“What?” she asks before taking a sip of her wine.
“You sure you’re going to have room for the entrée and dessert?” I laugh.
She sets the glass down, rests her arms on the table, and looks at me. “Rowan, you’re the one that eats the majority of the food.”
“I do not,” I say in a defensive tone.
She deadpans. “Remember when we shared that huge burrito one summer? The one that was the size of your head. You ate all of it.”
“Whoa, the only reason I ate all of it is because you took four bites and said your stomach couldn’t handle the rest.”
She narrows her eyes at me and smiles slowly. “Bad example.”
I scoff. “Only example.”
Ellie rolls her eyes and tries, but fails, to hide a smile. She changes the subject, not going back about my dad, but instead focusing on the event for Mrs. Anderson. At this moment, I feel so grateful to have someone like her. Someone who knows my moods and can read me like a book.
The one woman who knows me better than I know myself.
After we finish our entrée, the server takes our plates away and tells us our dessert will be out momentarily. I can feel my stomach on the brink of explosion, but I’m stubborn and will be enjoying a cookie skillet.
I’ll deal with the consequences later. Whatever they may be.
Ellie grabs my forearm and looks past me. “Oh my god.”
I turn my head and see the server approach us with a large skillet, and a huge scoop of vanilla ice cream peeks out of it. There’s a small sparkler on top, grabbing the other guests' attention. I turn back to Ellie, wanting to witness her facial expression.
I pull out my phone to get a recording just for the sake of wanting to remember this moment. I focus my camera on her the entire time, and when she gets a full glance at the cookie and ice cream, her face lights up. She looks like she was just given gold on a plate.
She realizes I’m recording her when she tells me how incredible it looks. The smile falls from her face, and she looks at the camera in horror.
“You’re recording me? Ro!” she whines.
I laugh and put my phone away. “What? I knew it would be too good. You looked so cute,especiallywhen you realized I was recording you.” I continue to laugh, thinking about the facial expression change.
I hold the spoon up to her with a smile, gesturing to her to take the first bite. Ellie and her desserts are the one thing you don’t want to get in the way of. One time, August swiped at some frosting for a cake she was making for their mom. I have never seen someone grab a wrist so fast. August had to scream,Uncle.
“Rowan Andrew Williams, did you just call me cute?” She looks at me with a playful smile while grabbing the spoon from my hand.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. It must be all the sugar that’s in your head.” I look away and pick up my spoon, waiting for her to take the first bite.
“You haven’t called me cute in years. Good to know I still got it.” She dips her spoon into the cookie, dipping it into the vanilla ice cream.
“Wow, you are so into yourself. New York really changed you.” I shake my head.
“Shut up,” she says, pushing her shoulder into mine.
twenty-eight
ROWAN
“Doyou want to keep hanging out?” I ask Ellie while we wait for my car from the valet.
She looks at me with a tired smile. “Sure, I’m having a good time.”
I try to contain my giddiness, but I can’t help but bounce on my toes a little that she still wants to hang out after something that felt intimate.
“What do you want to do?” I ask.
