vega and directly across from Evie and Zach. Jesse and Miss Leona were at either end of the table.

“So, my grandbabies. And friends. Who has news for me?” Miss Leona said after Jesse delivered the grace.

“Oh, I do,” Lilah perked up. “Well, it’s not my news, but it’s news.”

“Go ahead,” Miss Leona chuckled.

“Well. You know we do the date auction every year—” She looked Amanda’s way. “Jesse and I work with the chamber of commerce to raise money for various things. We helped take over this date auction that raises money for seniors in the area.”

“Lilah’s been crushing it actually,” Jesse said in his strong, deep voice, though he didn’t take his eyes off the loaf of French toast piled on his plate. “They already asked her if she could help with some of the summer programming this year.”

“I said no, because there is power in no and if I wanted to work full-time for the chamber I would, but that’s not my news,” Lilah said. “Last year Diana Foster and her friends pooled their money so Diana could bid on Omar Harrison—Amanda, he’s a super-hot firefighter, amazing single father. All that. Well, Omar’s proposing to her tonight.”

“Aww, that’s awesome, Li,” Evie said.

“That’s wonderful news,” Miss Leona replied. “Blessings on the happy couple.”

“I told him to send us the pictures or video. However they capture the moment. I’m really happy for them. Omar told me his daughter is really excited too. She loves Diana.”

“When’s this year’s auction?” Amanda asked.