Total pages in book: 54
Estimated words: 52100 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 261(@200wpm)___ 208(@250wpm)___ 174(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52100 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 261(@200wpm)___ 208(@250wpm)___ 174(@300wpm)
“Thank you.” Shea gave Marley a warm smile. “That looks so good, Marley. You have great taste.”
Marley thanked her, blueberry topping already smeared around her mouth.
“What did you get, Dad?” Spencer asked.
“Chocolate peanut butter cone.”
“My dad loves peanut butter,” Spencer told Shea. “We should make him some peanut butter cookies.”
“That’s a great idea.”
I met her gaze in a quick, grateful look. Spencer was crazy about her, and seeing him so happy meant more to me than my own happiness.
There had been a lot of tears and counseling sessions between Andrea leaving and now. And while I’d promised my kids we’d thrive in our new town, it was gratifying to finally see it actually happening.
CHAPTER TEN
Shea
“Shea.” Avon closed her eyes and moaned with happiness as she took another bite of raspberry filling while standing in the nearly empty kitchen at The Sleepy Moose. “I would maim for that. It’s definitely going to be the cake filling, but can I also have a separate bowl of it just to eat?”
I laughed, pleased by how much she liked it. “You’re the bride. You can have anything you want.”
“What I really want is for Grady to stop stressing about the wedding. Did I tell you he’s trying to train Wayne to walk down the aisle?”
I scrunched up my face in confusion. “Your dog?”
“Our dog. He wants him to be the ring bearer, but there’s no way Wayne can walk past that many people without stopping. At the first aww, he’ll be waddling over for snuggles.”
“As he should.”
I loved the bulldog my brother had given his future wife when he proposed. He was lazy, sweet and a great cuddler. If I had the time, I’d get one just like him for myself.
“I think Grady should have one of the groomsmen walk Wayne down the aisle on a leash,” Avon said. “He won’t quit, though. He’s out there in the yard every evening with a fake red carpet rolled out, trying to teach Wayne to walk down it without stopping.”
I laughed at the image because Wayne didn’t even walk across a room without flopping down partway for a rest.
“Maybe if someone’s holding a steak at the altar?” I suggested.
“A leash would simplify everything.”
“When Grady puts his mind to something...”
Avon rolled her eyes. “I know, forget about changing it. I’m hoping he won’t have time for the Wayne thing anymore now that the showdown teams have been announced.”
I opened a small refrigerator where we kept ingredients we needed close while cooking and took out a small saucer, passing it to Avon.
“Cannoli?” she cried. “We’re having cannoli?”
“If you want to.”
She took the fork I offered her and sampled a bite, moaning again. “Oh my God, yes. The cannoli is a hard yes.”
“Got it,” I said, making a check mark on the paper I had on a clipboard. “I’m making your two main course options this weekend at my parents’ house for Sunday dinner. That way, Grady has a say about something without ruining anything.”
I reached for the saucer with the cannoli Avon had taken a bite of, but she protested. “Don’t throw that away, I’ll finish it.”
“Sure, but you also have a bunch of side dishes to taste.”
“I’ll save it for dessert.”
I went to the walk-in cooler and picked up some small containers of side dishes I’d prepped, and when I got back to the stainless-covered kitchen island, Avon was giving me a funny look.
“What?” I asked her, taking the lid off the scalloped potatoes to warm them up.
“Holt Sellers.”
My stomach flipped at the mention of his name. “What about him?”
“Don’t be coy with me. We’re almost sisters.”
I shrugged. “There’s nothing going on between us if that’s what you mean.”
“I saw the way you guys were looking at each other while you danced the other night. And I heard you went to a family event here with him and his kids.”
I sighed softly, wanting to ask her if she’d heard what I had for breakfast this morning and what color of underwear I was wearing. The gossip mill in Sven’s Beard churned steadily enough to power the entire town.
“Spencer asked me to sit with him at the event. He’s been helping out in the kitchen. He’s such a sweet kid.”
Avon arched her brows, her arms crossed. “What does he have to do with Holt licking your ice cream cone?”
I laughed at how much that sounded like a euphemism. “Girl, it’s been forever since a man licked my ice cream cone. Like years.”
“Well then? Why not Holt?”
I thought about it while I busied myself warming up the scalloped potatoes and the loaded mashed potatoes I’d made earlier and left on the stove.
“I’m not trying to get to him through his kids,” I said. “I genuinely like Spencer and Marley and it breaks my heart that their mom just left them.”