Holy shit.
She had no reason to be nervous. Everything was in order. All the finer details of the shop had been taken care of. The cute little dishesand the standby flavors—your vanilla and chocolate and strawberry—as well as those that were unique to A Second Scoop, Chocolate Cherry Bomb and lemon rosemary sherbet and the reinstitution of Baby Bear, were all ready to go. Adley had planned her time perfectly, finished making all her ice cream this morning, so that this afternoon, this last day before the grand opening, all she needed to do was make fresh waffle cones and bake brownies for the brownie sundaes. She’d decided to flavor some of the waffle cones, so she’d seeded a couple vanilla beans and was simmering them on the stove. Apparently, buying vanilla extract was out of the question when you knew how to make it yourself, and Sabrina loved that about Adley, loved that she was creative and, again, passionate. Right then, she was busy chopping dark chocolate, the rhythmic tapping of the knife on the cutting board filling the kitchen. It was early in the afternoon, and the employees she’d hired were due in for a meeting at three. About two hours from now. Until then, it was just her and Adley.
They were ready.
She could hardly believe it. They’d gotten everything done, everything set. She’d been so right when she told Adley several weeks ago she thought they’d make a great team. They did. The best. They were flawless together.
From her seat at her desk, she could see Adley. Not on the monitors, but through the open doorway, at the counter in her white coat, soft classical music coming from the speaker on a shelf behind her, enormous knife glinting in the overhead lighting. God, she loved to watch Adley work. It was like a dance, choreographed and graceful—
Adley cried out and dropped the knife.
Sabrina was up and out of her chair before she even had time to think about it. “What happened?” she asked as she reached Adley, who was holding her hand, blood on the counter and running down her wrist. “Oh my God.” Sabrina grabbed her and dragged her to the sink, shoved her hand under the running water, at which Adley winced. Sabrina felt her arm tense under her hands. Her own heart was pounding in her chest. “Oh my God,” she said again. “What happened are you okay this is a lot of blood lemme see how deep you might need stitches did the knife slip is it too dull we can get you a new set, if you want, a better set.”
A squeeze on her shoulder stopped the words, and she turned tolook at Adley, who was pale, but also smiling. “That was the longest string of words I’ve ever heard.”
Sabrina felt sheepish and gave her a small grin, then took a breath and forced herself to calm down. “Sorry. I do that when I’m scared. I babble. When I was fourteen, I broke my wrist, and the poor guy who put my cast on had to listen to me talk nonstop about the entire season ofBuffy the Vampire Slayer. Every episode. Every plotline. The poor guy’s ears must’ve been bleeding by the time he finished with me.” She grabbed a nearby towel and wrapped Adley’s finger with it.
“I mean, it was Buffy. How could you not share?”
“Right? And the very last season. It was important.” Their gazes held, and Sabrina felt that now-familiar stirring low in her body that Adley had caused since the first time she’d seen her. She didn’t need to keep holding her hand, but somehow, she couldn’t let go.
After a long moment, Adley cleared her throat softly. “I think it’s okay now,” she said, her voice quiet. She did not pull her hand away.
Sabrina blinked rapidly, like she’d been in a trance, and turned off the water. She opened the towel and examined the cut. “It’s not as deep as I thought it was, it’s just long. I don’t think it needs stitches, but let’s get it bandaged up good, okay?” She met Adley’s gaze again and whispered, “You scared me.”
A tender smile and a soft voice as Adley said, “I work in a kitchen. Cutting myself is an occupational hazard. This won’t be the last time.”
“Well, I’m gonna need you to be more careful because—” She caught herself before she said the words running through her head.
“Because why?”
The sound of Sabrina’s phone ringing startled them both, and she felt Adley’s body flinch, even while her own felt a wave of relief. The phrasesaved by the bell, clichéd as it was, zipped through her head, and she gave Adley an apologetic smile. Slowly, they parted. Sabrina let go of Adley’s hand, and she took it back, peeked under the towel, and grimaced. Sabrina slipped her phone out and glanced at the screen. Teagan.
“Hey,” she said, watching Adley as she found the shop’s first-aid kit and rummaged through the bandages.
“Just letting you know our flight landed, and we’re at your lovely airport. Just gotta grab the rental and we’ll be over.” They sounded tired, but happy.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to come pick you up? It’s not a problem.”
“For the nine hundred seventeenth time, thank you, but no. We’re fine. I’ll get the car seat all hooked up, and we’ll be good to go.” There was a pause, and Sabrina could hear a muffled conversation. “Waze says twenty minutes to your house, once we’ve got the car. See you then.”
Sabrina said good-bye and hung up.
“That your bestie from home?” Adley asked, trying to put some antiseptic cream on her forefinger. “Did they make it okay? Is the family with them?”
Sabrina so appreciated Adley for paying attention, and she felt a warm glow of gratitude. “They did and yes. I have to run home to meet them, get everybody settled.”
“No worries. I can hold down the fort.”
Sabrina took the cream from her hand. “Here, let me.” They stood quietly, their heads nearly touching as Sabrina doctored Adley’s finger, wrapped it neatly, then taped it to keep it secure.
Adley sighed as she looked at the counter. “Well, that’s a waste of good chocolate. Glad I ordered extra.”
“You sure you’re gonna be okay here if I go?”
Adley tipped her head and regarded her, then said softly, “Sabrina, I cut my finger. It’s no big deal. I’ll be fine.”
She nodded once. “Yeah. Okay.” She grabbed her purse from the office. “I just need to get them settled, and I’ll be back in time for the meeting. I promise.”
