Page 114 of His Secret Gift

“Yeah.” She puts the phone away and purses her lips to the side. “Since you aren’t getting any action from the boss man, can I stay in here tonight?”

I hug her to the side. “Of course.”

Chapter 35

Matchmaking – Jack

The next morning, Kayla surprises me by coming into the galley bright and early.

“What are you doing up?” I ask.

She’s in striped pajama shorts and the same off-the-shoulder sweater as before.

Leaning against the island, she explains, “Callie stayed the night in my cabin, and after crying all night, I think her sinuses were a little messed up. So, she has been snoring up a storm.”

“Ah, I see. Is everything okay?” I inquire in between chopping a white onion for omelets.

She then picks up an apple nearby and bites into it. “Yeah. Just boy stuff. You know how it goes.”

I stop what I’m doing, turn around, and flick a dish towel over my shoulder. “Oh, yeah? Do you talk to her about us?”

She gasps and acts shocked I’d ask such a thing. “A girl never gossips and tells.”

I chuckle. “Right.”

Walking closer to me, she asks if there’s anything she can do to help.

“Um.” I wipe my hands on my pants before looking around. “Ah! It would be awesome if you wouldn’t mind making the chocolate chip pancakes. The batter is already made. You just need to cook them on the skillet.” I lead her over to it and start preheating it.

“Sure. I can do that.” Then, she discards her apple for a less healthy option, and pours some chocolate morsels into her handbefore flipping them into her mouth. “Hm,” she mutters with a frown. “Not as good as last night.”

With a snicker, I explain, “That’s because these are just generic semisweet chips. For the soufflé, I used a special kind.”

“Like what?”

I get it out of the cupboard and hand it to her.

Her eyebrows mash together again as she tries to pronounce it. “Perugeera? Perugahra?”

“It’s Perugina.”

Her lips vibrate together. “That does not look like an ‘n.’”

“I promise you that it is. It’s made in Italy in the city of Perugia.”

She still looks puzzled. “Then where did the extra ‘n’ come from?”

I shrug my shoulders. “That I don’t know.”

“Hm.” I watch as she dips a measuring cup into the batter and spreads it around the skillet.

“So, you’ll know when to flip when—”

“When there are a bunch of little bubbles on the top,” she finishes my sentence. “I know how to cook some things you know.”

I smile and back off. “Right. Of course.”

“Excited to finally meet with Yannis?” she eventually asks as we continue to cook together.

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