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Faith waved a hand. Megan was getting the impression she liked to express herself with them. “Oh, please. Girl, you’re gorgeous as all get out, and you must know it.”
Her cheeks burned. Charles hadn’t thought the way she looked was good enough. She’d had potential, he’d told her, if only she would try a little harder. Perhaps not eat quite so many cakes, and attend regular appointments at the beauty salon.
She lifted her chin and said, “Well if I’m Emma Watson, you must be a fifties Alexandra Breckenridge.”
Faith stared at her for so long that she wondered whether she’d said the wrong thing. But then she pointed a finger. “Tee, I like this one. You need to keep her.” To Megan, she said, “How do you feel about experimental flavors?”
“I love them.”
“Do you have any allergies? Anything you hate?”
“Nope. I’m game to try whatever you’ve got.”
“Fantastic.” She spun around, her skirt flaring, and strode to the chiller. The heels of her pumps clacked on the floor. The shoes were as quirky as the rest of her outfit, pale green with a white trim and straps crisscrossing the tops of her feet. She grabbed a waffle cone and rolled ice cream from two different tubs. Megan withdrew her purse from her pocket, preparing to part with some of her cash, but Faith stopped her with a shake of her head.
“First one is on the house, as long as you promise you’ll come back before you leave.”
“Really?” No one in Auckland would ever have just given their product away. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely. I want your opinion. The top scoop is hot chili and the bottom is buttermilk.”
Tentatively, she licked the pink scoop. At first, nothing much happened. Then, after a few seconds, her tongue started to tingle. She tasted more, and warmth spread through her, the same way it might if she’d eaten a hot curry, but the heat was pleasant rather than burning, and the cream soothed the inside of her mouth. The combination was strange. Perhaps not something she’d want to eat on a midsummer day, but she liked it.
“It’s good,” she told Faith, who was awaiting the verdict. “The heat is well balanced, and the texture is smooth. I don’t think it’ll be something that everyone loves, but some people will.”
Faith’s white teeth flashed. “You don’t think it’s too much?”
“Not at all.” She moved to the bottom, already expecting to like it. Buttermilk was something many people were wary of, but as someone who spent a lot of time experimenting in the kitchen, she knew it could be delicious if used properly. The ice cream didn’t disappoint. “Okay, that’s amazing.”
“You like?”
“I love.”
Faith clapped her hands, her manicure glittering beneath the overhead lights. “And I love you.” Her attention didn’t leave Megan as she scooped hazelnut and chocolate ice cream into a cone and handed it to Tione. “Seriously, how long are you staying?”
Megan shrugged, then wiped her upper lip. “I’m not sure yet. Maybe a day, maybe forever.”
“You’re thinking of moving here?” The question came from Tione.
“I am. It seems like a nice place.” As good a place as any, and she didn’t want to return to Auckland, where everything reminded her of Charles, or of her own weakness.
“You should do it,” Faith told her. “I need a foodie friend.”
Suddenly, she felt shy. She didn’t know how to initiate a friendship. It had been a long time since she’d had to, because she’d known most of her friends forever, or met them through her sister. What would it feel like to start a friendship with nothing but her own merit to recommend her? And how terrifying would it be to let someone that close to her again?
She ducked her head. “I’m not in a hurry to make a decision.”
“Well, if you’re still in the area a couple weeks from now, you should come with me to the food festival. I dragged Bex along to the last one, but her heart wasn’t in it.”
She nodded, despite having no idea who Bex was. “If I’m still around, I’d like that.”
It was the best she could do. Faith’s expression dropped, and Megan could tell she’d been hoping for a more definite answer, but she wasn’t in a position to be giving those to anyone.
The other woman picked herself up. “What kind of baking do you do?”
Megan smiled. This, she could talk about.
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