The atmosphere at the table froze for a few seconds until I stood up, grabbed my phone, and walked to the bedroom to answer it.

“Victoria, I had lunch with the higher-ups from my department today and didn’t get a chance to call you. Do you have any plans tonight?” Nathan’s gentle voice came through, sincere and warm.

I thought for a moment and replied, “I was thinking of making some sweet rice balls at home tonight.”

“You’re making them yourself?” Nathan asked with a smile.

“Yeah, it’s been a while since I’ve made them, so I thought I’d give it a try,” I said, smiling back.

“Can I come over tonight and try your cooking? I’m free tonight,” Nathan asked softly.

I glanced back at the dining room–three pairs of eyes were glued to me, and Melissa’s were especially sharp and full of gossip.

I whispered, “If you want to come, just come over. I’ll make some extra for you.”

“Alright, is Mr. Holcomb coming too?” Nathan asked, his voice tinged with emotion.

I laughed. “He’s here right now–he brought Yvonne with him.”

Nathan let out a wistful sigh. “Is there really no escaping him in Hachester? Are we seriously going to end up as a threesome?”

“Come on, Nathan, don’t joke about that,” I said, embarrassed and a little annoyed.

Nathan burst out laughing. “I honestly don’t mind. It’s not like we can avoid him anyway–unless I play matchmaker and find him a girlfriend.”

“Did you forget Mariah just tried to set you up with a girlfriend?” I teased, grinning.

“Please, don’t bring that up. I’m still traumatized,” Nathan replied helplessly.

I couldn’t help but laugh too. Honestly, cracking these offhand jokes now and then was the best way to show there was nothing romantic between us.

Real romantic tension isn’t about cracking jokes–it’s something you can’t laugh off, something that just hangs in the air…

Edward’s handsome, brooding face flashed through my mind. With real tension, you just can’t joke around like this.

Being able to banter with Nathan like this kept things balanced between us. What really scares me is the thought that one day, he might stop joking with me–then I’d know something was wrong.

“Come over for dinner tonight! Any favorite filling?” I asked.

Smiling, Nathan said, “My grandma used to make them with peanut and sugar filling.”

I laughed. “Good timing, I just picked some up.”

“Then… see you tonight,” Nathan said, sounding excited.

“Yep!” I hung up and headed back to the table, phone still in hand.

Jared set his fork down gently and asked, “Is Nathan coming over?”

I replied, “Not now, he’s coming over tonight.”

Jared frowned. “He knows I’m here for lunch, so he picks tonight? He sure knows how to pick his moment.”

An idea struck me, and I smiled. “I’m planning to make some sweet rice balls this afternoon. If you’re interested, you can stay for dinner.”

Melissa’s clever eyes glinted. “Victoria, I’ve got something going on this afternoon, so I probably won’t stay for dinner tonight.”

“Alright, we’ll catch up next time,” I said with a smile.

Jared turned to Yvonne. “Are you staying?”

“Of course! I want to be Mom’s little helper,” Yvonne said happily.

Jared cleared his throat and took a sip of coffee. “I don’t have anything planned this afternoon, so I can stay and help too.”

“Don’t worry about it, just come over when you’re done with work,” I said.

No way was Jared actually free. With his company expanding and more projects piling up, he was always up to his neck in work these days.

Jared nodded with a smile. “Alright, I’ll head to the office first and come back later.”

After lunch, Melissa made a quick exit–probably trying to dodge any love triangle drama.

But me? I was smack dab in the middle of the mess, and honestly, it didn’t faze me one bit.

Since Nathan was coming over, I figured I’d have Jared stick around too. With both of them here, there was zero chance for any romantic tension to spark. If anything, I was actually curious to hear their takes on business–maybe I could finally pick up a thing or two in that department.

That afternoon, I got busy in the kitchen, pulling out the sticky rice flour and kneading dough, prepping the fillings. Yvonne sat at the table, busy shaping little animals out of dough, having the time of her life.

Time flew by, and before I knew it, it was already past six. I popped some of the sweet rice balls into the freezer and saved the rest to cook for dinner.

For dinner, I made a big pot of seafood congee and tossed together two quick stir-fries.