“You know,” Minami says. “The fact that Hark and Maya are currently—”

“There is no need to talk about what they are doing in detail,” Eli points out. “Dating. They are dating.”

“As the older brother, did you give your approval?” Minami asks, which has Eli taking a sip of his red wine.

“As the older brother, my approval is unnecessary.”

She grins. “Perfect answer. I raised you so well.”

“You did. Also, I’m scared of Maya. And, to a lesser extent, of Hark.”

Conor sighs. Wisely, he has yet to start eating. Unwisely, he has given up alcohol, which means that he didn’t have the benefit of a predinner glass of wine. “Maya and I are together. Dating. In a relationship. Whatever.”

“Have you proposed yet?” Rue asks.

“I have been exercising restraint.” He glances around the table. “If you have something to say on the matter, feel free to do so now.”

“Or forever hold our peace?” Minami asks.

Conor snorts. “As if you would.”

“I don’t really see what the big deal is,” Minami says. “It’s still much less weird than Eli ending up with Florence’s protégé.”

Conor drums his fingers. “At the very least, equally weird.”

“Honestly,” Minami continues with some throat-clearing. “I must admit that I was taken by surprise. I’m sure you’re not embarking into this relationship without being aware of certain aspects that could, um, become problematic.”

I bite the smile off my face. Under the table, I text Nyota. First mention of the word problematic.

Nyota: Was it Minami?

Maya: Yup.

Nyota: Told ya.

“But”—Minami grins—“I’m really happy with how happy you two look. And this means that Maya will hang out with us all the time. We’ll have a resident youth, and no longer be cringe and out of touch.”

I make a face. “Sorry, can’t help you with that.”

“Bummer.”

“The only concern is, would the friend group survive a breakup between Hark and another member?” Sul asks. But everyone looks at Minami, which has him conceding, “Good point,” and going back to his food. I wonder if he’ll talk again tonight.

“For what it’s worth,” Conor says, sitting back in his chair, “I doubt we will. This is…it’s not a spur-of-the-moment thing.”

Minami nods. “Well, we all knew that Maya had a bit of a crush on you when she was younger, but…”

“That’s not the whole story,” he says.

“It isn’t?”

“There are a bunch of…flashbacks,” I say.

It seems to pique their curiosity. Sul drops his fork. Minami leans closer. Even Rue, despite being Rue, seems interested. “Do tell,” Eli invites.

Conor and I exchange a glance. Under the table, he takes my hand and says: “Remember a few years ago, the Mayers deal?”

We spend that night on the couch in Conor’s sunroom.

I lie down on top of him, sweat cooling off my skin. The scent of the citronella mixes with the evening Austin air, so similar to Sicily, so completely different.