Page 24 of It Happened on a Sunday
Nothing, the responsible side of my brain tells me. I want to do nothing about it. I can’t.
A harmless picture with Sly in the background turned a reporter rabid today. I can’t imagine what would happen if people found out he was sending me sweet nothings.
Just the thought has a chill skating down my spine. Instinctively, I drop the card and sit back as far away from the cooler as I can get. “Whatever it is, you two can have it. Take the card, too.”
Marco’s smile disappears. “Are you sure? His number’s on the back.”
I don’t tell him that I already have his number. I just say, “Yes, I’m very—”
“Hell no, she’s not sure!” Pauline says, snatching the card from the table before Marco can touch it. “What’s wrong with you? Turning down a gift before you’ve even looked inside.” She tsks her favorite tsk at me. “Whatever’s in that cooler, we’re eating it.”Famous last words, I think, but bite my tongue and lean in anyway. With that, she pulls the lid off the box to reveal a large, white carton.
Pauline gasps and lets out a whoop that’s downright girlish as she picks it up to get a better look at the logo on the side. “Sugar Factory!”
“Sugar Factory? I don’t even know what that is,” I tell her, mystified.
“It’s an ice cream parlor right off the strip,” she explains, reaching for the lid. “Well, not justanice cream place. It’stheice cream place—an old-fashioned parlor with world-famous milkshakes and sundaes.”
“Ice cream? He sent me ice cream?” Even I can hear the wistful sound in my voice. Ice cream sundaes are pretty much my favorite food in the world.
Apparently, I’m not the only one. For a second, Pauline looks like a little kid again, her eyes alight in a way I’ve never seen them. “Why are you just standing around talking when weshould be digging in before it melts? I’ve been dying to try one of their sundaes, and it’s a hundred and ten degrees outside right now.”
“Open it up.”
Pauline does, to reveal the largest, most fantastical sundae I have ever seen. Twenty scoops of ice cream—each one a different flavor—covered in chocolate syrup and caramel and what has to be an entire pint of whipped cream.
And then there are the toppings. Cherries, bananas, fresh strawberries, crumbled brownies, and crushed chocolate chip cookies. M&M’s and tiny peanut butter cups. Not to mention more sprinkles than I’ve ever seen on any one food item in my life.
I have no idea how many people he thought were going to be eating this, but I have to admit, it’s the most original present I’ve ever received.
“And you were just going to give this away!” Pauline cries, reaching for the packet of spoons they’ve included. “Along with the man who sent it.”
She hands me a spoon.
I stare at it for a second, not sure what to do. I’ve spent so long denying myself everything and everyone that makes me happy, the idea of just recklessly grabbing onto this sundae—onto Sly’s gift—turns everything inside me hot and cold.
At least until Pauline says, “It’s ice cream, Sloane, not a ring. Just take a bite.”
I don’t know why that statement turns my palms clammy. She’s right. It’s just ice cream. It doesn’t have to mean anything more. I reach out and take the spoon she offers.
“About damn time,” she tells me as we dig in.
We laugh like kids as we divvy up the sundae into bowls and down the entire thing with the help of Bryan, Marco, and another member of my security team, G.
When we’re finished, the others melt away while Pauline slides Sly’s card across the table to me.
I eye it like I would a venomous snake about to strike. “What do you expect me to do with that?”
“Maybe thank the boy for his thoughtful gift?”
“I really don’t think that’s a good idea.” I shove the card back at her.
She looks from it to me for a second before snuggling into the couch with a shrug. “You know, a gentleman being interested in you doesn’t have to be a bad thing.”
“It may not be a bad thing, but me being interested inthisgentleman would definitely be a mistake. For the both of us.”
She watches me with a softness in her eyes that makes me itchy. “How can you be so sure about that?”
“I thought that was obvious. A third super-famous guy at the top of his game is definitely not the charm—not for me.” No matter what I said to Olivia a few days ago.
