Page 86 of Call It Serendipity

I wrap my arm tighter around her and press a kiss into her hair. “You tell me when you want to wallow and I’ll join you for that too.”

“Jake?”

“Hmm.”

“I’m really happy serendipity crossed our paths.”

My lips pull into a smile against the top of her head. “Are you saying you believe in such things?”

“I believe in this.”

My heart swells. That’s close enough for me.

48

“Do you think this is too much butter?” I ask, holding up the skillet. There is far more than the cup that Alice’s recipe called for melted inside. So, I’m guessing the answer is yes.

The soft fragrances of onion, celery, garlic, and sage waft through the air as I swing around to show Claire the ratio of flavor base to melted margarine.

Knife poised in the air, she pauses work on cutting the bread loaf into tiny cubes and leans over. Her nose tips up, too, as she breathes in the savory stuffing base.

“Is there really such thing as too much butter?” she replies with another sniff.

“What would your grandmother say? It is her recipe.”

We both smile, knowing full well that Alice would never object to extra butter.

“Once the stuffing soaks overnight, are we putting it in the turkey?” I ask, returning the skillet to the burner and turning to face her again.

Claire’s face sours as she brings the knife down on the bread. “No,” she huffs. “Levi wants to deep fry the turkey outside in the driveway. Apparently that’s a thing now.”

“How is he even going to do that?”

“Mack put the idea in his head when we invited him. Apparently, he can bring the equipment from the farm.”

I frown. “That sounds dangerous.”

“Agreed.” She slices through the last bit of bread then dumps the squares into the nearby casserole dish. “They can ruin the meat all they want, but they aren’t getting near our carbs.”

“Amen to that.” I give the skillet one last shake then carry it across the kitchen to pour over the bread. “Speaking of carbs, should we start on the sweet potatoes or is that cutting it close to the new Friends episode tonight?”

Claire glances at the wall clock hanging by the phone. “I think we have time, but I also don’t want to miss it. The TV Guide said this episode is called The One with All the Thanksgivings. How perfect is that?”

“So perfect.” I flip off the burner and come over to lean against the counter beside her. “I’m going to miss this,” I whisper, nudging her shoulder with mine.

She nudges me back. “Me too.”

“Who is going to watch Friends with me every Thursday night?”

“Are you kidding? I’ll be back over here weekly for it.”

I turn to face her. “Really?”

“It’s going to be like I’m not even gone. To the point where you’re going to want to kick me out to be able to do Jake in the middle of the day,” she taunts with a wiggle of her eyebrows.

“Oh my gosh, I knew that was going to be brought back up!” I give her a playful shove.

Claire lets out a whoop in response as I’m saved by the phone ringing. “It’s probably him calling,” she teases, watching me hurry across the kitchen to answer.