Emily hummed, closing her eyes a little at his admission. "Oh no," she disagreed, looking at him again. "It's definitely not just a 'chick thing,' so you should just tell your brother to shush!" Her tone was light and teasing, though she did sort of mean it. She thought it was silly to tease someone for enjoying a certain food.
Marla was paying close attention to Connor, so she noticed the faint flush and the way he almost twitched minutely. "Well, thank ya, I kinda love doin' it." And the compliment and rang true and not like he was just humoring his new neighbor's best friend, which was reassuring considering she knew just who he was. She could see the silent plea in his eyes, and her own expression changed just slightly as she considered it.
"Oh, don't you worry about that. Saw you hobblin' around when y'all came in," she assured him, waving a hand as if it didn't bother her at all, and it truly didn't. Marla liked a gentleman as much as the next girl, but she didn't hold it against a guy if his leg or something was broken and he didn't stand up to welcome a girl to the table. It was the twenty first century, after all. "So, Em says you just moved on in across the street from her? How're you likin' our little suburb?" she asked curiously, glancing at Emily to wink at her. And if they had a brief eye conversation about Marla's intent to question Connor, it was a result of close to two years of friendship.