Chapter 16
The Creamatorium wasn’t too busy, and Sabrina found a parking spot at the end of the lot.
It was a little embarrassing having Gideon in her car.
She knew it was a little beat-up, but it was the only SUV she’d been able to afford.
She’d needed the space for her move and now for hauling things for the shop.
But the vehicle was nothing special. Even if he didn’t have a car, she knew he was used to nice things.
He was always impeccably dressed, and now that she’d seen the big house he lived in—nothing like Indigo House, of course, but still a hundred percent nicer than hers—she understood that his shop either did a lot better than she’d imagined or he came from money.
Possibly both.
He had the bearing of old money. The kind of calm resignation that the protection of money provided.
She’d never known that. Raised by a single mom who’d struggled for every penny, Sabrina felt like she was still living that life.
Minus having to raise a child by herself.
But sometimes, when she took Trip to the vet for his yearly checkup, she wondered what would happen if something bad ever happened to him.
How would she afford anything major? She tried not to think about it, because it made her sad.
She exhaled as she got out of the car. Korrin was still talking Gideon’s ear off about what the best ice cream was, which, thanks to Gideon’s generous sale of that watch, she had the money to pay for.
She still planned on putting as much of it back into the business as she could and making sure Julia got paid, but spending some on ice cream was all right. She didn’t really have a choice. She had to make Korrin happy enough to go back into the music box.
“Should we get a table inside or sit out here?”
She shrugged. “Up to Korrie. This is his deal.”
Korrin was staring at the menu board through the windows. “Let’s get a table inside.”
Naturally. Where he could be more easily seen. She hoped Gideon was right about no one thinking a sprite was anything unusual.
They went in and got a table. A server came by with menus and glasses of water. The young man greeted them and not once treated Korrie like he was anything but a regular customer.
Sabrina breathed a little easier.
Korrie poured over the menu, which was a single sheet with items on both sides, laminated in thick plastic. “Look at that! A Chocolate Coronary Sundae! I want that. Wait, maybe I want a Banana Bomb. Hang on, the Twisted Toffee Tower might be my thing. Or maybe I’ll get two of them …”
Gideon snorted softly and caught her eye as Korrie rattled on. “Do you already know what you’re getting?”
The sprite was going to bankrupt her at this rate. “Just a scoop of something. Maybe that Peanut Butter Rage. How about you?”
“Been a while since I’ve had ice cream. Thinking about that Espresso Eclipse milkshake.”
She found that on the menu. Dark chocolate ice cream whirled with chocolate-covered coffee beans, drizzled with espresso syrup and topped with homemade marshmallow sauce. The glass was rimmed with hot fudge and mocha cookie crumbs. “That looks amazing. I like chocolate and coffee too.”
“It’s a classic combo.”
“It is.” She looked up at him. “I don’t think I’d sleep if I had that, though.”
He laughed. “Thankfully, caffeine doesn’t bother me like that.”
“Lucky.”
He made a strange face at the word.
The server returned. “Ready to order or need some more time?”
“I’m ready,” Korrie piped up.
The young man gave him a nod. “Go ahead then.”
“I want the Brain Freeze and the Twisted Toffee Tower.”
“Um, Korrie,” Sabrina said softly. “That’s a lot of ice cream.”
“I can eat it,” he said.
That wasn’t really her worry. It was more about the bill. But she had to keep him happy. “Okay.”
“And for you, miss?”
“I’ll just have a scoop of the Peanut Butter Rage.”
“We can do that as a sundae, if you like. Three scoops with hot fudge and peanut butter sauce topped with whipped cream, crushed honey-roasted peanuts, and a cherry.”
That sounded amazing. And expensive. She smiled and shook her head. “Another time maybe. The single scoop is fine.”
“All right.” He turned to Gideon. “And for you, sir?”
“The Espresso Eclipse milkshake.” He nodded at Sabrina. “Come on, get the sundae. I’m going to feel like a glutton otherwise.”
She smiled. The sundae did sound good. She’d be fine with peanut butter and jelly for lunch the rest of the month. Wouldn’t be the first time. She nodded. “Okay, I’ll have the sundae.”
They handed in their menus. Sabrina sipped her water and looked at Korrie. “Maybe we should have gotten you a booster seat.”
Wings folded, he was sitting cross-legged on the table, on his placemat. He frowned at her suggestion. “I’m fine. What kind of music are we going to hear?”
“Let me see if I can look it up.” Sabrina looked up the club on her phone and found there was a jazz trio that evening. They talked about that for a bit.
Wasn’t long before their server came back with a tray loaded with ice cream. He set it on the table and passed the dishes out.
Korrie’s Brain Freeze was vanilla and chocolate swirled ice cream molded into a realistic brain shape with gummy worms and red sauce that Sabrina hoped very much was strawberry. The rest of the sundaes looked like normal sundaes, for which she was glad.
Korrie picked up his long spoon and shrank it to about a third of its size. He attacked the brain with enthusiasm.
She left him to it and dug into her own sundae. The cold, creamy mix of chocolate and peanut butter made everything better. Sweet, salty, perfect. She closed her eyes. “Oh. That’s good.”
Gideon’s soft chuckle made her look. “So the sundae was worth it?”
She nodded. “Yeah. How’s yours?”
“Really good. Great, actually. I can’t believe I’ve never been here before.”
“You’ve never been to the Creamatorium? It’s the best ice cream in Shadowvale. It’s the best ice cream I’ve had anywhere, to be honest.” She and Julia came here every so often, when she could afford it. Even a scoop of vanilla here was better than what the grocery store sold.
He shrugged. “I don’t get out much.”
She sensed they were on the edge of curse territory. She didn’t want him to feel bad. “I’m pretty much a homebody too. No shame in that.”
He sipped his milkshake.
She checked on Korrie, who was trying to eat his second sundae but struggling due to the height of the glass.
“Hang on,” Gideon said. He moved the napkin dispenser next to the glass. “There. Sit on that.”
Korrie climbed up. It was the perfect height. His brows rose in surprise, either because Gideon had helped him or because it was such an easy solution. “Thanks.”
Their server returned with the check. “No rush, take your time.”
“Wait,” Gideon said. He whipped out his wallet and removed his credit card.
“No,” Sabrina said. “I’m going to pay for this. We’re here because of me.”
“Well, I wouldn’t be here if not for you, and this is a treat for me, so I’m paying.” He handed over the card.
The server took it and disappeared.
“You didn’t have to do that,” she said. “But thank you. That was kind of you.”
Korrie giggled. “That makes this a date.”
Gideon stilled, his spoon halfway to his mouth, and gave Korrin a direct look. “No, it does not.” Then he looked at Sabrina. “Ignore him. Whatever this is, it’s not a date and carries none of those implications.”
She nodded. “Right.” But his insistence made her a little sad. Would it be so bad if it was a date?
Still, Julia was right. Gideon was very handsome, always nicely dressed, even if his colors were a little less than exciting; generous, as he’d proven again by picking up the check. Maybe he was a bit standoffish, but he seemed to be warming up the more Sabrina got to know him.
Could be he was just shy. Or socially awkward. Lots of people were.
But if he didn’t want this to be a date, that pretty much said it all.
He wasn’t interested in her. And there wasn’t much she could do about that.