I show Amber how to pipe the cream cheese mixture onto the premade dough, my hands guiding hers while she squeezes and eyeballs it. She’s a natural in the kitchen.
“All right,” I say as we throw away the empty Ziploc bag. “Ready to roll?”
“Oh, yeah,” Amber says.
“All right, let’s wash our hands one more time and put a bit of oil on our fingers.”
Amber wrinkles her nose. “Ew. Oil?”
“Mhm,” I say as I wash my hands at the sink. “The oil helps the dough not to stick to your fingers when you’re rolling.”
“Ohhh,” she says as she watches me rub a bit of olive oil onto my fingertips.
She mimics my movements and then I show her how to roll them up. I pinch off the sides, explaining to her that you need to make sure there’s no way for the filling to escape—otherwise, you’ll have a lovely mess on your hands when they come out of the oven.
I explain the difference between using wax paper and parchment paper, warning her of how wax paper doesn’t go in anything that uses high heat, including a microwave. She even sets the timer after we get everything into the oven.
Really, she’s a natural.
“Now, we wait,” I say as I hold out my hand.
She high-fives it. “Yeah. Those are gonna be amazing.”
“Especially with that egg wash and white sugar drizzle on top.”
“You two thirsty?” Eli asks.
“Daddy, did you wash my tumbler?” Amber asks.
“Of course I did, princess,” he says as he takes a stainless steel tumbler with a flower pattern on it out of the cupboard. It makes me smile. “You want water? Or something else?”
“Can I have some orange juice?” she asks.
“Orange juice for my princess, coming right up,” he says as he turns his attention to me. “What would you like, Alley Cat?”
“Water’s good, thank you.”
“And one water coming up for the bowling champ,” he says with a wink.
“Not according to Walker,” I murmur.
Amber takes my hand, leading me toward the kitchen table. “Daddy says Walker won the bowling game. You should do another one and kick his butt.”
“Yeah?” I ask as we sit at the table. “You think I should?”
“Totally,” Amber says as she sits right next to me. “Daddy says Walker’s got too much of an ego to win all the?—”
“Aaaand here’s your orange juice,” Eli says with a chuckle, cutting her off as he sets her tumbler down in front of her.
I have to curl my lips over my teeth to keep from outright laughing as he gives me a sheepish look.
“To be fair,” I murmur conspiratorially to Amber, “your father’s right.”
Amber smiles at me as she takes a sip of her drink. Eli hands me my glass and I thank him, but when our fingers brush there’s a spark of electricity that makes the hair on the nape of my neck stand on end. Eli’s throat bobs, and I know he feels it, too.
“Thank you,” I say softly, and I hope he realizes I mean for more than just the water.
His eyes dance. “You don’t ever have to thank me for anything. I’m just glad to be able to help.”
