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“Dean,” Gracie whispered, laying a hand on his arm.
Dean stared at Zara silently and Raina turned away; she didn’t need—or want—to get caught up in the sibling drama.
“Why don’t we bring the desserts outside?” Raina suggested, cutting off the conversation. They’d been allotted several plastic tables for the bake sale, and Raina planned to make the Ashcrofts do all the heavy lifting. They might have been clueless in the kitchen, but they could—hopefully—manage to set up a few tables without incident. She reached into one of the cabinets and pulled out the tablecloths they’d purchased. “Theo, do you mind running ahead and setting up a table?”
“Not at all. Nicole, want to come and help me?”
“Not really.”
“Let me rephrase that. Nicole, come help me.”
Nicole rolled her eyes and let out a huff, but slid off the kitchen counter. “If I must.”
“Great. That leaves Jesse to help bring out the desserts,” Theo said, shooting a wink at Raina before leaving with Nicole.
Raina shook her head, but couldn’t help grinning as Jesse approached to take some of the cupcakes from her. “Ready to sell 25,000 dollars worth of cupcakes?” she joked.
Jesse tossed his cropped curls. “I was born ready.”
Leaving Zara, Dean, and Gracie in the kitchen, the pair headed down the Trinity halls.
“I have a college essay topic for you,” Jesse threw out randomly, interrupting the comfortable silence.
Raina’s gaze flickered over to him before it returned to the tray of cupcakes in her hands. “Do tell.”
“You should write about the hotel. How it means a lot to you, how you organized a campaign to save it, and how you’ll bring that determination to college with you. You told me the hotel was founded on Jewish values, right? Well, you can tie that into your beliefs or something.”
Raina thought about it. She thought about it some more, and as they approached the main doors, a smile crept onto her face. “That might be the best suggestion I’ve heard all day. Part of me wants to blow off the bake sale and start writing right away.”
“But then you’d have nothing to write about,” Jesse teased, turning and using his shoulder to push open the doors.
“My mom called me last night. She asked me about college applications and my GPA and all that, and I wanted to tell her to stop talking because she was stressing me out.”
“Did you?”
“Oh god, of course not. One of the biggest rules in the Torah—that’s our book of laws—is to respect your mother and father. And respecting your mother most definitely does not include telling her to shut up. But at least now I’ll have something to tell her next time she asks how the essay is going, so thank you.”
Jesse didn’t respond until they’d finished arranging the baked goods on the tables Theo and Nicole had prepared. “Raina?”
“Yes?”
“Just make sure you’re writing this essay because you want to, not because your mom wants you to.”
* * *
“Go,” Jesse hissed, poking his best friend in the back.
Nicole glared at him but obliged, grudgingly walking to where Raina was standing by one of the tables. Jesse had been watching Raina straighten leftover cookies for a good thirty seconds, and when Nicole had appeared by his side, he’d instantly taken the opportunity.
“Coh—Raina, I…I hadfuntoday. This was…a…a good idea.” Nicole looked as if the words physically pained her.
To her credit, Raina’s expression didn’t change, despite the shock that was probably coursing through her veins. “Thanks, Nicole. I appreciate all your help.”
Nicole mumbled something in return, her body stiffening as if preparing to make a mad dash away from the conversation. Jesse chose that moment to sweep in, wrapping an arm around Nicole and smiling at Raina.
“We’re doing well,” he commented, lifting his chin toward the nearly empty tables. With only thirty minutes left until the official end of the bake sale, there were only a few remaining treats. Gracie and Dean had just left, and Theo and Zara were chatting by one of the other tables. “How much do you think we made?”
“I don’t know,” Raina replied. “But I’ll count the money when we end.”
