Page 43 of Wrapped in You

The doorbell rang at Sophie's little blue house that Sunday afternoon at one thirty. Sophie was in the kitchen in a pair of underwear and a massive sweatshirt, her hair in a messy bun, working tirelessly on a brand-new recipe for butterscotch Christmas cookies. The idea was to always offer new, inventive recipes with Culinary Tastings. The idea was always to remain eager to learn.

Sophie had no idea who could be at the door. Maybe it was her neighbor with extra Christmas cookies. Like I need more sugar! Maybe it was Cindy, out for a walk after a heinous weekend with sick kids.

That was something about living in a small town—you never knew who was going to stop by, but you always welcomed the surprise.

Sophie grabbed a pair of pajama pants from the sofa, tugged them on, and hurried to the foyer to answer it. Not for a moment did she consider that the somebody at the door would be someone she wanted to impress.

She didn't even look through the window to see who it might be.

When she opened the door, her heart jumped into her throat. Derek Brownlee was on her front stoop, wearing all black like always, his dark curls wild from the December winds, his cheeks red. He looked cold, like he needed a cup of tea and a big, fuzzy blanket. Maybe a hug, too.

How had he figured out where she lived?

"Derek?" Sophie hated how her voice sounded: so small and frightened. The Grinch himself might as well have stormed up to her front door. "Um. Hi?"

Derek tugged his hair. "I'm sorry for coming by like this. I was just on a walk, and I happened to see—" Derek gestured toward her mailbox on the road, where her name "MASTERS" was written in big block letters. Beside the name was a sticker with the logo for Culinary Tastings, which Cindy had drawn up for her the same year Sophie had founded the company. Ever since she'd rented the headquarters for Culinary Tastings and had all mail sent there, Sophie had completely forgotten she'd put the logo on her mailbox.

"Right," Sophie said. "It couldn't be anyone else's house, I guess!" She tried to laugh, then glanced down at what she was wearing and shivered.

"Actually, this is embarrassing," Derek said.

"It's embarrassing for me," Sophie quipped with a big laugh. "Look at what I'm wearing!"

"No. It's embarrassing for me," Derek said, his voice more urgent. "I got lost in my thoughts and walked too far. I'm miles away from my cabin and frozen solid."

Just then, a frigid wind blasted through them. Sophie grimaced. "Get inside!" she ordered. "Come on!"

Sophie didn't have time to think twice. Before she knew it, Derek Brownlee was standing awkwardly in her foyer, looking at her. Why had she picked the pajama bottoms with the cartoonprincesses? Why hadn't she washed her hair after she'd done yoga this morning? What if she smelled?

Derek looked as though he'd walked into the freezer at Culinary Tastings headquarters and stayed in there for too long.

"Take your coat off!" Sophie cried, sounding more like her mother than she ever had. "Let me make you some tea."

Derek unbuttoned his coat and hung it on the coatrack in the foyer. Sophie tried to resist looking at him. She didn't want to know what he really thought about her decor—the photographs of her family, the poster she'd bought on a trip to Naples, Florida, the painting Cindy had made for her when they were teenagers.

"Wait a minute," Derek said, pressing his hand to his chest.

"What's up?" Sophie spun around in the doorway between the kitchen and the foyer.

A strange smile crept over Derek's face. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it."

Sophie tilted her head. "Come on. Tell me." Her heart was beating like a hummingbird.

Derek ran his red fingers through his hair again. Was that what he did when he was nervous? He so rarely did it on set.

It was hard to believe this was the same man who'd screamed so angrily those first few days. The same man who'd belittled her for her Christmas decorations at the culinary stand.

That's when Sophie realized what was up. Her jaw dropped. "Oh my gosh."

A smile spread across Derek's face. "Did you just notice?"

Sophie couldn't breathe. She felt stricken. "How could I have let this happen?"

Sophie raced into the kitchen to hide from him. Her heart was fully pounding now. Derek's laughter behind her was kind and passionate. With a flail of her arm, she filled the kettle, then spread her hands out on the counter and turned to watch himstride into the kitchen. He was looking more comfortable now. She wasn't sure how she felt about that.

"I forgot," she said softly.

"Sophie Masters forgot to put up Christmas decorations in her own home," Derek said, clucking his tongue. "Did you use all of them for the Culinary Tastings stand? Did you use all of them to shove them in my face?" He was smiling openly.

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