Page 77 of Cosplay & Consequences

As if reading my mind, Brayonna laughed and picked up her spoon. “How many books has he read in the last few days?”

I leaned back in my chair, thinking about it. “You don’t think we’re moving too fast?”

Bray shrugged and dug into her bowl of soup pulling out an entire shrimp. “My uncle and aunt got engaged within twenty-four hours of their first date. They’re still married twenty-two years later. Same thing with me. I knew for sure that Bennet was the one after one date.”

I scoffed. “Oh, come on. That date was a disaster.”

“Yeah, but he was committed.” Bray slurped down her spoonful of soup. “And I know the moment you knew about Danny.”

“Oh, you do?” I joked.

“I do,” she said, a smug look of satisfaction on her face.

I took a moment to let that sink in. Was there a moment? Was it that obvious, and if so, when did it happen? “So, what was it?”

“When you gave your grandmother’s book to his niece,” she said, giving me a grin.

I rolled my eyes. “You weren’t even there.”

Bray shook her head. “You’re not fooling me. You have carried that little book around with you everywhere since I met you,” Bray ranted. “You met that kid and less than twenty minutes later you’re handing off Nana Richards’s stories. The ones she wrote for you. I’ve known you much longer than that, and I’ve only seen the cover. You’ve dated guys for years without sharing that book with them. You literally gave a part of yourself to this girl that you barely know.”

A warmth rose up inside me, turning my cheeks red, and it wasn’t from the soup. “I know her from my Patreon. She and I have been talking about books and the Tyrant series for over a year before I met her here,” I protested.

Brayonna snorted at me as she dug around searching for another tentacle. “Not the same. You’re not handing out your personal things to everyone who’s sassy and adorable on the internet. You gave it to her. Faye. The person Daniel adores and would do anything for.”

I smiled despite the tone in Bray’s voice. “Yeah, Danny is pretty devoted to her.”

“Ooooo. Dan-ny.”

“I’m already regretting this lunch with you,” I joked.

And then she began to sing. “Oh Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling-”

I ducked my head down as Brayonna continued to serenade me. My face could have been used as a beacon to guide an airplane down to a runway. Thankfully, the waiter interrupted her serenade by dropping off a plate of those fried dumplings.

“What are in those?”

I slid the plate towards her. “Heaven.”

Dinner tonight was not just with Danny. It included the entire Finnegan clan. Deep down, I knew I had no reason to feel nervous. After all, a couple of days ago, Paige and Faye had been campaigning for me to get together with Danny. But now I was sitting down to dinner with them, in their own home, and I could feel some anxiety bubble up within me.

Their house surprised me, even after everything Danny had said about his salary. It was an older place, a small Craftsman bungalow with a low roof and a cozy porch. I had barely set foot on the front step when the door flew open.

Faye stood in the entrance, an intense expression on her face. “Hi! Uncle Danny is still being punished by Jorge, so it’ll be a while before dinner. Come on in!”

“Are you sure?” I didn’t want to intrude, and I wasn’t sure Faye held any hard feelings toward me for tracking her down. “I don’t want to–”

“I want you to,” Faye said and held up my grandmother’s book. Her tone was dead serious. “I have questions.”

I tried not to smirk. “I might have answers.” Clearly, Faye had gotten over her shame from skipping out the other night.

Without hesitation, Faye half-dragged me into the foyer, leading me to the living room. “Wait here. Do you want some tea?”

“I’d love tea,” I admitted, watching her with amusement.

“Oh! Wait! Hold on!” Faye made a mad dash to her room. She came back seconds later with a notepad filled with her handwriting. “I have notes.”

“I would be disappointed if you didn’t,” I replied, trying to match her grave tone.