“Bree,” Lyssa muttered.
“What? It’s a normal question!” Bree defended herself. “It’s just a fun little fling thing?”
Lukas chuckled. “I wouldn’t say that. I’m hanging onto her for as long as she’ll have me.” He turned to me. “You running away anytime soon?”
I snorted. “No plans as of yet.”
He squeezed my hand. “Awesome. Let’s keep it that way,” he said as Gina cooed from across the sectional.
“So, Liam,” Ritchie started.
“Lukas.”
“I said that,” Ritchie said, shooting me a look. “Lukas, what do you do for a living?”
“I own a real estate company.”
“Damn, you own a real estate company in New York City? That’s gotta make a lot of money,” Ritchie said, leaning forward. “Tell me something – are you Lia’s investor?”
I stared at Ritchie as Lukas laughed. “No, I’m not. I would’ve loved to be but I don’t think she would’ve accepted that,” he answered, looking at me. “Would you have?” he asked, lowering his voice.
“Not in a million years,” I whispered with a grin.
“Didn’t think so,” Lukas smirked. When we looked back up, everyone was whispering together except Gina, who smiled at us.
“I hear you make chocolate for a living!” she said excitedly.
“I do,” I smiled. “I actually brought some for everybody in case you’re curious to try.”
“Oh, totally! Yes!”
Reaching into my purse, I pulled out a square box of sixteen truffles that everyone, even Ritchie, oohed and ahhed over. I couldn’t help but glow with pride because every row of round chocolates did look beautiful, their shells perfectly smooth and shiny, their colors complementing each other. There were colors ranging from periwinkle to cream, and toppings ranging from cinnamon sugar to flecks of dried lavender. When Lyssa asked me to explain each one, I gladly did, smiling the whole time because I could almost feel Lukas’s pride as he rubbed my back.
“The first row is Earl Grey lavender truffles, the second row is rum raisin, the third is chestnut and the last one is dark chocolate with a churro feuilletine. I know the colors are bright but don’t worry, it’s tinted cocoa butter and it’s all completely edible,” I said, genuinely happy as I watched everyone dig in.
“Damn, I don’t know what a foo-ya-teen is but it tastes like fucking heaven,” Lyssa practically growled, staring at the other half of the truffle she’d bitten into. I breathed out in relief, almost certain I felt something in the air change for the better as everyone tried a piece of chocolate.
“That’s it. I’m taking your ass to Spain,” Lukas whispered in my ear, feeding me the other half of the churro feuilletine truffle. I held in my giggle as he squeezed my knee. “You think I’m kidding? I’m going to buy us one of every nut or spice I see out there and I’m going to spend every morning watching you make chocolate while you’re ass naked.”
“Lukas,” I giggled.
“Don’t you want that? I want that,” Lukas grinned.
“Oh, you two – just stop,” Bree interrupted. “We’ve got enough sweetness with the chocolates, we can’t have you guys being all couple-ly and cute or we’ll need fuckin’ root canals.”
I snorted. “How do you like the Earl Grey lavender, Bree?”
“Is this a serious question? It’s like, the best thing I’ve ever eaten. I could eat this and the hazelnut one for the rest of my life and be set.”
“Classic Bree exaggeration,” Stephen rolled his eyes. He looked at me. “Though I gotta admit, this rum raisin is dope. I think it’s getting me drunk. Yo – how the hell do you make these so shiny?”
“Proper tempering. And the molds I use do help,” I replied just as I heard my phone start to buzz angrily against my keys in my purse. I frowned. “Weird. Sorry, I did put that thing on silent.”
“If someone calls twice in a row, the second call comes through,” Lyssa offered. “Meaning it could be an emergency. You should pick it up or at least see who it is.”
“Oh, shit. Good to know,” I said with genuine surprise that made everyone chuckle and laugh. Fishing through my purse, I found my phone, letting out a little gasp when I saw that it was Elaine Gardner calling. “It’s Elaine,” I whispered to Lukas with wide eyes.
“Who’s Elaine?” Ritchie asked.