“Well…it doesn’t really capture what you do here,” Ciaran said. “It’s not as user-friendly as it could be.”
“Could we hire you?” Geoff asked.
“Of course,” Ciaran said. “I can give you my information, and you can book a consultation online so we can talk through video chat about it.”
“Is it that bad?” Teddy asked.
“Not at all,” Ciaran said. “I can improve it, though.”
“That’d be nice,” Teddy said. “Thank you.”
They finished up, and Teddy brought out vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup, cherries, a bowl of whipped cream, and a jar of chopped peanuts. He placed a bowl in front of each plate.
“Thank you.” Ciaran rotated the bowl. It didn’t look like any ice cream he’d had before.
“What brand is this?”
“It’s homemade,” Teddy said. “The whipped cream is too. The rest, I’m afraid, is store-bought.”
“Is there anything you guys can’t do?” Ciaran asked.
“Improve our website,” Teddy said, and they all laughed.
Once Teddy had cleared the bowls and replaced them with spiked hot chocolate, they all moved to the living room.
He took a sip. The steaming liquid warmed his mouth as it slid down his throat, and the rich chocolate tantalized his senses.
“This is amazing,” he said. “Not like what I make at home.”
“I made it from scratch,” Teddy said. “I use actual cocoa, whole milk, and sugar.”
“Whatever you do to it, it works.”
“Thank you.”
“You need to try dipping a cookie in it,” Geoff said. “It’s wonderful. He made the cookies from scratch, too.”
He looked over to see Teddy’s face redden as he smiled. Ciaran dipped the chocolate cookie into the drink and took a bite. Geoff was right. It intensified the flavor.
“Wow,” Ciaran said. “This is heavenly.”
“Told you,” Geoff said, winking.
“This has been a wonderful evening,” Ciaran said. “Thank you.”
“Our pleasure,” Geoff said. “We don’t often have our guests join us for meals and then hot chocolate in the living room. It’s nice to socialize.”
“Why me?” Ciaran asked.Ugh. I’m being rude.
“You’re the only guest we have,” Geoff said. “So, we thought, why make you head back to town for food when we have plenty? And you were such great company at dinner, why not continue the evening?”
“Thank you,” Ciaran smiled.
“You’re welcome,” Teddy said.
“To socializing.” Geoff raised his mug high.
“Here, here.” Teddy raised his mug, and Ciaran followed suit.
