He pushed harder, and I couldn’t help noticing the way his arms and shoulders worked as he crossed the lawn. Strong. Controlled. Very capable.
I risked a glance toward the other teams. Bash and Alessiwere only just starting their first wheelbarrow leg. They were behind.
Lucy and Owen’s team, though, was right there with us. Maddie was their final leg, and she was flying.
Theo crossed the finish line a second later and popped back onto his feet. The moment Miles let go of his legs, all four of us took off toward the food tables.
Lia had been very clear about the rules. One dome at a time. You couldn’t lift the next one until the food under the first was completely gone. No peeking ahead.
I reached for the first dome and lifted it.
Shrimp.
“Yes,” Amanda said immediately, relief lighting her face. “Unless this is cooked in some horrifying way, I can handle this.”
“Everyone okay with Amanda taking this one?” I asked.
The guys both nodded instantly.
“Please,” Theo said. “Be our hero.”
Amanda didn’t waste a second. She dug in while I glanced over at the other teams.
Ian had apparently scarfed down the shrimp for his team, and they were already moving on to the second food. And as I watched Owen lift the second dome on their table, a wave of relief flowed through me. Because it looked like it just might be a favorite snack from my childhood: dirt and worms.
Except not the kind you’d find in your garden. No, this was chocolate pudding, crushed cookies, and gummy worms.
Yes!Maybe Lia isn’t going to be cruel after all.
Amanda finished the last shrimp and wiped her hands, grinning. “All right. What’s next?”
I reached for the second dome to reveal to my teammates that our next food was indeed exactly as I’d expected.
I looked at Theo. He looked at Miles. Miles looked at me.
We all seemed to be silently debating who would get to eat what was most likely the most palatable thing on the table.
But before any of us could actually debate it or make our case for who should eat this one, Miles looked at the team to our right, seemed to see that they were making gains on us, and instantly scooped up the pudding cup. “If no one’s gonna claim it, I will.”
And then he took a bite.
“Hey, what are you doing?” Theo exclaimed. “We should’ve let Nora take that one.”
“What?” Miles paused mid-bite, eyebrows lifting. “From the way no one was grabbing it, I assumed both of you must have a texture thing and thought it was gross.”
“It’s pudding,” I said flatly. “That’s basically dessert.”
“Oh.” He glanced down at his bowl. “Well… too late now.”
“I think I just figured out why you didn’t have a date to the wedding.”
“Har har,” Miles said before proceeding to demolish it anyway, clearly enjoying himself.
By the time he set the empty cup down, Lucy and Owen’s team was still working through theirs.
Which meant we were ahead.
Theo lifted the third dome to reveal a single red pepper on the plate.