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“What? No. There’s cream cheese, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and fresh chives in there. Total fun.”
He raised an eyebrow at her. “Cream cheese? Really?” She nodded and he took a bite. His eyes rolled back in his head. “Oh. Oh, Slick. This…is a sandwich.”
“You like?”
“I love.”
“Sweet. Do you have a blowtorch I could borrow?”
Chris choked a bit on the sandwich and had to rinse it down, eyeing her warily. “Come again?”
“Blowtorch.”
Hawk came in, wiping his hands on his jeans. “Lunch. Nice,” he declared rounding the table. Then he caught sight of Chris’s face. “What’s wrong?” he asked, looking suspiciously at the sandwiches. “They’re not vegan are they?”
“She wants a blowtorch.”
Hawk’s eyes narrowed and he looked at Hayley. “For what?”
“Dessert,” she replied.
Chris watched Hawk consider this. The large sioux didn’t even ask what kind of dessert required such a thing. All he asked was, “Have you ever used a blowtorch before?”
Hayley shook her head. “No, but I read about it in a cook book and I can totally do it. I read it so many times I have mad blowtorch skills now.”
“Mad blowtorch skills,” Hawk repeated. “Without ever having actually touched a blowtorch?”
“Totally,” she declared.
Tex came in and snagged a sandwich. “What’s up, Slick? What’s this? Ham and Cheese?”
“Slick wants a blowtorch,” Hawk told him.
Tex looked at Hayley. “Need some welding done?”
She shook her head. “Making dessert. For you guys. And dinner, too. For poker night. It’s special.”
“Oh, hell yeah,” Tex announced. “Give her one of the small ones,” he said to Chris.
“Wait a minute!” Chris argued. “She doesn’t even know how to use one!”
“Sure she does,” Hawk interjected. “Read a book and everything.”
“Oh, well, if she read the book, sure,” Tex agreed, nodding enthusiastically. “Even better.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Chris cried. “You two are on board with this?”
“Well, we’re gonna supervise her,” Tex said, as though this was obvious. “Duh. Come on. Give the little woman a blowtorch. This could be good.”
“Definitely entertaining,” added Hawk.
Chris rubbed his face with a free hand. “I…” Three pairs of eyes were pinning him down. “I will bring you a blowtorch,” he acquiesced. Hayley squealed. “You will be supervised!” he informed her. “Do not make me regret this!”
“Mad skills!” she insisted, headed toward the door, trying to escape before he changed his mind he figured. Which was probably a good idea. Because the whole blowtorch thing sounded like a very bad idea and he couldn’t believe he’d agreed to it.
“Uh huh. If you hurt yourself….”
“I won’t. Promise! Thanks!” she called out. “See you guys tonight!”
Chris glared at his friends. “If she hurts herself…”
“Supervised!” Tex reminded him, taking a bite of a sandwich. “Oh, God these are good,” he nearly shouted. “We have to give her the blowtorch. These sandwiches are too good not to give her a blowtorch.”
********************
The guys must have hustled through their showers double time because they invaded his house almost an hour earlier than they usually arrived. They organized themselves into a recon unit and headed over to Hayley’s place next door to check on the status of dinner. Hayley handed out casserole dishes, covered serving bowls, and a covered cake stand and led them back to Chris’s place where she made them wash up for dinner and set the table as she took the aluminum foil off the casserole dish. The men gathered around expectantly.
“What is it?” Hawk asked, straining to see.
Hayley peeled the cover off. “Mac and cheese.”
Hawk frowned. “That’s it? I can make that at home.” Tex elbowed him.
Hayley glared at him. “But do you make it with five kinds of cheese, plus fresh Alaskan king crab boiled in beer, and then bake it for an hour so it has a golden parmesan crust?”
Hawk grinned. “You’re like a rock star, you know that, Slick?”
Hayley made plates for everyone that included the Mac and Cheese plus garlic and bacon green beans. She’d made a ton of both. Doc tried to lift the lid of the cake stand to see what was inside, but Hayley slapped his hand and ordered him away. Chris ordered her out of the kitchen as well and set himself to getting beers for everyone so she could relax and enjoy the dinner she’d made. Hawk and Tex fought over the last bit of Mac and Cheese. Doc used the distraction to wolf down the remaining green beans.
Everyone looked at Hayley expectantly. She grinned. “So you guys ready?”
Chris set the blowtorch and the striker down on the island and saw Hayley’s eyes widen in fascination and a tiny bit of fear. “Maybe we should do whatever it is you’re gonna do outside,” he told her.
She licked her lips nervously and nodded, still starting that the hardware. “Okay.” She picked up the cake stand and carried it to the deck, placing in on the wrought iron table. The guys filed out behind her. “Okay,” she repeated and grasped the handle on the top of the lid. “Ta da!” she said, pulling it up to reveal….what, Chris didn’t know. It looked like the world’s largest marshmallow all swirled into spikes all over it. It was a dome of marshmallow-y goodness.
