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She wasn’t going to get it. Grim looked into her eyes, and she seemed so confused. He thought about what Martha said, and he knew Betty was not going to take that next step. She was not going to be able to, so he had to make the choice. He let go of her hands, cupped her face, and then he kissed her.

Grim didn’t leave any room for doubt. He kissed her, moved her so her body was pressed against her kitchen counter, and he finally broke that barrier between them.

****

“You kissed me,” Betty said.

Her lips felt plump and they tingled. Her whole body tingled.

“I kissed you, and I want to go on kissing you.” He opened his mouth but then his cell phone rang, and she watched his jaw clench as he pulled out his cell phone. “I’ve got to go, but tonight, you and I are going to talk.” With that, he kissed her again, grabbed his coffee, and took a sip. “By the way, this is amazing coffee.”

And he left.

Betty was speechless and she looked toward her frozen camera screen. There were two screens, one that had the recording frozen, and one with her waiting to continue. She didn’t know what to do. Her lips were swollen from being kissed. Grim said this wasn’t over and he wanted to kiss her.

Betty stepped away from the counter, then stepped toward it. Now was not the time to panic, so she composed herself, which took her longer than a minute. The moment she was composed, she got back to filming and was able to seal Grim, the kiss, and what seemed like a promise to the back of her mind. She had to finish filming, and she somehow was able to stumble her way through everything.

By five, she was exhausted and she carried the desserts she had made through to the kitchen. Usually, she took them to neighbors, the retirement home, or her aunt took them to the country club.

“Hey, sweetheart,” Martha said, and she turned to see Maeve in the kitchen as well.

“Hey,” Betty said. “Is everything all right?”

“Yeah, yeah, I like to come see Martha and chat,” Maeve said, putting a hand on her aunt’s shoulder.

“It happened during Andy. It was her way of helping me, and we could talk. Otherwise, Andy wouldn’t leave me alone,” Martha said.

“I guess you could say I have come to love our friendly chats,” Maeve said. “Charlotte usually comes, but she has a date with Savage. They look delicious.” Maeve put a hand on her hip. “You really are some cook, aren’t you?”

“I do my best,” Betty said.

“Please, she is just being modest. How was the filming today?”

“It was good. I was able to use up that leftover candy, and I made all of these, which include pudding pots, pies, even cakes and ice creams. I made a bunch of savory stuff as well. Do you want to take it to the country club tomorrow?” Betty asked.

“Country club?” Maeve asked. “Do they pay for this?”

“No, I donate it.”

“She gives it away to neighbors, the retirement home, or anyone who asks for it. Trust me, everyone does, as it is free food. She never charges a dime for all her time and effort.”

“It’s fine. I’m going to be cooking anyway, and I don’t want it to go to waste.”

“Can I take this to the club?” Maeve asked. “Trust me, the guys absolutely love your food, and they will be so happy with all of this. Several of them even wanted to come over for breakfast.”

“Really?” Betty asked.

“Yes, really. Your food is a hit, and they all love it, and they’re not the only ones.” Maeve said. “What do you think?”

“Absolutely. Whatever Martha doesn’t want you can take. I don’t mind.”

“Would you also give me a call whenever you have a large cook-off like this, I know the guys would love it.”

She was not going to stop sending it to the retirement home and the neighbors, but it meant she might be able to get a lot more videos filmed, if there were places for the excess food to go. She didn’t like creating mess. In fact, she had a small series on her channel completely dedicated to using up leftovers, and it was heavily watched. No one wanted food waste.

“Sure, yes, I’d love to,” Betty said.

“Excellent.” Maeve smiled at her.