Page 49 of The Councilor

“This man here, as suave as he is, doesn’t have a favorite flavor. How about two boat containers with three different selections each? Your best ones.”

The girl behind the counter seemed ecstatic. “Oh, that’s fabulous. Let me grab the most delicious choices for you.”

Raphaella turned back to me, gripping my shirt with both hands. “You will sit for a few minutes and enjoy. Unless you want a sticky mess all over that nice car of yours.”

I had to laugh. “Of course we can.”

The woman truly thought I didn’t live any kind of normal life. Given the very limited information I’d just heard about her childhood, I couldn’t say I blamed her. Sharing an apartment with girlfriends was likely the most normal world she’d known.

I was only vaguely aware of the flavors being selected. The truth was I didn’t care. The fact she was letting her guard down even a little meant she was starting to relax.

When she had both containers, she gave me a look expecting I’d pay for it. The girl could make me smile more than just about anybody. I happily paid, leaving a huge tip and followed Raphaella to a table near the window. She hadn’t been advised window seats were mere attractions to shooters but today, I could breathe. After this? I had to wonder.

She placed both ‘boats’ in the center of the small table, handing me a tiny plastic spoon. “Okay, so we have cherry Garcia, pistachio, French vanilla, butter pecan, chocolate Oreo, and I think that’s strawberry. Dig in.”

She was staring at me, waiting for me to choose. I had to scratch my head as I stared down at the variety. “Whew, where to begin.” I didn’t hesitate, knowing how much this meant to her. I dug into one then another, a third and fourth, and the final two. A cold wave hit my sinuses so hard I winced.

“Brain freeze.”

“What?”

“That’s called brain freeze. You can’t inhale something that cold so quickly. Do you not know anything normal?” She was teasing me as she dug in, choosing the Oreo first. I was trying to make mental notes of choices she made.

“I guess I’ve been missing out.”

She winked. “Well, that is something I can show you how to do.”

She started chatting, something else new, talking about the few places she used to go with the girls, the work the others did. They’d made a family out of the three of them and that added a hint of guilt to the way I was feeling. But in the end, there was no other choice.

I found myself enjoying every flavor, digging in even as our spoons collided. It was good to hear her laugh. Surprise hit me when we finished both. In record time. “That was amazing.”

“Ha. You might learn something from me.”

Laughing around her was also easy. “You ready to go?”

“I am.” She dumped the containers and napkins into the trash and followed me to the door. Then she stopped. “Give me fifteen bucks.”

I forgot her father had frozen her account. God, I loathed the man. I pulled out my wallet and she snatched the twenty before I could hand it to her. When she headed back to the counter, I shook my head. What was the girl doing?

It only took a few seconds and she returned with two ice cream cones in her hands. “If you think I can eat more, you’re nuts.”

She rolled her eyes. “Not for you, big boy. Open the door for me. Will ya?”

I shouldn’t have been surprised when she presented the colorful swirls to my men but damn if the gesture didn’t make me smile. Meanwhile, my two guys peered up at me in shock. No one, including me, had offered them something so simple but with such a heartfelt thought before. I nodded so they knew it would be okay.

I’d need to explain to her later that they were bodyguards, which meant they’d need to concentrate on driving but right now, making headway was just as important.

“Chocolate and French vanilla. It gives you the best of both worlds. I didn’t think about sprinkles. I’m sorry.” Even her apology was adorable.

They were still hesitant to grab the cones, but I could swear the moment they both did, their frigid Russian hearts melted a little.

“Home from here,” I said absently, guiding her toward the car.

“Let me know what you think,” she yelled back.

When I had her settled into the seat and the door closed, Ivan headed up to me. “I hope you don’t mind me saying, boss, but she’s a keeper.”

He was right. My lovely girl who just might drive me bananas was definitely a keeper.

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