I could see from Chloe’s expression what it meant to her that she’d been invited, but her elation quickly morphed into a frown. “I so wish I could!” She pulled out her phone and glanced at the screen. “I have class in forty-five minutes.” She leaned forward to hug me one more time. “Seriously though,” she whispered in my ear. “The two of you. It’s so perfect!”

We watched as she hurried to her car and pulled down the drive, waving before she turned and disappeared from view. I followed Jamie inside, stopping at the entry table where Chloe had left her plate of African-shaped cookies. I picked one up, careful not to smudge the icing that lined the continent and highlighted the region where Cooper would be serving. “Wow,” I said. “She had a busy afternoon.”

“That’s Chloe for you,” Jamie said. “She’s always doing stuff like this.”

“I think maybe she has a little bit of a crush on you.”

He lifted his shoulders in a playful shrug. “Who doesn’t?”

I rolled my eyes. He was ridiculous. He put his hands on either side of my waist, pulling me toward him. Ridiculous, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the feel of my body pressed against his. He leaned in for a kiss but froze inches from my face when his brother called to him from the kitchen.

“Jamie? Where are you?” Dave yelled.

Jamie frowned. “Seriously? I’ve been gone twenty seconds.”

I grinned. “Come on. I want to meet Katie.”

“Hey, Lane,” Dave said when we entered the kitchen. “I’m glad you’re here. You can help too.” He grabbed a couple of spoons out of a drawer to the left of the stove and dipped them into the saucepan sitting on the front burner. A woman I assumed had to be Katie stood beside him. Her straight brown hair was piled high on top of her head, and she wore a striped apron that made her look as if she belonged in the kitchen. It almost made me wish I liked to cook. Almost.

“Don’t make them taste it,” Katie said. “It’s fine.”

“Taste what?” Jamie asked.

“Whatever it is, it smells delicious,” I said.

“Here.” Dave handed us each a spoon. “It’s caramel sauce for the bread pudding. She says it needs something, but we can’t figure out what.”

I took the spoon and blew on the still-steaming sauce, my hand cupped underneath in case it dripped.

Jamie swallowed his down and tossed his spoon into the sink. “Tastes good to me.”

Dave rolled his eyes. “Says the guy who thinks Cocoa Puffs make a good dessert. Lane? What do you think?”

I tasted the now-cool sauce, holding it on my tongue long enough to really get the flavor. “I’m not a chef by any stretch,” I said, “but I think maybe it needs a little more salt.”