Page 165 of Knot That Serious

Raj was leaning against the edge of the table when she rejoined him, staring at her with something she couldn’t name. “What is it?” she asked, resisting the urge to brush her clean hands through her hair.

“Nothing, chef,” he said.

Eli chuckled. “You don’t have to say ‘chef’ in a bakery.”

“It’s more fun this way, chef,” he said.

Rolling her eyes with a heavy dose of affection, she spun him toward the workstation and pointed to the different ingredients. “You’ve had these before, so you know the icing will be black. The theme of the reunion is…” She groaned. “It’s a throwback to a phase I had in high school. Mom has never let me live it down.”

“What phase is this?” he asked.

Eli narrowed her eyes. “Why, so you can make fun of me, too?”

“Aw, my sweet, you know me better than that. I would never make fun of you,” Raj lied through his perfectly white teeth.

“I had a goth phase. So the theme is goth. The first time you meet my family, they’re going to be in dramatic goth garb, naturally.”

“Me?” Raj asked, standing up straighter.

Her smile was wicked. “Yeah, you. You’re coming, aren’t you—don’t touch your hair,” she said when he lifted a hand. It froze midair. “You’re baking. Don’t touch your face or hair.”

“Yes, chef,” he said. And then grinned. “I’m invited to the family reunion?”

“You’re part of the pack now, aren’t you?” she asked, leaning over the table to pull the powdered sugar closer.

“I—I guess so,” Raj said, voice much quieter.

Eli ripped open the top of the bag and shook a healthy amount into a large mixing bowl. “They’d kill me if I didn’t bring everyone.”

Then she pulled the smaller container of black cocoa powder over. “What is that?” Raj asked, leaning over her shoulder.

“This is black cocoa powder. A little goes a long way,” she said, adding it to the sugar.

Raj added the generous splash of milk she requested, and Eli began whisking it all together with a tinier douse of vanilla. The black cocoa powder did its job, and by the time it was mixed and ready for dipping, the donuts were still not cool enough.

“Let’s move them to a cooler tray,” she suggested. All she had to do was place another tray over the top of baked donuts and flip the whole thing. She handed the empty tray to Raj and pointed over to the giant sink.

“Well… now what?” he asked.

Eli pursed her lips. “I don’t know. I guess we… wait?”

“Is a hot donut really the worst thing that could happen?” Raj mused, staring forlornly at the baked goods.

Eli chuckled. “Do you want one?”

“God, yes,” Raj practically whined.

Affection overwhelmed her suddenly, and Eli grabbed two still-warm-to-the-touch donuts and carried them over to the icing. After prepping her bag with a nozzle, she made sure Raj was watching. “I’ll let you do the next one,” she promised.

Eli showed him how to tip the nozzle in and told him not to use too much pressure. The cherry filling was cool against her palm and slow going, but once it was threatening to ooze out, she released it.

“Now you just…” She covered the hole with her thumb and tipped the donut upside down, dipping the top of it in the black icing. It coated the top in a thin layer, and she grinned before placing it on a plate. Some of the icing dripped down the sides of the donut, but in her opinion, it only added to the creepy factor.

“Now it’s your turn,” she said.

Raj looked wholly unprepared for the task, and she chuckled before waving her hand at the station. “Go on, it’s not that scary. Just don’t squeeze the bag too hard—it’ll pop.”

“Oh, don’t tell me that,” he said.

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