“The talking with his mouthful?” Nax smirks and takes a bite, talking through it. “I taught him that.”
This earns a grin from Josh, and a stomach churn of need from me. Knowing he would be here and actually seeing him face-to-face for the first time in two months are two very separate things. I’d prepared myself, or so I thought. Who am I kidding? I had no clue I would be this impacted. Part of me wants to slap his face, the other wants to sit on his lap.
While I push my food around, Evan and Nax move into a discussion on the impact of movies versus sculpture and painting. My brother is unwilling to accept how film has had a greater impact in modern day culture. Everyone at the table listens to their debate until Will calls everyone’s attention to me.
“Isn’t your pasta good?”
I glance to Nax, “It’s delicious. Your caterer is very good.” Locking eyes with Will I smile, “I’m just not very hungry.”
“Want dessert?”
With everyone staring at me, I admit, “I love dessert.”
He points to an ice cream maker I hadn’t seen. “They have fudge and everything!”
“Not all of my dad’s films have that,” Joe adds with authority, “I asked for it on this one, so he made sure they had one.”
Eager for a way out of here, and an avid fan of ice cream, I rise from the table. “Who doesn’t love hot fudge?”
The boys shoot up from their seats and, as we walk together, I feel a huge weight lifted. Children are so much easier to be around than a much-too-handsome dark cloud who won’t look at me, yet who I’m painfully aware of. I’m so angry that he even exists, it’s driving me crazy. The pull to him is so strong it’s making me question my sanity. Why would I be attracted to someone who’s so rude to me? It’s not a question of low self-esteem. I’m a pretty secure woman. So why does he undo me like this?
I have to stay away from him.
We arrive at a folding table bearing the weight of a soft-serve machine surrounded by stainless steel containers offering a variety of deliciousness. The boys take turns pointing out each one, Will first.
“Sprinkles.”
“Fudge.”
“Strawberries!”
“These are cashews.”
Will frowns, “Those are peanuts.”
Joe looks closer. “Maybe they’re peanuts. Huh, last time they were cashews, that’s why I thought it. Cherries!”
With finality Will declares, “Caramel! Ta da!” blue eyes filled with concentration as he asks, “Which one do you want, Tempest?”
“Hmm. Tough call. They all look so good. My first instinct was fudge, however caramel is not normally available.”
He nods, “Fudge is more common.”
“Let’s go for caramel then, with peanuts. You wanna make it for me?” Including Joe, I smile, “Wow me.”
Together they work until I’ve got a bowl with enough ice cream for three people and caramel for five. Will lifts a cherry with tongs, carefully placing it atop their masterpiece. “There! It needed a final touch.”
“Wow guys!” Taking the offering I grin, “This is impressive! Aren’t you having any?”
Will touches his stomach. “I ate a lot of Crafty.”
“Too much?”
Disappointed he sighs, “Yeah.”
Joe shrugs, “That’s okay. You’re coming back tomorrow right?”
“That’s right! I am!”
Unable to hold curiosity at bay, I snoop, “You and your dad are coming back?”
“Dad’s speaking at three high schools tomorrow. Joe gets bored being here all alone when his dad is working.”
I glance to Joe’s reluctant nod. “I’m used to sets.”
“I can imagine you’d run out of things to do,” I offer.
“Uh huh. And Dad’s busy so…”
“Can you watch the scenes being filmed or do you have to wait somewhere else?”
Not wanting to disparage his father’s work, or take the fun out of movie-making for Will, Joe is slow to admit, “Sometimes I get to watch them. Unless the actors need a closed set for privacy. But when they switch up camera angles and do them over and over and…it can get pretty boring. It’s not like in the movie where you see the best parts.”
Will grins, “I want to see them mess up their lines!”
Coming back to life, Joe says, “It’s really funny when they do that!”
“We can throw cherries at them, like they used to do on stage when actors sucked!”
“Dad would ground me for months!”
Will waves, “Worth it.”
“My ice cream is melting so I’m going back to the table. I’ll tell you what, guys.” They huddle with me as I whisper, “I know nothing about any cherry throwing. If some goes missing from that container, I didn’t see it.” The boys mischievously grin, and I head off. But my smile fades as I lock eyes with Josh.
How long was he watching us?
My eyes sharpen and I silently challenge him, give me your best shot, jerk. There’s nothing wrong with getting a little damn ice cream. Or a lot.
Reclaiming my seat I discover my brother and Nax are still in full debate, Evan only pausing to pick up a spoon, “Is that caramel?!” and dig in without asking me, just as he’s always done.
Josh is still watching me, I can feel it. I lock eyes with him, push the bowl closer to my brother, and stand up. “Where’s the bathroom?”
With a knowing look Zia rises from her seat. “I’ll show you.”
Chapter 11
The crew went back to work before lunch was over for the cast and background actors, so the warehouse is a tornado of activity again, Nax leading the way into it. “We’re about to shoot an action scene which you all can watch. After that it’ll be a closed set for most of the day. You want to stick around for this?”
Will shouts, “Can we, Dad?”
Just as interested in action scenes as he is, I grin, “Totally!”
But Tempest clears her throat. “Um, we’re taking off.”
Her brother stares like she’s nuts. “We are?”
“I have to be at work, remember?”
“I thought that wasn’t until tonight.”
“Traffic,” she insists, “We’re not taking the subway, Evan. We had to take a Lyft.”
“Even
