ramekin.”
“I agree.” Meg couldn’t help but wonder what other treasures the journal held. Every time she read a few pages, it was like stepping back in time, into Davina’s life. It must have been fascinating to experience the Inn during its heyday. Had Davina made these same recipes for its guests back then?
Taylor cleared the dishes from the table and Meg got up to make a pot of coffee to drink with dessert, still thinking about the journal. Back in Davina’s time, all of the food at the Inn had been prepared in the same kitchen Celia had used for most of her life. Meg, accustomed to working in larger restaurant kitchens, couldn’t imagine cooking large quantities of food in such a small space. Although they didn’t plan to use the Inn’s kitchen for large-scale cooking on a regular basis, Meg had lent her knowledge and years of experience to design the renovation of it for efficiency.
Once the coffee was percolating noisily into the pot, Meg took the icebox cake out of the freezer. As she’d suspected, it hadn’t frozen completely, but she was still able to slice off two pieces without it falling apart. She put the rest of the cake back to allow it to finish freezing. Later, she’d offer some to her mom and sisters to see what they thought.
With fresh coffee and cake in front of them, Meg and Taylor sat back down at the table. “Are these Oreos?” Taylor asked as he cut into his dessert with the side of his fork.
“Yup.” She watched him closely, hoping he’d like it.
“I didn’t realize they had Oreos back then. I always assumed they were a more recent invention.” He took a big bite and chewed thoughtfully.
“I didn’t either. Apparently, they’ve been around since 1912. Who knew?” She ate a forkful of the chilled cake, letting the morsel of creamy chocolate treat rest on her tastebuds. Ordinarily, she wasn’t much of a baker, but this hadn’t involved an oven, so was it even considered baking? Whatever the case, it was tasty—but she hadn’t met many sweets that she didn’t enjoy. “What do you think?”
He looked up from his plate and took a sip of coffee before responding. “It’s good. Not too sugary. I think it’ll be refreshing on a hot day.”
Relief flooded over her. All three of the recipes were a success. “It’s supposed to be in the high seventies tomorrow.” She took another bite. It could use a little more vanilla, but that was the only thing she planned to tweak for serving it at the grand opening.
“Good.” He stared at her and his lips quivered like he was trying not to laugh. Suddenly, he reached across the table.
The world came to a stop as he brushed the rough pad of his thumb over her cheek, the pleasurable sensation sending a warmth down her neck and into her spine. When she recovered, she shot him a quizzical look.
The color had drained from his complexion. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know why I did that. There were crumbs on your face and I thought it was funny and…” He shook his head. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”
She responded quickly, trying to stop him from spiraling. “It’s fine. I totally understand. I’m always embarrassing my family with how messily I eat. I’m sure any of them would have done the same.”
“But I’m not someone in your family.” He avoided making eye contact with her as he drained his coffee, jumped to his feet and set the plate and cup in the sink. “I’d better get going. I forgot I need to take care of some administrative tasks at the Lodge before the dinner rush starts.”
She jumped up from her chair. “Oh, of course. Thank you so much for being my guinea pig.”
“You’re welcome.” Taylor removed his apron and hung it back on the hook, swapping it out for his jacket. He was at least ten paces ahead of her as he exited the kitchen, the door clicking shut behind him.
Meg stared at the exit, her vision glazing over. Taylor had been running hot and cold lately. One minute he was the sweet, funny guy she’d known for a couple of years, and the next, he was so standoffish that they might have been strangers. Something was bothering him, and she hoped his generosity in giving up his free time to help her wasn’t contributing to it.
She busied herself with chopping vegetables and making ten more rectangular icebox