She tilts her head as she studies me. "You do kind of have a big nose."
The bark of laughter that bubbles up from my chest surprises me. "Fuck, Millie. And here I was thinking you were cool."
"I am."
"You just told me I have a big nose!" Not the least bit offended. Quite the opposite actually. Her bluntness only intrigues me.
"That has nothing to do with my cool factor."
"You two ready to join back in or are you done for the day?" Joe, the foreman and a really good guy, asks just as I was about to ask Millie another question.
I look over and realize the whole crew is back at work. I was so absorbed in our conversation that I didn't notice the crew hammering and sawing away.
I stand up quickly, embarrassed to be caught slacking. That's the last thing I want to do when every single one of us is volunteering our time for a great cause. If one of us isn't pulling our weight, that means someone else is going to have to pick it up. I don't want to be that guy. "Sorry about that. We were just about to get back at it."
"Yeah, sorry Joe. Lunch just got away from us," Millie says, sounding just as remorseful as me.
Joe smiles, "No worries. I just wanted to know so I could readjust assignments if need be."
"Nope. We're all good!" I answer as I pick up my tool belt I laid on the ground when I first sat down.
Joe tips his head down and turns to walk toward the crew handling all the framing, trim work, and drywall, where I've been working.
"I better get back." Millie hikes her thumb over her shoulder toward a separate crew that must be working on the yard, painting, and other finishes in the house.
"See you around, Millie St. James."
Her smile causes a funny reaction in my chest. "Catch you later, Rowan Pierce."
Chapter Five
Millie
“I’ve been dying to try this place since it opened,” Mom says as she pulls the car into the parking space in front of Cherry On Top, a new ice cream parlor on the square.
“I heard everything’s homemade,” I reply. Some of the ladies I’ve been working with on the jobsite have been raving about how good this place is. My mouth waters just thinking about all the yummy treats waiting on the other side of the door.
“I know! Your father is going to be so jealous that he missed this.”
I giggle, “It’s not like he had a choice, Mom.” Dad had to fly out this morning for another work conference in Vegas. It’s something he does every year.
“He’s always sending me pictures of all these delicious foods at his fancy work dinners. It’s about time we had our own fun.”
She has a point. He does do that, and every time, Mom and I practically salivate with jealousy that we aren’t there to try it all with him.
I reach my arm out for her to loop hers through mine as we make our way inside. As soon as the door opens, we’re hit with so many different smells, all of them equally tantalizing. My eyes widen at the full display case of all kinds of sweet treats to top your hand-turned ice cream with, it seems to take up the entire length of the back of the store.
My mom is giddy with excitement as we make our way to the cashier to order.
“What are you going to get?” she asks.
“I have no idea. There are too many choices.”
The guy working the register chuckles. “That’s what everyone says. Is this your first time in?” When we both nod, he says, “May I make some suggestions?”
We say, “Yes, please,” in unison.
He smiles, “Our top three flavors are vanilla bean with caramel swirls, dark chocolate chunks and marshmallows, and orange ice-cream soda.”
