“We are.” Lauren held the small saucepan beneath the tap at the sink and, once there were a few inches of water in it, placed it onto the stove and set the burner beneath it on high. “Would you mind pulling a jar of hot fudge sauce from the pantry? I’m going to do sundaes.”
“Of course,” Grey murmured, turning to retrieve the bottle of gourmet hot fudge sauce from the pantry. She twisted the top off on her way to the stove, and set it into the saucepan. “Bowls?”
“Please.” Lauren moved the glass baking dish that held the brownies she had made earlier onto the counter beside a large chef’s knife. An ice cream scoop was placed next to the knife, and then Lauren pulled a small container of fresh whipped cream that she had prepared just before dinner from the fridge, along with a large tub of vanilla ice cream from the freezer.
“You’re spoiling those boys,” Grey pointed out with an amused smile as she set seven bowls onto the counter beside Lauren’s supplies. She leaned against the counter beside the range and watched Lauren peel back the plastic wrap that was covering the brownies.
Lauren laughed and began cutting the brownies into squares. They had not yet completely cooled, and she moaned softly as she popped a small piece into her mouth. “Forget the boys, this is my favorite dessert.”
“Really?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Lauren drawled as she carefully lifted a large brownie square from the baking dish and set it into a bowl. “Don’t get me wrong, I love me some cheesecake, but this is the best. Brownie, ice cream, hot fudge, a little whipped cream…” Her voice trailed off and she shook her head, sending an errant curl into her face. “There’s nothing better than that.”
Grey cleared her throat, her eyes glued to the rogue tendril tickling Lauren’s cheek. Her heart skipped a beat as she stared at the juxtaposition of warm red ringlets and flawless alabaster skin, and she found herself torn between wanting to reach out and tuck the hair behind Lauren’s ear, and screaming in frustration because Lauren was not who she wanted her to be. With her wild curls pulled back into a messy ponytail that left the elegant slope of her neck exposed, the gentle curve of her jaw and the light dusting of freckles over her cheeks, it was almost too easy to pretend that Lauren was somebody else. It would be so much easier for her if there wassomethingabout Lauren that was easy to dislike—an obnoxious voice, bad attitude, terrible teeth, anything she could fixate on to keep herself from feeling so drawn to her—but Lauren was perfectly alluring, and Grey could not help but hate her a little for that.
She was so lost in her thoughts that she missed whatever it was Lauren said next, and she startled when Lauren turned, knife cradled loosely in her hand, to level her with an expectant look. “I’m sorry?”
Lauren’s brow dropped as she looked at Grey. She had been mindlessly chattering away as she worked, pleased that Grey was actually engaged in a genuine conversation with her, but the far-away, almost haunted look in Grey’s eyes told her that she had been wrong. “I asked you how the fudge was looking.”
“Oh.” Grey’s eyes dropped to the glass jar on the stove that she had been idly stirring. She lifted the spoon and watched the chocolate sauce pour from the end in a silken ribbon. “It’s good.”
“All right,” Lauren said, forcing herself to smile as she dropped a generous scoop of ice cream onto a brownie and handed it over to Grey. “Just hit that sucker with the fudge, and then I’ll put the whipped cream on.”
“This looks really good,” Grey murmured as she began spooning hot fudge onto the sundae.
Lauren nodded and turned to hand Grey a second bowl. Her eyes grew wide when she saw how much fudge Grey had poured onto the ice cream, and she hurried to yank the bowl out of her hand. “That’s too much!”
“Psht.” Grey shook her head as she took the fudge-less bowl Lauren was holding out for her. “It’s hot fudge. It doesn’t count unless it’s too much. Besides, the boys will love it.”
There was really no way for Lauren to argue either of those points, and she chuckled as she turned back to the counter to finish preparing the next sundae. “Who wouldn’t?”
Grey smirked and set the second completed bowl onto the counter beside the first. “Exactly.”
Once they had finished preparing sundaes for everybody, Grey grabbed the three she had overloaded with hot fudge and took them out for the boys. Lauren followed with Will and Kim’s desserts, and could not help but laugh at the jubilant, wide-eyed look that lit each of the boys’ faces as they stared at the bowls of hot fudge.
“Hey boys, why don’t you have some hot fudge with your ice cream,” Kim laughed.
“All Grey’s fault,” Lauren shared as she handed Kim her bowl.
Will took his with a grateful smile, and looked at it for a moment before he elbowed Reid playfully and asked, “Wanna trade? You got more chocolate sauce.”
Reid, who had already managed to cover half his face with fudge, shook his head and pulled his bowl closer to himself. “Mine!”
“Would you like more hot fudge?” Lauren offered.
“Nah, I’m good,” Will chuckled.
“If you’re sure…” Lauren smiled and turned back to the salon for her own bowl.
After the desserts had been polished off and the boys had licked their bowls clean with gleeful giggles, Lauren gathered the dirty dishes and carried them into the galley. It took a little bit of Tetris mojo to get everything into the dishwasher, but she eventually managed to fit everything in. She smiled to herself as she wiped the counters down with a dishtowel, pleased that the Muellers had enjoyed the meal, and blew out a loud breath as she turned to survey her temporary kingdom. She had not really known what to expect when she decided to become a private chef on a luxurious yacht, but it had been a nice change of pace from the hectic pace of the kitchen at Clarke’s.
Her eyes skipped over the empty salon, drinking in the sight of gleaming light wood and rich red and gold accents, and her breath caught in her throat when she finally spotted Grey leaning against the dining table, the knuckles of her left hand white as she strangled the neck of the guitar she was holding. Lauren frowned as she took in the conflicted expression darkening Grey’s features, and she licked her lips nervously as she held her gaze. “Grey?”
Grey shook her head, not trusting herself to speak. She had been on her way back outside to play some music for the Muellers while the boys wound down for bed when she spotted Lauren working at the sink, her lean body swaying slightly to a song only she could hear. Memories of another redhead doing the exact same thing flooded her mind, and she had barely grabbed onto the edge of the table before her knees threatened to give out beneath her. Even now, with Lauren staring back at her with a bewildered look on her face, Grey could not move.
The air between them seemed to crackle with electricity as they held each other’s gaze, and Grey finally felt herself released from the magnetic pull of Lauren’s stare when the redhead turned to watch an energetic blur in Spiderman pajamas bolt through the salon for the back deck. The loss of visual contact was enough to spur Grey into motion, and she shook her head as she headed fordeck. It was all she could do to not run, as her heart raced and her body all but trembled with the need to escape, to find some kind of space that would give her time to try and understand what had just happened.
CHAPTER SEVEN
