“No, thank you.”

“I’ve brought you three meals now. You owe me this one little favor.”

“I thought the meals came without strings attached.”

“Well.” She put her hands on her wide hips. “Now I want to add strings.”

“I don’t do parties.”

“Two hundred people are coming to this party. All ages. Lots of them aren’t social. My cousin Drew has hardly ever said two sentences in a row, but he’s coming.”

“No, thank you.”

“I’m buying balloons for your truck.”

“Don’t buy balloons.” He hadn’t attended a single Valentine’s Day party since the ones in elementary school. He set his teeth, wishing she’d leave so he could eat her pot roast.

“I’m buying balloons and that’s final.” She gave him a sly look. “Finley Sutherland is coming to the party and bringing a date.”

Outwardly, he didn’t so much as blink. Inwardly, a tiger leapt from sleeping onto all four feet.

“I went by Furry Tails the other day to help Ben with an experiment he’d set up for the kids,” she continued. “I met Finley there and invited her. She said yes.”

Finley had kissed him but was taking another man to a Valentine’s party? How come she was now open to dating? Had she turned her attention to someone else because he’d indicated he wasn’t interested?

CeCe stopped and looked over her shoulder at him on her way out the door. “So. Are you going to come to my Valentine’s Day party?”

“No.”

“See you there!”

Two weeks ago, Ben had asked Akira to come with him to his mom’s Valentine’s Day party as friends. In a weak moment, she’d said that she would. Which was probably the very worst decision she’d ever made because she was having the very best time and the party wasn’t even set to begin for another hour.

They’d arrived early to assist Ben’s mom with party prep. Akira hadn’t anticipated how disastrously adorable Ben would be while helping his mother. He responded to her with patience. He showed his father respect and his siblings affection.

Akira’s family was strong, but strong in a completely different way than Ben’s family. Her two older sisters and parents were all tremendously driven. Quiet, focused, ambitious.

Growing up, they’d shared family dinners. Her dad discussed his job in strategic tourism and city planning. Her mom, a paralegal for the town’s foremost attorney, discussed her cases. Her sisters discussed their impressive classes, extracurriculars, and upcoming tests. Akira hadn’t been motivated by the things that motivated them, so she’d spoken about the things she cared about—kids, animals, and community service. They’d listened, but she’d understood that they found her odd. And perhaps a bit underwhelming.