Page 67 of It's a Brewtiful Day

He tossed a quick glance over my shoulder, out to the dining room. “How’ve you been?”

“Good. I’ve been good.” My gaze fell to my hand with the rolled coins. “You?”

“Good.” A buzzing sounded from his pocket, and he grabbed his phone. “It’s Nina.”

I stepped out of the office, lingering around the counter as he talked.

“They’re here, and I’m about to send them back. What else did you need?” He nodded and closed the door to the office. “One or two? I’ll set them in your car.” He hung up without a goodbye. “She needs two bins of cookies; however, one will still be frozen.”

I set the rolled coins on the counter and followed Elliot into the backroom, after he unlocked the storage room door.

“Wow, looks so different in here with the lights on.” I chuckled slightly. “I can actually see the layout now.”

It was also much smaller than it felt when I was last in there. The storage area was packed tightly with boxes from the floor to the ceiling and the entryway to the locker area wasn’t as big as the lack of vision had me believe. Surprisingly, the locker area was almost bigger than the fridge and freezer.

The door behind me slammed, and I practically jumped into Elliot’s arms.

Giggles that sounded like two schoolgirls who just spied their secret crushes came from the other side.

“What are you two doing?” I marched over and tugged open the door, but it was stuck. “Seriously? Cassandra Louise! You know better.”

“Yeah, I do, I know that you two need to talk. Air your feelings, however, we also need to take the cookies to Nina, so can you hurry up with that?”

“She’s incorrigible.” I threw my hands up in the air.

“I’m starting to suspect my sister is the other half of the meddlesome duo. Her story was pretty rich, believable but rich.” Elliot shook his head and then ran a hand through his thick locks. “She told me … Ah, it doesn’t matter. You’re here now.” His Adam’s apple bobbed. “Let’s give her the cookies so she can leave.”

He opened the freezer and pulled out a box, dropping it in my hands. “Careful, it’s cold.”

“Thank you,” I said sarcastically, but with a shy smile on my face. “I wouldn’t have guessed.”

Taking two steps to the side, he pulled open the fridge door and grabbed a blue-lidded box. “Four dozen chocolate chip cookies ready to serve.”

“How long will it take for the others to thaw?”

“The ones along the edge will be thawed in twenty to thirty minutes.” Bin in hand, he walked over to the door and kicked it with his foot. “Hey, you two. We have the goods.”

“Leave them by the door and step back.”

“Oh, Alice.” Elliot shook his head. “You’re being ridiculous.” All the same though, he stepped back.

“Am I? You told me you have feelings for her,and yet, what’s this I hear you have a girlfriend?” Alice had the same motherly type of voice that Cassie did – no wonder they were such good friends.

The heat flooding into Elliot’s cheeks was turning them a bright crimson red. “I what? I do not.”

“Tell her, not us, but give us the cookies first.” Now Cassie was speaking up. These two ladies were being super ridiculous. The door opened a crack, and her head popped. “Stay back.”

“Oh, grow up,” I groaned. It was all the weaponry I had in me. Just being in Elliot’s presence zapped my ability to think clearly.

She grabbed the first container, handed it back to Alice, and came for the second. “Have fun, you two.”

The storage room door closed again, but the giggles got louder.

With my back to the door, I looked at Elliot and retrieved the car keys from my pocket, dangling them from my finger. “Joke’s on her, I have the keys.”

The move was so quick and unexpected, I didn’t see it coming. I hadn’t even seen the storage room door open.

“No, you don’t.” Alice yanked them out of my hands and tossed the keys out to Cassie, both sporting huge grins. “Got ‘em. Let’s go.”