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“That’s not a no.” Levi pointed his fork at me before taking a big bite and shoving it in his mouth. He moaned around it. “God. Damn. That is good pie.”

“Levi Joseph Frost,” Mom chided.

He dipped his head, tips of his ears turning pink. “Sorry, Mom.”

I was itching to text Carson to thank him, but I wouldn’t dare. Not when my family was watching me so closely. But as soon as they all left, I whipped out my phone.

Before I could text Carson for the thoughtful delivery, my phone was ringing with a request for FaceTime from Georgia. I accepted the call.

“Hey!” I grinned when her face appeared on the screen.

“Logan!!” She smiled back. “Happy Friendsgiving!”

Her cheeks were nearly the same color as her hair, which was currently a deep shade of strawberry blond. She was holding a glass of wine. Judging from the glazed look in her eyes, it wasn’t her first. Probably not even her second.

“Happy Friendsgiving!” My smile widened. “Having fun?”

“Oh yes.” She nearly sloshed some of the wine. “We’re all having lots of fun, but we wish you were here.”

She panned the camera so I could see everyone. Bryn waved from her perch on Frasier’s lap, watching the football game. And as Georgia continued to scan the room, it seemed as if everyone was there—Zayn, our backup goalie Quinn, Kylie, Boone, and of course, Carson.

“Hey, everyone!” I waved at the camera.

Even though I’d just shared a nice meal with my parents and brother, a wave of homesickness washed over me at the sight of all my friends. As I watched each of them, heard snippets of their conversations, I wished I could be there with them in person.

“It looked like you had a good meal,” Georgia said.

“It was delicious.”

“I’m so glad you got to have your favorite pie.” She must have seen my Snap post.

“Me too.” I grinned, wondering if Carson could hear me, wondering if he’d seen the photo. “It was delicious.”

Kylie popped into view on the screen. “Girl, your turkey tacos are going viral.”

“What?” I laughed. “No way.”

“Yes way.” She held up her phone screen where my most recent reel was blowing up.

“Holy shit,” I whispered. “He was right.”

“Who was right?” Kylie asked.

“Oh, um, just someone who’s been helping me with social media.”

“Whatever he’s doing, it’s working. You’ve been killing it.”

“Thanks.” I dipped my head, wishing I could give Carson a shout-out.

This is so stupid.

I was a grown-ass woman. I didn’t typically shy away from conflict, but I was hiding my friendship with Carson from my brother in an effort to protect him.

I could be friends with whomever I wanted. All my friends were friends with Carson. Why couldn’t I be too?

“I’d love to hire him to help some of my other clients,” Kylie said, drawing me back to our conversation.

I opened my mouth, but I wasn’t sure how to respond. Fortunately, Bacon wandered over, distracting Kylie and Georgia.