Page 48 of Love Spell

“Who?”Timo asked innocently.

“The whole Wolf Pack.I got here on Monday, now it’s Thursday night.Not a word.”

“Isn’t that nice.Must have a few brain cells after all.”Timo smiled.“Dessert?I got you a treat.”

“If it’s made of leather or rubber I’m not interested.”

“I wish you would drink more often.It brings out your natural sense of whimsy.”

“It’s only making me more likely to say what I’m thinking.Speaking of which, I can’t believe you just used the word ‘whimsy.’”

“Me too, now that you mention it.Next thing you know I’ll be collecting cat figurines and admiring pictures of other people’s grandchildren.”

“Based on tonight, you’re halfway there.”

“Noah?I have heard of a phenomenon in the States known as a sundae bar.”

Noah meditatively scratched his throat with one finger.“I think a lot of bars are open on Sundays.”

Timo sighed.“Why don’t you stay there?”

Noah, however, followed him into the kitchen to load the dishwasher while Timo got out their dessert.Noah’s motor skills were fine after only two glasses, but he did finally feel relaxed sharing the space with Timo, which must be a sign of profound inebriation.

While Noah cleaned up from dinner, Timo laid on a spread of pints of organic Yorkshire ice cream in three flavours, roasted salted pistachios and crushed almonds, salted caramel sauce and warm chocolate sauce, chocolate biscuits for crumbling, real whipped cream that he must have whipped earlier and had in a glass dish, macerated strawberries, and whole fresh cherries.

Noah had never seen Timo eat anything like ice cream.Timo didn’t even eat a biscuit with his coffee in the kitchen.But he happily asked Noah to show him how one made an American sundae, as if they didn’t have such things over here, and Noah, much to his own shock, greatly enjoyed doing so.

* * *

“You can’t just sit there in silence.”

“I’m not translating the whole movie for you —”

“Why not?”

“Watch the original if you care.”

“You shouldn’t lose your Russian.”

“I should.”

“There!What’d he say?”

“How can I tell when you’re talking over the dialogue?”

“I’ll be quiet.”That lasted thirty seconds before Noah was laughing again.“That is thebestvoice.Like a Russian Chris Hemsworth.No wonder you were disappointed when you heard them speak for themselves.”

“I told you we had the finest voice talent.”

They were on the couch, each at one end, Noah’s blankets smoothed out like a slipcover.Timo’s sundae dish was empty and set aside while Noah was still scraping out the last of the pooled chocolate and strawberry, so distracted by the movie Timo had found online, he ate slowly.

“Another glass?”Timo offered.

“Ginger tea?”Noah couldn’t drag his attention from the TV.“But I’ll get it.You stay here and tell me what they’re saying.”

“Talking over the talent isn’t the point of the film.”Timo stood.He whisked both glass dishes to the sink, not about to let Noah be the one to get the tea because Noah would again sit at the wrong end of the couch.

It made Timo’s heart pound, having to listen to all that spoken Russian, giving him flashbacks of breaking with his Moscow employers not so long ago, finally severing ties.