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“Hm.” She nodded. “Got ’em though, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, they only had to special order them for me.”
“Surrendering to your passion is a good thing. Listen to what speaks to you, then make it happen. And make it happen beautifully.” Her blue eyes sparkling, Grams held onto her shoulders and drove the point home. “Absolute love. Passion. That’s where you’ll find joy. Settling for less will never feel right.”
“We’re not talking about peaches, are we?”
“Anything in life, dear.” Smiling, she gave her arm a soft pat. “Now, let’s get started on the panna cotta.”
As Arien pulled the coconut macaroon base out of the oven, Tanner strolled into the kitchen. “Goddamn, something smells good. Hi, Grandma.” He pecked her cheek, then peeked over Arien’s shoulder. “Whatcha makin’?”
“Cake.”
“For tomorrow?”
“No, I’m not baking my own birthday cake. That would be pathetic.” She turned around. “It’s a trial run for my blog project.”
“You’ll be trying out some coconut macaroon peach panna cotta cake for dessert tonight,” Grams added with a nod.
“Isn’t that what we had at that Italian place in Denver?” He grinned. “After the weddin’?”
“It is.” Kellan pushed off the doorframe he’d apparently been leaning against. Arien hadn’t even noticed he was there. “She wanted seconds, so I put a big, ole slab on her plate. Ate up every damn crumb too, didn’t ya, baby cakes?” He winked at her.
Grams raised her perfectly arched brows. “Baby cakes?”
“Yeah.” He chuckled. “Fits her.”
“Uh-huh.”
Walking over to her, Kellan half cocked his head. “What happened to the chocolate?”
“Told you, I’m not into chocolate.”
“This one reminds you of home, don’t it?” Tanner tucked some hair behind her ear. “You miss it.”
“Arien is home,” Kellan insisted.
“I just really loved the panna cotta. I do miss Denver, though,” she admitted. “Can’t get a green chili cheeseburger around here to save my life.”
His features hardening, Kellan tucked his tongue into the corner of his lips. Glaring at the UC emblem blazoned across her chest, he snickered. “Right.”
She watched him bolt out of the kitchen. “What the hell?”
Grams silently stood there, pressing her lips together.
Tanner shrugged. “Don’t know how many times I gotta say it, Kel’s a moody fucker.”
He took his cranky ass upstairs right after supper. Didn’t even stay for dessert.
Fuck him.
“Since it’s your birthday eve, why don’t you pick the movie, sweetie?” Her mom held out the remote.
“That’s okay, Mom, you pick,” Arien said, settling herself on the opposite side of the leather sectional next to Tanner. “There isn’t anything special I want to watch.”
“Oh, we can watch that Harry & Meghan documentary.” Jennifer began scrolling through Netflix. “I haven’t seen it yet.”
“No, Mom. Please, anything but that.” Vehemently shaking her head, she extended her hand. “I changed my mind. Give me the remote.”
