Page 12 of Abbott’s Lost Spoon

“But?” Sammy asked. He was in his car but either had been just about to leave somewhere or pulled in for the conversation. The other two were both at their places.

“I want to see him again.”

“Look at you, going from ‘I don’t need a daddy’ all the way to ‘How do I see the hot daddy again?’” Luke said.

I pinched my nose. “I’m serious. I don’t know what to do. I like him and it’s not because he’s hot and it’s not because he got me my spoon back.” Although, in hindsight, I was glad it was lost so he could. “It’s just, I like him.”

“So you just go over there and ask him out,” Brock said.

“I can’t do that.” If I could, I wouldn’t be calling them.

“Why not?” Luke asked.

“Reasons.” Which were all basically boiling down to I was scared to make the first move.

“You’re ridiculous. Listen. He’s a daddy from Chained. He met you when you were little. He knows about your spoon. So, of course, he isn’t going to push you to go out. He’s going to want to have at least some space for you to make the decision. That’s what a good daddy does. And giving you back your prized possession and then asking you out could be seen as a power trip.” When did Sammy get to be so smart?

“Okay. But that doesn’t change the fact I don’t want to just ask him out.”

“I think you should.” Luke was going to be the one who pushed hardest. Some friends losing their buddies to daddies would want to hold onto the last one with both hands. Not Luke. He wanted everyone to be happy.

My friends went back and forth, and the more they spoke, the more I decided I wanted to be brave.

“I don’t even have his number.”

“Duh,” Luke said. “You could just call the shop.”

That was better than asking someone for his number, which felt like an invasion of privacy.

“Fine. That’s what I’m going to do. Or maybe I’ll go back to the shop, and I’m just going to ask him.” Both sounded really hard. “I know. How about we all go get ice cream?”

“Abbott,” Sammy said, “you can do this. You don’t need us there. You can just go and do it.”

After a pep talk from them all, I went back to the shop. I nearly turned around multiple times, including when I got there. But he saw me through the window, looked up at me, smiled, and waved. I couldn’t leave after that. So instead, I went in.

“Everything okay?” he asked.

I nodded. “I—I wanted to ask you something. Would you maybe want to go out sometime, like, on a date?”

“I’d like that.” He pulled out his phone. “Let’s exchange numbers.”

Unlike before, the place was getting really busy and we didn’t get much conversation after swapping numbers, but I was okay with that. My mission had been accomplished.

Once home, I stared at the contact and considered what I should call him. Soren was the obvious answer, but Hot Ice-Cream Daddy didn’t sound too bad either. In the end, I did “Soren, the hot ice-cream daddy.” Because he was all those things and more.

Chapter Ten

Soren

I hadn’t been on a first date in a long time. Partly because I was so busy at work, but also because I hadn’t met anyone I wanted to go out with lately. My last relationship had ended a year or so before I inherited the building, and other than evenings playing at Chained, I’d been on my own, socially. I’d just been too occupied to notice until that certain little showed up in line for a sundae and held up his very special spoon.

How could an ice-cream maker not be charmed by someone who had a spoon just for ice cream?

We were going on a “big” date, this evening, but I wanted there to be an element that might appeal to his little side. I could only ride on my ice-cream laurels for so long, so I did a little research and found a new Ferris-wheel dining experience in a city only an hour away. I liked the idea of combining a ride and a meal and hoped he would too. They were booked out for weeks, but a cancellation at the last minute made it possible for us to go.

I asked him if he wanted to be surprised, and he’d said as long as he knew how to dress, so I told him dressy casual and I’d pick him up at seven. As excited as a teenager on his first date, I drove out of town while we played twenty questions. He was fine with being surprised but also liked the idea of guessing the secret. It was so cute.

“Are we going to a movie?”