That night at Martini’s had shaken something loose. Sabrina could feel it as the days progressed toward the grand opening. They were lighter around each other. More relaxed. She didn’t understand why or how—all she knew was that she loved it.
“Taste this.” Adley came at her with a spoon, as she did so often lately.
Sabrina dutifully opened her mouth, tasted. “Mm.” She rolled the ice cream around and said it again, louder. “Mm. Oh my God, what is that?”
“What do you taste?” It was Adley’s standard question. She never told Sabrina what the flavor was. She wanted to know that it was recognizable in some way.
And Sabrina had discovered that she enjoyed this little exercise. “Nutmeg? No, wait. Yes. Nutmeg. Cloves? No. Something warm. Pumpkin? Pumpkin pie. Is it pumpkin pie?” She knew she got it right when Adley’s face lit up.
“I’m playing with some fall flavors. I know it’s June, but the summer always flies by, and I want us to have a plan for autumn.”
“I like the way you think,” she said, and Adley smiled at her for a beat before heading back to her workspace. “It’s delicious,” she called after her. And she did love the way Adley thought. She’d known she was good at her job, but honestly? She’d been blown away by how diligent she was. How precise. How very creative. In Sabrina’s mind, Adley wasn’t any different than any master chef working on new meals in their kitchen. She was focused and determined. She slammed thingsand banged stuff around when something didn’t come out tasting the way she’d hoped. She was passionate. Sabrina wasn’t sure why that surprised her, having experienced Adley in a more…intimate way. Her passion bled into every part of her, and it was a characteristic Sabrina found fascinating.
Later on that day, Adley appeared in her office again, this time with a clamshell container. Without saying a word, she pushed Sabrina’s laptop away, cleared a space in front of her, set the container down, and opened it. A glorious-looking burger and a huge mound of french fries, seasoned with rosemary if her nose was correct, were revealed, and the aroma instantly made her stomach growl. Loudly.
“I haven’t seen you eat a thing today,” Adley said. “You can’t run our business successfully if you faint from hunger. Eat.” She ran a hand down Sabrina’s arm and left, going back to her kitchen.
That? The incidental touching? Yeah, they did that now. It was a thing.
And had she saidour business? She had, hadn’t she? Sabrina could ask herself why that phrase warmed her heart, but she didn’t have to. She knew.
The alarm on her phone sounded, surprising her. She had a meeting with a local TV reporter in an hour, hoping to get some coverage for the shop on grand opening day. But Adley was right. She hadn’t eaten at all today, and the smell of the burger and fries kept her tethered to her seat.
She clicked over to the schedule on her laptop and went over it in her head as she took a bite of the burger—oh my God, so good—summarizing the things she had left this week to prepare for their big opening, which was barely a week away. A final meeting with the company creating their Second Scoop app, which would allow people to order ahead of time for quick pickup. A contract with DoorDash needed to be finalized—she had found nobody in all of Northwood that would deliver dessert to your door, so she was jumping all over that. Uniform shirts and hats for the employees should arrive tomorrow. She had one more interview to do, and then they’d have a full staff. Kirby’s girlfriend had sent another friend who was planning a fall softball team her way for possible sponsorship. Sabrina kicked herself for hopping on the train too late for this summer. Next summer, though, she’d be ready.
“I don’t hear any chewing going on in there.” Adley’s voice camefrom…somewhere. Sabrina looked around, and her eyes landed on the security monitor, which showed Adley up on a chair out front in the shop, staring right into one of the cameras, shaking a finger and looking mock-disappointed. Sabrina laughed.
“If you can hear my chewing from way out there,” she called out loudly, “then I have some issues to work on.”
Adley’s face broke into a smile. “Valid.” Sabrina watched her climb down and put the chair back.
There was a knock on the back door, and Sabrina knew from experience who it was. She got up from her chair, called out to Adley, “Scottie’s here,” and let her in.
“Hey, Brina, how’s the ice cream biz?” Scottie said. Nobody called her that but Scottie, and she was okay with that. Sabrina liked Scottie, even though she wasn’t yet sure the feeling was mutual. Scottie was super protective of Adley—the main reason Sabrina liked her so much—which meant there was always an element of suspicion when she looked at her. Like Sabrina was an animal she was uncertain of so expected her to take a swipe with sharp claws at any moment. Understandable. That was her role as BFF—suspicion and protection. It made Sabrina happy to know that Scottie had that kind of loyalty to Adley.
“Ask me in a week and a half.”
“Fair enough. Where’s my BFF?” Scottie’s eyes landed on Adley as she came from up front.
“Your BFF is right here, my BFF.”
“You’re bouncy,” Scottie said, pointing at her with her brow furrowed.
“I’m bouncy?” Adley asked, then looked to Sabrina and back to Scottie.
“You are. You just bounced in here.” Scottie turned to Sabrina. “Does she bounce everywhere now?”
Sabrina lifted a shoulder and nodded. “Pretty much.”
Adley swatted her playfully. “I do not. Go finish your burger, Boss Lady. You’ve got a meeting shortly.” She said it with affection, and Sabrina could see that Scottie noticed. She looked from Sabrina to Adley and back. “I’m gonna show Scottie the front now that it’s finished.”
Sabrina gave a mock salute. “Yes, ma’am. Good to see you, ScottFree.” Back in her office, she sat down and resumed her meal, trying not to notice how happy it made her that Adley knew her schedule.
Adley had led Scottie out front, and she could see them on the monitors. Out of respect, she turned down the volume, feeling weird about eavesdropping, though she continued to watch as she ate. Adley pointed out different things to Scottie, and Scottie reacted. It was clear when she recognized the art that Adley’d had in her former shop, old photos her grandfather had hanging when he’d owned the place. But the thing that really stood out for Sabrina was the pride on Adley’s face as she pointed out different things to her best friend. Her smile never left her face. Her exuberance was clear, even without sound.
Sabrina sat there, chewing a french fry, and realized that for the first time since she’d started on this business venture, she felt one hundred percent certain she’d done the right thing. Like she could take a deep, full breath for the first time in months. Like this was exactly where she was supposed to be. In this very spot, in this very building, with this very person. The realization was so strong, it brought tears to her eyes. So she sat there in her Boss Lady chair, eating the food that had been ordered for her, and cried silently at the joy she felt right then.
Adley must’ve said something funny because Scottie threw her head back in laughter—it was silent on the monitor, but Sabrina could kind of hear it from her seat—then threw her arms around Adley and they hugged for a long moment. Sabrina realized things had gone from playful to serious in the span of a few seconds, and she forced her gaze elsewhere, feeling like she was intruding on something personal. When she glanced back at the monitor, both women were gone, and she heard them in the kitchen again.
