Did that mean they were friends now? Had they outgrown their petty squabbling? She sensed they were slowly making their way there. Maybe.

“Tastes even better,” she said, spooning a mix of the cakey goodness in her mouth. He watched her intently. She focused on the shooter. The cake was moist and flavorful, not too teeth-jarringly sweet. The frosting was an excellent counterbalance, and her from-scratch whipped cream was on point. “Oh yeah, this is good.”

He cracked an amused smile. “Why do you sound so surprised? You made this.”

“Just good to know I’m not losing my touch.” She buffed her fingers against her shoulder then blew on them.

He had the glass in his hand, just twisting it around and around, observing her as she ate, before finally digging his spoon in. “Red velvet?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

“My fave.” He stuck the cake in his mouth and chewed. She watched his face closely, trying to gauge his reaction. Even if he hated it, it didn’t mean she would scrap the entire idea. She’d just get another opinion. But she was curious to see his reaction.

As she watched him, “I Did It My Way” gave way to another Sinatra song, “The Way You Look Tonight.” She made a mental checkmark next to that one. It should definitely be on the list. Her sister loved this song. She did, too. They’d grown up with their father blasting Sinatra songs every Sunday afternoon.

“Jesus, this is...” Keiran’s tongue darted out to lick away a trace of whipped cream from his spoon. “Heaven on a spoon,” he finished.

Cherisse felt her face split into a wide grin. He scraped the bottom of the shot glass, doing another of those slow spoon licks that had Cherisse following every move his tongue made. His eyes caught hers, and Cherisse’s neck felt warm. Busted.

His smile was slow, sultry, as he dropped the spoon in the glass. “This definitely makes the dessert menu.”

Her head bobbed up and down. “Yup.” He needed to quit looking at her like that as if she were the next thing he wanted to sample.

He pointed at the parfait cup. “What’s that one?”

She swiped up the cup. “Off-limits. It’s a strawberry Jell-O parfait. Not for sampling.” She dipped her spoon in the mousse on the top and popped it into her mouth. Delicious. She had a few more in the fridge and could share, but did she want to? Not really. She was selfishly possessive of her Jell-O treats.

Keiran shook his head, shoulders shaking with silent laughter. “You weren’t kidding about liking Jell-O, were you? What’s the fascination with it?”

Cherisse shrugged. “I always just liked the wobbliness of it when I was younger. I dunno, it’s a fun thing to eat.”

“You do know what gelatin’s made from, right?”

She narrowed her eyes at him. Of course, she did. Her curiosity about her favorite dessert had sent her on a Google spree. She’d gotten the shock of her life, but then she’d shrugged it off. Who cared what it came from? Jell-O was life.