It’s seriously ironic that right at that moment, there’s a frantic cry from downstairs. I don’t know if it’s from Ellis, Leandra, Luna, or Lindy, but I do know it’s not their granny because it’s less high-pitched and not so cackly.
“Oh my god! Oh my god, Jeffers is eating the cake!”
The guys look at each other all at once, and then there’s a stampede out of the room. I’m pretty much left in the figurative dust. With a sigh, I make my way downstairs after the guys shoved each other all over the staircase in their rush to see what the heck is going on down in what I assume is the kitchen.
That’s where I find everyone clustered around my dog, who is just about covered from head to freaking paws in cake.
I’m not sure how big the cake was, but it looks like it could have put my wedding cake to shame by the amount smeared all over Jeffers and the kitchen floor. He’s sitting in the middle of the mess with his tongue lolling out of his mouth, his jowls slobbery, and his nose covered in vanilla cake bits—at least I assume it’s vanilla since it’s the right shade for it—and white icing.
“We’ve been outdone,” Kirian breathes, admiration creeping into his tone.
“So outdone,” Taylen concurs.
“I second that,” Ash whispers, awe-struck.
“Technically, it would be thirding it,” Ellis points out.
Luna laughs, then claps her hand over her mouth like it’s a major sin to find what just happened to be extremely funny in light of the typical cake licking game.
Toren wraps his arm around Luna’s waist and grins. “It’s definitely the best cake licking I’ve ever seen. It’s even better than the time the cake crashed down all over Milo.”
“You’ve all been bested,” Leandra says, leaning against the kitchen counter with a smirk on her face that says she thinks all her male relatives are boneheads to the extreme.
I tend to agree with her for the most part. They’re lovable boneheads, but they can absolutely be stubborn and silly and just so…so…I don’t know. The male Cromwells are a breed of their own.
“Ha!” The head of the Cromwell family finally walks into the kitchen. Taylen’s granny looks incredibly proud of herself. “You’ve all been bested. Let this be a lesson. This is a new level of achievement that can’t be topped. Maybe you’ll stop this silly game now.”
Judging from the grins and mischievous, slightly evil glints in the eyes of all the Cromwell men, I think we all know that the next time there’s a cake around, it’s going to get licked no matter what.
I send Jeffers a silent look of thanks. Not only did he provide relief to the tension that was mounting with all the questions about us dating and being cursed, but now he’s given me the perfect excuse to bow out of the Cromwell curse family meeting while I clean up the freaking cake explosion that happened in here.
I owe this dog one—big time.
Also, is it wrong that I want to ask Lindy about putting the dancing cats’ virus on Taylen’s phone anyway, just because I think it would be too freaking funny?
Yeah, probably. If he’s my soulmate, I probably shouldn’t do things like that.
But dancing cats! It will be as hard for me to resist as it is for Toren, Taylen, Kirian, and Ash to resist a scrumptious cake that’s just sitting there in all its cakey, sugary glory. I’m excited to see what they’ll come up with next time. They can’t let a dog upstage them. Next time, their plans will be epic, and I’m excited that as part of the family now, I’ll be around to see it.
Yipes. Part of the family? Am I really thinking of myself as one of the Cromwells now? As Taylen’s soulmate? For real? Not just his best friend anymore, but as something more?
Yes. Yes, I am. And despite all the freaking out about the brooch, I’m seriously not convinced that it’s the curse that’s responsible.
CHAPTER 16
Taylen
We all sat in my living room, crammed onto the couch and various chairs that have been dragged in from the kitchen since I only have two big ones in the living room. Toren and Luna occupied one, with Luna sitting on my brother’s lap—eww—but the rest of us opted for single seats. Ellis and Ash took the couch, leaving a space empty as it’s still soaked with Jeffers’ drool from earlier.
After disappearing to clean up the cake mess, Elodie brought us some ice-cold pink lemonade, freshly mixed from the concentrate containers in the fridge. What? We might be rich, but who doesn’t love frozen pink lemonade? It’s a great deal, and it’s extremely delicious. Plus, we can adjust the sweetness by choosing how much water to mix in. Since the concentrate is right from the fridge, it’s always extra cold and delicious, even right after being made. Top that, juice mix crystals or high-class store-bought juice. But nope, there’s just no topping it.