gets life!”
“He has a song about hairspray,” Ian pointed out.
“And its dangers to the ozone layer.” Gabs grabbed the Italian bread and started slicing it. “Oh yes, I’m aware.”
She was making me nervous with the knife, so I quickly grabbed it from her hand and pushed her out of the way.
“Wow, you’re actually helping instead of drinking all the wine?” Gabi’s eyebrows arched as a disbelieving smile crept across her features.
“I don’t want blood on the bread.” I drew the knife through the loaf. “I do this for all of us. My intentions are purely selfish, I’m starving, and you were cutting the bread like you thought it was . . . me.”
“Bingo.” Gabs winked.
At least she winked.
I shrugged and got back to cutting while Ian’s eyes narrowed in on me and then on Gabs.
Shit.
“What’s for dessert?” I piped up. It was always her job to get the dessert if we brought ingredients for dinner. I was still dropping off baskets, and I had specifically added in two boxes of brownie mix. “Brownies?”
Gab’s mouth fell open, and then she closed it. “I, uh, actually forgot?”
“That’s okay,” said Ian, letting it go.
I’d just dropped off the basket that morning. How the hell had she eaten two boxes of brownies?
“Nothing? Really?” I stopped slicing bread and went over to her pantry, but her tiny body blocked me.
“What are you doing?” She crossed her arms.
“Um, what does it look like I’m doing?”
“Guys!” Ian held up his hands. “We don’t need dessert, no need to start World War Three.”
“You heard him,” Gabs said.
“Move.” I glared.
“No!”
With a grunt, I picked her up and tossed her over my shoulder, then opened the door as her little fists banged into my back.
Empty.
There was nothing in her pantry save for one box of mac and cheese.
Once the door was open she stopped fighting, slumping against me in surrender.
The kitchen fell silent.
What the hell? Pissed, I set her on her feet and carefully gazed at every empty shelf. The pathetic box of mac and cheese didn’t even look new, like the boxes I’d given her.
“Uh, did Serena also take all your food?” Ian joked, though I could tell he was concerned from the way he hovered near Gabs. I was still too angry to say anything.
If she was starving, she should be eating what was in my baskets! Was she seriously that prideful? That she’d dump out free food just because she didn’t want a handout?
With a scowl, I slammed the pantry door.
Gabs jumped a foot, then glared.
“You know what, I’m not hungry,” I snapped, my eyes meeting hers, waiting for her admission, anything. But she was silent, crossing her arms again and staring back in challenge. “I’m gonna head out.”
“I drove,” Ian said.
“I’ll walk.” I needed to leave before I yelled at her or made her cry. Nothing made sense. I couldn’t understand why she wouldn’t just take the food.
Once I was outside in the middle of the sidewalk, I paused.
I’d grabbed a new basket each time.
Meaning if she was dumping the food, she was tossing the baskets in the trash, and it was Tuesday. Trash came Tuesday night.
Yesterday’s and today’s baskets would be in the trash.
I hurried to the back of her house, located her large green trash can, and found my inner raccoon.
Lifting the lid, I started digging through the black bags.
Nothing.
A throat cleared.
I must have been really into my trash digging, because I didn’t hear a damn thing. How hadn’t I heard the squeaky back door open?
“Um . . .” Ian scratched his head. “I’m sure you have a great explanation, right?”
Gabs was standing right behind him.
I snapped the lid to the trash closed as embarrassment washed over me, making my face heat with the awareness that I’d just been caught digging through my enemy’s trash can like a homeless person.
“Yes.” I nodded. “I do have a good reason.”
Ian’s eyebrows arched.
Gabs crossed her arms.
“But . . .” I took two steps back. “First, I have a question for the liar.”
“Liar?” Ian repeated.
“Gabs.” I barked out her name. “You get baskets every day. Baskets full of food. Where the hell are they?”
Her mouth dropped open and then closed. “I, uh, how do you even know about those?”
“Serena.” She wasn’t here to deny it, and I highly doubted Gabs would fact-check me.
“Didn’t know you guys were still . . . cozy,” she accused.
“Cozy enough.” I fought to keep the smirk from my face. She wasn’t jealous, was she? “Now, about those baskets.”
Gabs shook