“Oh, my goose bumps, Aria. So you threw this together just like that?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say just like that.” Aria laughed. “Good food takes time. I’ve been in the kitchen for nearly three hours.”

“And you still look like you walked out of a fashion magazine. Oh, I give up.” Tara threw up her hands.

“Ha! Says the hottie who turns heads everywhere she goes,” Aria retorted, shaking her head.

“Yes, yes. Both of you are ridiculously gorgeous,” Seth jumped in. “But Lucien and I helped, too. I set out that spectacular charcuterie board, and Lucien poured the wine to keep our chef happy.”

“That’s awesome. Thank you, everyone.” Tara was actually impressed. The meat and cheese board was beautifully laid out. He really did have an artist’s eye. “Whereas I had one job to do…”

Seth chuckled and tousled her hair. He’d become increasingly affectionate toward her, and it felt normal for them to constantly touch, nudge, and bump each other. But to Aria’s keen eyes, it was a new development. And her raised eyebrow told Tara that it was noted with interest. Seth awkwardly stepped aside from Tara, and she busied herself rearranging random items on the island.

“So when do we eat?” Tara blurted a little louder than necessary.

“Right now,” Aria announced, clapping her hands together. Tara was grateful she didn’t say anything about Seth and her unintentional PDA. “Let’s enjoy the charcuterie that our host set out like an artist’s palette.”

“I know. I almost feel bad messing it up,” Tara said, popping a chunk of blue cheese into her mouth. “Almost.”

Everyone started out taking a small slice here and there to maintain the gorgeous layout as long as possible, but once the wine was poured, they all dug in properly. Tara had to remind herself to savor each bite instead of wolfing down the whole board. She didn’t want to miss out on the feast to come. But cheese.

“The pasta water’s boiling,” Aria said, stretching her neck to get a good look at the stove. “Tara, do you want to keep me company while I put together the pasta?”

“I would love to.” Tara stood and piled her plate with more meat and cheese to hold her over.

“Hey, leave some for us,” Seth teased.

“I’m in a generous mood. Knock yourselves out.” Despite all their efforts, they’d hardly made a dent in the charcuterie board. She went to stand next to Aria and watched her add the bucatini into the salted boiling water. “Need any help?”

“Sure. Just stir the pot once in a while so the noodles don’t stick together.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Tara saluted Aria with a wooden spoon. She’d really missed her friends, and being with them along with Seth almost made her giddy with happiness.

“So you must be spending a lot of time with Seth?” Aria said casually, putting chopped garlic into the tomato-based sauce.

“I wouldn’t say a lot.” Tara reined back her giddiness to formulate a neutral answer. Aubrey had told her about Aria’s dead-on instinct for sniffing out budding relationships. “We do meet up to work on the website occasionally, but I can usually work on my part at home.”