Page 96 of A Love Like Pumpkin Spice
“Just pointing out the obvious, sweetheart.”
“Sweetheart!” Lauren exclaims in a whisper and excitedly hits my shoulder with a force that makes me wince. “God, you two are so cute.”
“How much longer does it need?” Kieran asks, turning around as he tries to find a timer in the kitchen, but all the times we need to track are in Lauren’s phone.
“Turkey needs another ten minutes,” she explains and lifts herself off the kitchen counter to peek over Caleb’s shoulder.
“What else is on the menu?” Kieran wonders and peeks over Caleb’s other shoulder. “Anything we can help with?”
“There are mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, beans, stuffing,” Lauren enumerates, while Henry takes his favorite spot behind me, laying his chin on my shoulder and hugging me around the waist from behind.
“And there’s pumpkin pie, pecan pie, your apple pie, and some kind of strawberry tiramisu recipe I found online for dessert,” Lauren continues, eyes darting around the room.
“TikTok?” Kieran asks, with his eyebrow raised up to his hairline and Lauren nods solemnly.
“TikTok.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Caleb asks over his shoulder, the skepticism in his voice making Henry chuckle.
“That means it’s either going to be amazing,” Kieran starts.
“Or horrible,” Lauren adds with a giggle. “Then again, the ingredients didn’t make it sound disgusting, so we’ll see. I hope you all brought containers for leftovers.”
We shoot the shit for a few more minutes until her timers go off one by one. Then the guys play rock-paper-scissors on who has to get the turkey out of the oven without letting it fall.
Lauren and I shoot each other a knowing glance. It’s not as if this thing weighs thirty pounds. Even we managed to lift it without too much difficulty.
“Be careful!” Kieran exclaims when Caleb pulls it out unceremoniously, but he only rolls his eyes as he sets the whole thing down on the kitchen island.
“Do I really look like I would let a turkey fall?”
Kieran’s eyes pointedly jump to his broad shoulders, and I catch Lauren staring at Caleb’s biceps.
“You’ve got a point,” both of them admit at the same time, and I shake my head at their antics. From the corner of my eye, I see Cinnamon sneaking closer to the kitchen door, eyes on the turkey, so I quickly rush everyone along.
“Come on, everyone. We set our Friendsgiving up in the living room.”
Lauren and I might have gone a little ham on the decoration. It looks like an autumn-bomb exploded in my living room. Garlands are hanging everywhere. The table’s set with little pumpkin decorations and orange bouquets, leaving just enough space for all the pots and dishes we’re bringing to the table in a food parade.
As we sit down, Jensen takes his usual spot by the window while he lets the evening sun shine on his pretty brown fur. Cinnamon is walking under our chairs, rubbing herself against our calves and shins, her miserable-sounding meow an indicator that she’s hoping for some scraps.
Meanwhile, Pumpkin is trying to climb up the leg of my pants. I scoop her up, press a kiss to the top of her head, and put her into a box that is high enough that she can’t jump or climb out of it.
“You’re going to jail, little one,” I coo to her as I set her down. “Because otherwise, you’re going to find a way to climb up the table to walk over our food. And Lauren and I worked too hard to have your little dirty paws in everything.”
“You’d think you don’t feed her with how she’s acting” Kieran points out with a chuckle when I return, and I roll my eyes.
“God, you should hear her if her food is a minute late. She’s such a drama queen.”
I sit down next to Henry and Lauren, happy that the cooking portion of the day is finally over and we get to eat now.
“Can we please not do the thing where we go around the table and state what we’re thankful for?” Caleb asks gruffly, but Lauren’s eyes sparkle as if she hadn’t had that idea before.
“No, I think we should totally do that.”
“I’ll go first,” Kieran volunteers, eyes darting around the table solemnly. “This year, I’m thankful for new friendships.” Then he glances to his left, where Lauren is seated.
“That’s a good one.” She nods and taps her chin as she thinks. “I’m also thankful for new friendships, new strength and for this food.” She grins and turns toward Henry.
