He glowered, and I laughed more, reaching over to pat his shoulder and creating a fresh cloud. Archer coughed and turned his face to the side.
“Maybe it will help sweeten your personality,” I said hopefully.
The look in his eyes was scathing. “I think it must be working because I’ve already resisted the urge to throw the entire bowl at you.”
“Or maybe not…” I muttered, thrusting a towel at him so he could clean up, and then I added a scoop of the powdered sugar to hopefully make up for what was lost. When that was done, I grabbed a small spatula and scraped down the sides of the bowl, gently incorporating everything at the bottom.
“You should always do this before going full blast,” I said as I worked. Once it was combined enough that I was confident it wouldn’t explode all over us again, I lowered the attachment and looked up, startled to find Archer staring.
“What?”
His reply was gruff. “Nothing.”
Ignoring my flipping stomach, I turned the mixer on the lowest speed, gradually increasing it until it was on high as the directions said.
“It says to let it beat for seven to ten minutes,” I announced, and we stood there awkwardly, wondering what we were supposed to do.
Seven minutes never felt so long.
I finished my coffee, sneaking glances at the whipping icing, noticing the high shine it was taking on. That was a good sign, right?
The tension between us knotted in my stomach, and I wondered how we were supposed to spend the next few days together in this tiny kitchen without making it so uncomfortable.
“So, ah, would you really already be awake by now?” I asked, deciding to try small talk.
“The trees don’t cut themselves down.”
“But it’s dark out. How can you see?”
Archer eyed me for a moment and maybe came to the realization I was only trying to make this less miserable because he sighed. “I have some lights. Plus, the sun comes up fast.”
“You must see the sunrise a lot.”
He made a sound of agreement. “Yeah.”
“I bet that’s beautiful. Watching it rise over the farm.”
“Better than a city view.”
“How would you know?” I quipped.
“What?”
“Have you ever seen the sunrise in the city?”
“No.”
“Then how do you know it’s better?”
“I just do.”
I harumphed.
Pursing his lips, he leaned his hip on the counter and faced me, then crossed his arms. “Okay, since you’ve seen both, which one is better?”
“What?” I said, suddenly on the spot.
Also, why did he have to stand like that? It made me feel like a teenager with haywire hormones.
