Cash glanced over to Lark, because she would be here in the house for Christmas, and he had no idea what to put in her stocking. “Everyone gets one vote,” he said.
“We only get one?” Cora asked.
“Fine, give me your top two,” he said, starting to regret that he told Boston and Cora to come early and that they didn’t need to leave.
“I vote for the Black Forest variation,” Cora said. “That’s my top one. Second, I would go with frosting. You can never have too much cream cheese frosting.”
“She’s not wrong,” Lark said. “My top choice is the cream cheese frosting.”
“And number two?” Cash asked.
“I don’t know if I have a number two.” She flicked a quick glance over to Cora. “Sorry, Cora, but I’m with Boston on the raspberry chocolate combo, so I’d probably pick white chocolate.”
“Those are my top two as well,” Boston said.
“Boo,” Cora said while grinning.
Cash, the people pleaser that he was, wanted to make a chocolate raspberry doughnut just for her, and he could too. It wouldn’t be that much harder.
“All right,” he said. “But now we’re still at a tie between the white chocolate and the cream cheese.”
“Well, what do you want to make, Big Spender?” Lark burst out laughing again. “I’m sorry, I tried it. It was terrible. I can’t believe I said that.”
Cash laughed with her, glad he got to have her laughter in his life again. “You keep trying, sweetheart. You’ll find the right one.”
“Yeah, and you’re not supposed to call mesweetheart.”
Cash glanced over to his cousin and found Boston standing there with his mouth open.
“Oh, come on,” he said. “I’ve been out on dates with you and Cora before. You’ve seen me flirt.”
“Have we, though?” Boston looked at Cora. “Have you ever seen him like this?”
With wide eyes, Cora shook her head no. “This is something else.”
“Okay, I’m uninviting you guys to lunch,” Cash said, frustration moving through him. “I don’t want to be teased all day.”
“We won’t,” Cora said quickly, and then she looked over to Lark. “Come show me how to work this TV. Let’s put a movie on while Cash cooks.”
She linked arms with Lark, and they went into the living room together, somehow talking about something already. Boston watched Cash for an extra moment.
“All right, so I like her. Big deal,” Cash said.
“For the past few months, you’ve spent all your time complaining about her,” Boston said.
“Yeah, because she didn’t like me back,” Cash whispered, deftly dividing the dough and measuring it into one-and-a-half-ounce chunks. “But now she does. So can you stop with all the staring and questioning?”
“Boston,” Cora barked. “Leave him alone to make our doughnuts, or we’re never going to eat.”
“Yeah, sure,” Boston said, and he clapped Cash on the shoulder. “Well, she’s really pretty, and I’m glad you like her.” Then he joined his fiancé and Lark in the living room.
Cash had made doughnuts so many times that it didn’t require much mental effort, and he weighed the dough and shaped it and let it rest, all while thinking he may have made the biggest mistake of his life by not canceling today’s lunch with his cousins.
CHAPTER
TEN
Bryce Young’s thumbs flew across his phone screen, a knot of worry in his gut.
