“I hate to impose.”
“We’ll let you know,” Ronan said.
“Bye,” Havoc said, ending the call.
“Thank you for checking,” Giada said. “It’s nice of them to offer to let me sleep there, too.”
Ronan’s phone pinged and he looked at it questioningly as he pulled up the message. He laughed, then handed it to Giada.
She smiled when she saw it — a picture of all five kids, including Harley, and Analise asleep in the blanket tent with Havoc grinning in front of them. “That’s part of what I want for them. Normalcy. Friends. Sleepovers, and play dates, and freedom to be who they are without getting threatened or living in fear.” She handed Ronan’s phone back to him.
He took it from her and laid it back on the table, face up. “Lucky for you, everything you want is right here.”
Giada smiled and nodded slowly as though she was considering exactly what he said.
“Okay, so here’s the rules. If you don’t get a bite of something before I eat it all, it’s your own fault for not moving fast enough.”
“Really?” she asked.
“Really,” he confirmed.
She reached out and picked up the Napoleon and the cannolis and moved them in front of her.
“That is not right!” he said, reaching over and taking one of the cannolis off her plate.
“Oh, you can have a bite, you just can’t have all of them,” Giada said, wielding her spoon like a weapon.
“You better eat fast, then,” Ronan said, digging into the chocolate cake first.
Giada went for the Napoleon first, and finished all but about two bites. When she was done, she pushed the plate toward Ronan. “For you,” she said around a mouthful.
Ronan grinned at her and reached for her cannoli. “Oh, no! You are not stealing my cannoli.”
“Come on. You ate the entire Napoleon.”
“I did not. I saved you two bites. And you ate the entire chocolate cake.”
“I can’t help it. Chocolate is my kryptonite.”
“Mrs. McCullen, if I may,” an unfamiliar voice said from behind her.
Giada turned to see who was speaking to her and her eyes widened as she got a look at what the man was holding.
The chef stood there with a large ramekin on his tray. “I didn’t have any in the kitchen, but I make it all the time for my wife, so it was no trouble to make one for you. In fact, I made two. One for you, and one for your husband.”
“I can’t believe you did that. Thank you so very much!” Giada said as he placed the creme’ brulee’ in front of her, then placed the second in front of Ronan.
“Thank you for making tonight a little more special,” Ronan said.
“It’s no trouble at all. I’m glad to have known how to make it.”
Giada had already cracked the sugar on top and taken a bite. “It’s divine.”
“And that made my night,” the chef said. “We hope to be able to serve you again soon,” he said before walking away.
“This is amazing,” Ronan said.
“Mmhmm,” Giada agreed, as she quickly worked her way through her serving.
