Noelle built her monstrosity first: three scoops of ice cream, two sauces, a bunch of crushed Oreos, gummy bears, and a few cherries (from a fresh jar).
“My sundae is called the Raving Rainbow. This is how you build a sundae. Anything with less than three scoops doesn’t qualify as a sundae.” She proceeded to instruct us on the ice cream sundae principles and how to build the perfect concoctions. “Your turn,” she said, pushing the tub of vanilla toward me.
I hesitated but scooped three small scoops into my bowl, added caramel, whipped cream, and one cherry.
“Wow,” Noelle said. “Yours is … elegant. Like you.”
“It’s plain.” I smirked, amused at her observation.
Noelle cackled and turned her attention to her father who was building some kind of peanut butter ice cream bowl with chocolate sauce. He nodded like he’d solved some kind of major problem.
We all settled around the island with our bowls in hand. For a while, all we heard was the sound of spoons clinking against ceramic. Noelle started telling us stories about her art class and how stick figures were hard to draw for some people.
Once we were finished, I spoke again. “Thank you for a great night. I should head back to The Grand. It’s getting late.”
Noelle tipped her bowl toward her face, trying to drink every last drop of the now melted ice cream. She then slid off her stool. “Oh, don’t go now. I’m going to find a movie,” she announced, disappearing down the hall with her sticky fingers.
Like clockwork, Caleb yelled, “Wash your hands!”
Caleb and I stayed in the kitchen while we waited for Noelle to come back. He held my gaze longer than I anticipated, making my stomach flip.
“Stay for the movie,” he said softly.
I opened my mouth to protest but was quickly cut off. “She likes you, by the way. Interrogating people is her love language,” he joked, or maybe he wasn’t joking.
I nodded, processing everything. “I’ll stay.”
I had never wanted to stay anywhere so much.
CHAPTER 19
Grace
I was standingoutside Caleb’s door, shuffling my feet. I was nervous. When Caleb called to ask me if I wanted to spend the night, I jumped at the idea. Noelle was staying with his mother, so he said he wanted to have a full day and night together. It sounded like a good idea but the feelings he brought out in me were foreign. All of my priorities had changed drastically since I met him. I thought he might have been what I was searching for all this time. Fancy cars and yachts were nothing compared to being with Caleb alone.
Alone and naked, preferably.
Caleb’s door swung open. He had a dish towel slung over his shoulder and a megawatt smile on his face. “Baby.” His smile widened farther than I thought was possible.
“Hi, handsome.” I couldn’t help but smile back. It took everything in me not to jump his bones right there in the doorway.
Caleb took my duffel bag and gestured for us to move inside. “So I made brunch. I hope you came hungry.” He set my bag down on the couch and moved into the kitchen.
“Can I help with something?” I asked, as I looked over the array of pans going on the stove. “Are you feeding an army or something?”
When I peered over to the table, I saw that Caleb was making different trays of food. Some were covered in aluminum foil, while one pan contained a frittata.
“Something like that.” He chuckled, and I looked at him questioningly.
Caleb glanced over at me and handed me a whisk. “Can you stir the berry compote for your pancakes?”
I nodded apprehensively. I’d never helped in the kitchen.I hope I don’t ruin brunch.
“You won’t,” he assured me, going back to the trays of food.
Dammit, I must have said that aloud.
“What’s with all the food?” I inquired. It seemed like a lot for just the two of us.
