“Hi, Everett,” Mia says.
Her hands are covered in flour, and she’s pressing cookie cutters into rolled out dough.
“Welcome,” David adds with a grin as he turns from one of the huge ovens with two cookie sheets in hand.
I think I say hi, or something appropriate anyway, but I can’t be sure because just then Ginny steps into the kitchen behind her mother.
Again, our eyes lock, and she hesitates as if unsure what to do.
“Come here,” I mouth to her.
Her eyes widen, and that seems to help her make a decision.
“I thought Everett could come up front and help at the counter,” Ginny says. “It will give the town a chance to get to know him, and he can meet and greet a lot of people.”
With her? I’m in.
But Graham is already shaking his head. “I’ll come up front and help. Everett should definitely stay back here. I’m not kidding when I say he’s a perfectionist, and he’s pretty great at drawing. He’ll be fantastic at decorating.”
Ginny tips her head and frowns at her brother. “But we want him to get to know people in town.”
“It’s way too busy for him to get any meaningful time with anyone,” Graham says.
If I thought Graham knew how I feel about his sister, I’d think he was trying to keep us apart. But this is Graham. He really thinks I should decorate cookies.
Ginny puts her hands on her hips. “Has Everett ever worked in a bakery kitchen? Does he know how to mix frosting? Does he know how to use all of the tools? Does he even know what he’ll be decorating?”
“He’s a very smart man,” Graham tells her, giving her a funny look. “I’m pretty sure he can catch on.”
“We’ll mix all of the icing and stuff,” Mia pipes up, helpfully. “And we’ll be here if he has questions.”
“You guys barely know him,” Ginny says. “You have no idea how easy or difficult he is to work with.”
I grin and tuck my hands into my pockets to wait for everyone to finish discussing me as if I’m not here.
Mia laughs and looks around the kitchen. “We’ve all heard plenty about him, Ginny. I don’t think any of us are worried about him being difficult to work with.”
That’s good to know. I watch Ginny. She’s stubbornly not looking at me.
“If you’re worried about it, why don’t you come back here and decorate with us?” David asks. He shoots me a grin. “You can keep Everett in line.”
“We’re past all the cookies that don’t have a specific shape and don’t have to look pretty,” Jefferson says. “I think Ginny’s better up front.”
Ginny gives him the finger. But she doesn’t argue his point.
Is Ginger not good at decorating? Interesting.
“Everett, I apologize for my children,” Adrianne says. She looks around the kitchen. “All of them.”
I crack a smile. It doesn’t surprise me that Adrianne considers her partner’s children like her own. From the way Graham has described his hometown and his parents' group offriends, including Margot’s parents, I know that they all feel more like siblings or cousins than just friends.
“I’m fine, Adrianne,” I say with a chuckle. “Just tell me where I can be the most help.”
“If you are good at decorating, then back here would be helpful. We can only have so many people behind the front counter without tripping over each other anyway.”
I glance at Ginny. She is clearly exasperated, but when she meets my gaze, she simply gives me a little eye roll.
Did she want to spend time with me? I like that idea.
