Page 61 of One Small Spark
“I chill the dough before baking them.” This man should guard his secrets better. At least four sets of eyes light up over that info, no doubt ready to steal the move.
“I’ll guess… You brought the chocolate chip cookies,” I tell him, grabbing one from the tray.
“Well done, Sherlock.” He watches me take a bite, eyes narrowing as I make an involuntary yummy sound.
Okay,mostlyinvoluntary.
“Good?” he asks.
They’re delicious. Chewy but not too soft, a bit of crunch but not over-baked. I eat the cookie in three indelicate bites and pop the end of my thumb in my mouth to get a spot of melted chocolate.
Callahan’s eyes lock on the move, and it’s like the world tilts, shifting me his direction.
“They’re okay,” I tell him. “I won’t know for sure until I’ve tried another.”
“Always good to do a thorough taste-test.”
Heat crawls up my spine as if the temperature in here just spiked.
For the record, it’s stupid cold. You’d think being so super rich, Ada’s son could heat his house to a decent level.
“All right, ladies and gentleman,” Ada says from the other side of the kitchen island. “We’ve gotPride and Prejudicequeued up and ready to go. Grab your snacks and drinks and come to the last door on the right down the hall and around the corner.”
“I thought we were going to vote,” Barb says, stacking cookies on a small plate.
“I haven’t seenNorthanger Abbeyin a long time,” Nora says.
Barb’s mouth drops open. “How is that your choice?”
“It’s better than the cousins in love inMansfield Park.” Rosetta makes a sour face I feel one hundred percent. “I always preferredPersuasion.”
“Captain Wentworth’s love letter is so dreamy.” I have to get my point in before they move on. “Top-tier pining from that man.”
“You like a smitten man, do you?” Ada asks, lifting her eyebrows in a cheeky move.
Nora harrumphs. “Nobody beats Colonel Brandon’s pining.”
“My favorite is Mr. Rochester.” Fran loads her plate as though she didn’t bring the conversation to a screeching halt.
“That’s not Jane Austen,” Isabel says after a minute. “And deeply troubling, to boot.”
“He’s not a shy violet like a lot of Austen heroes.” Fran inspects a tray of cookies. “He’s passionate. Stormy. You know he’s got fire.”
Rosetta laughs. “Pun intended?”
“He also dresses up like a gypsy woman to try to trick Jane into confessing her love,” I add. “Like any totally normal and not at all wacko guy would do.”
Don’t even get me started on the fake relationship with Blanche Ingram. Fake dating only makes sense when the love interests are the ones doing the faking. Rochester’s way was just cruel.
“Whatever it takes to get a woman to admit how she feels. Right, Shepherd?” Fran asks. “I’ve got some long skirts and patterned scarves you can borrow.”
She winks at him and heads out of the kitchen with a couple of the other ladies in tow.
“Menaces,” I mutter under my breath.
“Trickery’s not on your list of preferred qualities in a man?” Callahan asks.
I snort. “Neither is bigamy, so if you’ve got a wife hidden away in your cabin, tell me now.”
