Noah found himself caught in the gaze of her gray-blue eyes, big enough to swallow a man. His mind flooded with memories of other times she had captivated him, along with the warm softness of her lips. Almost of its own volition, his body leaned closer.
Her cheeks flushed, and Caitlyn’s breathing turned rough.
What was he doing to let her get to him like that again? His nerves tight with awareness of her proximity, Noah stepped back with the pitcher and turned to Sona.
“What will you be wanting in this?” His hand trembled a little as he held it up, but fortunately his cousin wasn’t looking at him.
“Orange juice this morning.” She flipped a boxty. “Caitlyn, you were talking about using cooking for team-building activities. Tell us more.”
“For one,” Caitlyn said as she washed a cantaloupe she had picked up, “I’m sure you noticed how effective the snack breaks after the games last night were for bringing us all together.”
She glanced at everyone in the room—but Noah.
“Humans are social creatures,” Caitlyn continued, “and we love to mingle around food. Whenever I’m asked how to get more people involved in a charity event, I tell them what my dad always says: If you feed them, they will come. Especiallyguys.” She looked at Noah then, the corner of her mouth twitching. He used to love when she would tease him.
“I’ve never heard a truer statement,” Eve said from the doorway where she stood holding her son Bruce, the name inherited from his Scottish grandfather along with his red hair.
Noah made a face at the toddler, who giggled.
“Sadly, Darius and I can’t stay for breakfast,” Eve said. “We wanted to thank everyone for the fun games last night. Good luck with your assignment.”
“Bye, everyone.” Darius poked his head in and waved before leaving with his wife.
For a second, everyone stood around as though unsure what to do next. Noah decided to guide it back to the topic.
“Caitlyn, tell us more about the meals,” he said, opening the industrial-sized refrigerator to retrieve the juice. “I’m wondering if ‘twould be good for building trust to have the retreaters compete while they’re cooking.”
“It would depend on the group dynamics. It might work with some. I was thinking about bringing in a chef to teach a class.” She shot Noah a quick glance but looked away just as fast. Was she being coy? That would be the Caitlyn that Keven talked about. She cut the cantaloupe into bite-sized chunks,saying, “If the group is small, everyone could learn how to make the same dish.”
“What about a large group?” Kayn asked from where he leaned against the doorjamb as though he’d been listening.
Caitlyn blinked, her hand jerking. She took a breath before continuing. “You could split them into teams to make different courses. It would be more about working together to create something everyone could enjoy.”
“I like that idea,” Heath said, picking up the stack of napkins he’d been folding. “The prize would be a shared meal. Like this breakfast. It’s similar to how music, art, and champion lore all have to come together with programming for the gameplay to work.”
“Aye,” Finn nodded. “If any one of those is off, ‘twould mean a bad experience for players.”
“Perfect analogy. And now we get to shareourmeal.” Sona lifted the platter full of boxty. “Let’s eat.”
Later,Caitlyn couldn’t help grinning as the nine of them made their way across the street to Central Park. They were finally getting to put into practice what they’d discussed on the flight to New York City, each assigned a location in the park to visit and assess for future activities.
“We couldn’t have asked for a better day,” she said.
“A perfect summer day.” Zoe pointed to the zoo. “Any ideas for a team-building activity there?”
“How about a scavenger hunt?” Max asked.
“But ‘twould need a purpose.” Noah’s expression turned thoughtful.
“I’m sure we’d have to get the zoo’s permission,” Caitlynsaid. “Their staff might even have suggestions, like activities for a service scavenger hunt where participants get a list of simple acts like washing windshields, yardwork, and the like.”
“Hey, I found a bench.” Heath jogged over to it and snapped a picture of the small plaque on top of the backrest.
“One touch of nature makes the whole world kin. Shakespeare,” Zoe said. “Nice.”
“Don’t forget, everyone needs to find one,” Caitlyn called. “People have adopted about a third of the benches in the park and put sayings on them.”
“Extra points if you find more than one quote,” Noah said. “Remember, we’ll be discussing your finds at dinner tonight.”
