Page 7 of Scoop Me Up (Love in Maplewood #7)

Sam

Five thousand dollars. I could hardly believe it. I’d won the grant—five thousand dollars from the town. Money for my ice cream shop. I hadn’t expected to win this year.

Not anymore.

Between the news of my win and the hug Gabe had wrapped me in, I was walking on air as I headed home after the fireworks.

Once I was home, I checked my phone and saw I’d missed a text from Cooper.

Cooper: Congratulations! I knew you could do it. What’s your plan now?

Sam: I guess I need to call a real estate agent and start scouting for a place.

Cooper: Moving fast, huh? You sure you’re ready for that?

Sam: I’ve never been more ready in my life.

Cooper: And how does Gabe feel?

I frowned at my phone. Why would Gabe have opinions on my ice cream shop?

Cooper: I mean, you just met. Moving in together is a big step.

I rolled my eyes.

Sam: I’m not moving in with Gabe. I’m talking about opening an ice cream shop.

Cooper: Oh, I know.

His text was accompanied by a winking emoji.

Cooper: You’ll be moving in with him soon enough.

Sam: He’s straight, remember?

Cooper: Sure he is.

I snorted and shook my head. Once Cooper got an idea in his mind, he was like a dog with a bone—relentless.

Sam: Be serious.

Cooper: I am. I saw the way he looked at you tonight. And that hug. It’s only a matter of time.

Sam: Whatever you say.

With that, I shut my phone off and went to bed.

The next day was a school day and I woke up bright and early and headed to work.

The kids were great and Ellie was her usual cheerful self, working hard to read and talk about the stories she was reading.

When Gabe picked her up after school, he lingered even after Ellie packed her things.

As I worked to dismiss students to their parents, I couldn’t help myself.

I kept glancing Gabe’s way, trying to determine if Cooper was right, trying to tell if Gabe was looking at me in some kind of way besides simple acquaintances.

When all the students were dismissed, only Ellie and Gabe remained. He nodded at me awkwardly and gave me a soft smile. “How’s it going?”

I took a deep breath and exhaled, clearing the day’s stressors away. “I’m good. Especially now that the dismissal is done.”

“Long day?”

I shook my head. “Not really. Dismissal is my least favorite part of the day. It’s always so hectic—parents trying to get their kids out as quickly as possible, having to keep track of who’s here and who’s been picked up, reminding them to take their lunch boxes and backpacks and sometimes even their shoes get left behind. ”

He laughed and his smile widened, one eyebrow rising. “Kids leave their shoes behind?”

“It happens more than you’d think.” I paused for a moment, waiting to see what Gabe would say.

When he didn’t speak, I cleared my throat.

“Is there—I mean, did you need something else, or did you just want to say hi?” The moment the words left my mouth, I realized how rude I sounded and hurried to explain myself.

“I mean, it’s fine if you’re here just to say hi.

I don’t want to rush you off. But if you need something else, or have a question about Ellie’s work or something, I don’t want to ignore that.

” Another moment passed. “Sorry. I’m rambling. ”

Gabe shook his head. “You’re fine. I wanted to stick around to see when you want to collect on that bet.”

I frowned again. “The bet? You mean from last night?”

“Yeah. From last night.”

“You really want to cook me dinner?”

“I don’t go back on a bet,” he said with a shrug. “I promised I would. I’m not going to take it back just because I won.”

I nodded slowly. “Okay. Fine. Dinner. That sounds great. I don’t have any commitments in the evenings. No partner to come home to, no pets, it’s just me. So it can be anytime.”

Gabe rubbed the back of his neck, his ears turning a slight shade of pink. “Okay, then. How about Saturday? That’ll give me time to go shopping and plan something.”

“Sure. Saturday it is.”

“Do you have any allergies? Anything I should be aware of?”

“Nope. I’m easy.” The words slipped out of my mouth before I realized how they could have been interpreted, and I felt my own ears burn with a blush.

Gabe, mercifully, did not let on that he’d heard me say anything out of the ordinary. “Perfect. Hey, here’s my number.” He grabbed a sticky note from my desk and jotted down a phone number. “Text me later, so we have each other’s numbers just in case something happens.”

“Yeah, okay. Thanks.”

A few moments later, Gabe and Ellie were on their way, and I was left behind to finish tidying the classroom and head home, my head swimming with thoughts of having dinner with Gabe and Ellie the following weekend.

Friday evening, I found myself creating and testing very small batches of potential ice cream flavors, with Cooper in my kitchen, claiming to help.

“You sure I’m not getting ahead of myself?”

Cooper scoffed and took a seat at the breakfast bar, shaking his head and putting a notepad and pen in front of him.

“No way. The foundation of a successful ice cream shop is having amazing flavors. Besides, you’re meeting with the real estate agent Sunday, right?

Why not start the research and development phase? ”

I laughed as I poured a splash of maple syrup into a pint jar to mix it with the sweet cream base I’d started with, along with the other ingredients.

“You’re right. Now that this dream is starting to take shape, I do need to come up with some flavor ideas.

Try this.” I passed him a spoonful of the ice cream combination.

Cooper hummed his approval. “I like it. What’s in it?”

“Maple, cinnamon, and chopped pecans.”

