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“Shut up, Dean,” Jesse shot back, elbowing his cousin.
Theo snickered as he measured sugar into a bowl. “Not to change the subject, but where’s Zara? Shouldn’t she be helping?”
“I have no clue,” Gracie answered. “I saw her in the dorm this morning, but she disappeared sometime between getting dressed and breakfast.”
“Maybe she’s doing homework,” Theo suggested, brushing his dark hair out of his face. Immediately he yelped, hustling over to the sink to clean the flour and sugar off his forehead.
Dean snorted. “Sorry, Theo, but if you say that, you don’t know my sister. There’s no way in hell Zara’s doing homework on a Sunday morning.”
“Stop!” Raina cried suddenly, causing Jesse to freeze. She narrowed her eyes at the salt and measuring spoon in his hands, shaking her head. “Jesse, that’s a tablespoon, not a teaspoon!”
“Oops,” Jesse said sheepishly. “My bad.”
“It’s okay,” Raina replied. She took the tablespoon from him, returning it to the drawer before handing him the correct tool. “We just don’t want a tablespoon of salt in the cookies.”
“Can you tell that I’ve never baked before?” Jesse chuckled.
“Well, other than the tablespoon-teaspoon thing, and the dropping-half-the-flour-on-the-counter thing, you’re doing pretty well. At least you know how to separate the shell from the egg.” She shot a teasing smile at Theo, who blushed.
“I’m a spoiled child who’s had chefs all my life!” Theo defended.
Raina raised an eyebrow at Dean, who held up his hands in innocence. “Hey, I can bake. Don’t lump me in with those idiots.”
“I take offense to that!” Jesse called. “You’re an idiot, too.”
“Oh, Jesse, are we talking about you?” Nicole asked, shooting her best friend a smirk as she entered the kitchen.
Dressed in an expensive-looking black lace top and dark jeans, she looked ready to walk the runway instead of joining them for a messy morning of baking. But shehadshown up, and Raina had to work extremely hard to keep from commenting on that fact alone.
“Got held up in my dorm,” Nicole announced.
“We’re talking about Theo,” Dean replied, handing Gracie a stick of butter. “And you’re in time to preheat the oven, Nicole.”
Nicole turned to the oven, frowning in confusion. “To...what?”
“Preheat the oven,” Raina repeated patiently. Much like the Ashcrofts, she assumed Nicole had never baked for herself before. “It’s when you turn the oven on a few minutes before you’re ready to start baking so it can get hot.”
Nicole was silent as she eyed the buttons. “And how do I do that?”
“It’s simple.” Raina stepped up next to her. “Here, you press this button, and then that one there. All good, see?”
Nicole nodded, obeying Raina’s directions before she turned away sharply. “Jesse, how can I help?” she asked, rolling up her sleeves.
For a while, all was calm in the kitchen. Nicole passed Jesse ingredients as he did his best not to mess up the cookies, Dean instructed Theo on how to properly add chocolate chips to the brownies, and Gracie and Raina were able to bake cupcakes without worrying about the others every few seconds. It was a bit crowded with six people in the small room, but they fell into a smooth rhythm. The biggest mishap was when one of the cookie sheets came out a bit burnt because Jesse forgot to set the oven timer, but all in all, Raina considered the morning a success.
“Ooh, cookies!” Zara entered the kitchen shortly after they finished, reaching out to snatch one from a tray. Her curls swung behind her in a high ponytail as she danced her way around the island, grabbing Dean’s water bottle from the counter.
“No cookies until after the sale,” Raina warned. “And where have you been all morning?”
“Around.” Zara shrugged, taking a sip from Dean’s water bottle. “It’s still early, you know.”
“It’s eleven thirty,” Dean pointed out.
“Like I said, early.”
Dean shook his head, shooting a glance at Raina and Gracie. “Who were you hanging out with?”
“No one,” Zara said casually, but Raina picked up on the slight hitch in her voice. Had Zara been talking about Tehilla? Did Dean even know about that?
