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“Yes, Mr. Archie, we have.” With that less than subtle reminder, he set Archie’s coffee down and then withdrew.
I bit my lip and stole a look at Archie’s grandfather, who wore a bit of a bemused expression as he sipped his coffee. “Sprout, would you like me to excuse myself for the evening? Or did you want to continue our conversation?”
Archie shot me a look, then glanced at his grandfather. “After Jeremy brings the sundae, Grandpa, I’d like to continue it, and Frankie can be here for that if she doesn’t mind. It involves her, too.”
“I didn’t mean to interrupt…”
“You didn’t,” Archie assured me. “Like I said, I wanted to make sure it could happenbeforeI told you, but this really does involve you.” After a beat, he frowned. “You still good? You comfortable? I should have asked that when you got here…”
“I’m fine, I’m sore and achy, but not hurting.” That said, however, I shifted to sit sideways. “But I can call Coop to come and pick me up, or get Jake to swing by after the game. I don’t want to interrupt your reunion.”
“No,” Archie said firmly. “If you need to go somewhere, I’ll take you, and you’re not interrupting.”
He paused on his next words as Jeremy re-entered, and I goggled a little at the tray he carried. I had to shift again so he could place the tray over my lap and present me with the hot fudge cake sundae that had my mouth watering from the smell.
“Jeremy…this looksawesome.” In addition to the hot brownie square on the bottom and what looked like actual hot fudge poured over a hefty scoop of ice cream, he’d crowned it with whip cream, nuts, and two cherries. There were also two spoons on the tray—thankfully, ’cause no way could I eat all of this on my own.
Well, I could, but I probably shouldn’t.
“Enjoy it, Miss Frankie. Mr. Archie may join in when you’ve had enough.”
I wasn’t the only one hiding a smile at Jeremy’s ‘instructions.’
“Can I get you anything else?” Jeremy checked with all of us.
“Thanks Jere,” Archie answered. “We’re good.”
“Feel free to buzz for me if you require anything further.” Then he exited as smoothly as he arrived. Even after four years, it was still weird that Jeremy, a butler-cook-house manager and general good guy, seemed always prepared to wait on us.
“Go on,” Archie nudged me with an indulgent grin. “Take a bite. I can wait for your chocolate-gasm to dive back in.”
My face heated at the tease, particularly when his grandfather chuckled. Still, I settled for just sticking my tongue at Archie rather than retaliating verbally. The first spoonful of hot brownie, cold ice cream, fudge, with a little whip cream and nuts was to die for.
I think my taste buds literally exploded with delight. I was four more bites in before Archie’s soft laughter jarred me out of my dessert induced haze.
“Yeah yeah,” I mumbled, sure to wipe my mouth with the napkin Jeremy had thoughtfully provided. “Chocolate-gasm achieved. You may proceed.”
“You sure?” he asked, still grinning. “I don’t mind waiting, and I think Grandpa is just barely holding off sugar shock while you dive in.”
Without thinking twice about it, I flipped Archie off, and he cracked up. All at once, my gaze collided with Ted’s, and I winced.
“You remind me of Sprout’s grandmother,” he told me. “She didn’t put up with his teasing either.”
“Eh, she gave as good as she got.” The raw affection in both of their voices made me smile. “Frankie’s pretty good about that, too.”
Archie and his grandmother had been close. She took him to all those places. Made me wonder what drove his parents and his grandparents apart, or was it losing her that had done it?
Not my place to ask though.
“Anyway,” Archie said, after taking another swallow of coffee. He settled a hand on my lower back, just resting it there, and I sighed at the contact, even as I took another bite. “I called because I turn eighteen soon.”
“In a little over a week,” Ted agreed. “I’m aware. Planned to call you first thing that morning. Then I got your message.”
The corner of Archie’s mouth quirked up as he began to rub my back in slow, even circles. “It was important. Maybe a little too important to wait.”
“Tell me what’s going on.” Almost at once, the jovial man vanished, and one of sober seriousness faced us, even as he set his coffee cup aside. “You might also tell me where your parents are, while we’re at it.”
“Muriel’s at a spa retreat in Arizona,” Archie answered in this flat tone he got when he discussed his parents. I set my spoon down and rested my hand on his thigh in solidarity. He cast me a quick smile before looking at his grandfather. “Edward could be around, or he could be back in Europe. He’s not one for informing me of his itinerary.”