“Nice choice. I’m going to write this one down. Now all you need is a name.”

“Can’t we just call it Maple Cinnamon Pecan? Something straightforward?”

He looked at me, eyebrows raised. “You’re not serious.”

“Why not?”

“Honestly. You cannot have boring names. Give them some pizazz.”

“Fine. What’s this one called then?”

He smirked. “Daddy Issues.”

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Why not? You clearly have the hots for the single dad.”

I wadded up a paper towel and threw it at him. “Try again.”

“Maple You’ll Love Me.”

“Okay, that’s a cute name. I admit it.”

His smirk grew. “The tagline will be it’s a Vermont classic with a dash of wishful thinking.”

“Coop!”

“Next flavor, please.”

I rubbed my temples and mixed the next flavor combo. “Here. A spicy hot cocoa flavor.”

Cooper nodded as he tasted it, jotting something down on his paper. “Hot for Teacher. Because Gabe’s clearly got the hots for you. What’s next?”

I sighed deeply. “Is this how it’s going to be?”

“Absolutely yes.”

As we went along, he continued to name my ice cream flavors with suggestive names.

He came up with S’more Than Friends—what he hoped Gabe and I would turn into, he said—Accidentally Flirty Almond, Slow Burn Cinnamon Crunch, Not-So-Platonic Pistachio and his favorite, the rich vanilla option he named Straight-ish Vanilla.

It was better than his alternative—Vanilla, But Make It Gay.

We came up with about fifteen different flavors, each with a more…

inventive name than the one before it. I had to admit, some of them were good.

Mint to Be was one winner. Cherry Poppin’ Delight was decidedly not.

“So, which one are you bringing tomorrow night?”

Heat flared in my chest. “I don’t know. Which was your favorite?”

“Name? Flustered Fudge Swirl, maybe. Or Oops! All Crushes.” When I glared at him, he cleared his throat. “Alright, alright. I vote for the Maple You’ll Love Me. Or…”

“Or?”

He grinned, and I could tell he was going to say something mildly annoying. “Bring two flavors, and call it the Bi-Curious kit. For those who are questioning their flavor preferences.”

I fought the urge to flip him off. “If you’re not going to be helpful, get out of my house.”

Cooper cackled, hopped off his stool, and headed toward my bedroom. As he walked away, he called to me over his shoulder. “What are you going to wear?”

With another sigh, I put the leftover ice cream in the freezer and followed him into my room to watch him rifle through my closet. “I hadn’t decided yet. What are your thoughts?”

“Go casual. It’s not a date. Not this time, anyway.” He waggled his eyebrows at me. Eventually, he pulled out a fitted black tank top and black jeans that were artfully ripped at the knees. “Here. Casual but hot.”

“I don’t know…” I moved to stand beside him and pulled out a polo shirt. “This and blue jeans?”

“Again, you can not be serious.”

“It’s just a friendly dinner with a student’s parent. Like you said, it’s not a date. I don’t want to look unprofessional.”

“A parent who happens to be a new friend. Don’t go there looking all stuffy. It’ll clearly say that it’s just a business dinner, nothing more.” He shoved the tank top and jeans into my arms. “Trust me. You’ll thank me later.”

“Why am I friends with you?” I asked, no malice in my voice.

“Because you love me,” he chirped. “And you know I’m right.”

I rolled my eyes once again, shaking my head. “I’ll trust you, but if you’re wrong, I’m never forgiving you.”

“Fine. I have faith.”

Once Cooper had left for the night, I made my way to the kitchen to mix the batch of ice cream I planned to take.

I’d settled on the plain vanilla and the s’mores flavor, but there was absolutely no way in hell I was going to tell Gabe the name was S’more Than Friends.

Not unless I wanted to melt into an embarrassed puddle and die on the spot—which felt more and more likely anyway, given my raging crush on Gabe and how obvious—and hilarious—Cooper found the situation to be.

The next day, I showered and put on the clothes Cooper had picked out for me, butterflies assailing me in the pit of my stomach.

I even slid on my black and white checkerboard sneakers, which I thought complemented the rest of the outfit pretty well.

Finally, I gathered my ice cream offering, tucked it into a bag with some freezer packs, and headed out.

The drive wasn’t far and the evening weather was beautiful, so I rolled the car window down and listened to a little music on the drive.

By the time I pulled into the driveway, the butterflies in my stomach had calmed down and I felt ready to face Gabe.

Ellie would be there too, of course, but having dinner with a student felt way less stressful.

Students, I knew how to handle. Students, I was used to.

Hot single dads who I had relentless crushes on? Less so.

Before getting out of the car, I peeked in the mirror and ran my fingers through my hair, straightening it a little. When I was satisfied, I grabbed the bag and headed up the front walk to knock on the door.

It only took a moment before I heard tiny footsteps thundering through the house. The door flung open and behind it stood Ellie.

“Hi, Mix!”

“Hey, El. How’s it going?”

She shrugged. “Fine. Daddy’s in there.” Ellie pointed down the hallway and then ran away, into the adjoining living room, and plopped herself in front of the television, which was showing a cartoon I knew was popular with my students these days.

I stood awkwardly in the hallway for a moment, trying to decide what to do next, when I heard Gabe’s voice.

“El? Was that—oh, God.”