Page 45 of Wrapped in You

And then she reminded herself: This isn't a first date.

Maybe he's just grateful I listened to him at the bar the other night.

Maybe he's lonely.

"If you want," Sophie said. "But you have to wash your hands first."

"Gladly."

After he scrubbed his hands with soap and water, Sophie showed Derek how to dollop the butterscotch dough onto the sheet. It was relatively simple and certainly something he could have figured out himself.

Maybe he just wants an excuse to stand close to me?

I hope I don't smell!

"You're a natural," Sophie said with a smile.

"I learned from the best," he said.

When the butterscotch cookies were in the oven, Sophie and Derek went to the living room with fresh mugs of tea. It was nearly three in the afternoon, and Derek had been here for more than an hour. Sophie had no idea when he planned to leave. Should she drive him? But her car was still not working well, which meant they'd have to go to Culinary Tastings headquarters and grab the catering van.

It was not sexy to drive a Hollywood director around in a big white van. But with the pajama pants, Sophie had already shown him just how un-sexy she could be.

Sophie turned on the flames in the automatic fireplace and sat on the opposite end of the sofa from him. Christmas music continued to pour out of the Bluetooth speaker.

"You don't even have a Christmas tree," he said, shaking his head and laughing.

Sophie hung her head and laughed, too. "Leave me alone," she cooed. "I've been working so hard."

"Me too," Derek said somberly. "I've been in over my head since I got to Willow Creek."

Sophie turned to look at him again. The firelight danced across his cheeks and glinted off his dark curls. She fought the urge to move over and put her head on his shoulder.

"But the strange thing is," Derek said, "I've started to think that being around people might make me happier. Who would have thought?" He smiled with sarcasm.

"It's wild. It turns out, people really need communities. It's exactly what every anthropologist has ever said. Who knew they were right?" Sophie agreed with a big laugh. "My sister always accuses me of being too immersed in my plans for Culinary Tastings to ever get a life. Whatever that means."

"You have a life!" Derek said. "That's plain to me."

Sophie decided not to tell him that getting a life, for Sophie's family, meant having a family of your own. It meant getting married. It meant having children.

It felt as though there was a knife in Sophie's stomach, suddenly. She stood as tears filled her eyes.

She thought: It's never going to happen for me, is it?

Here I am, wasting the afternoon with Derek Brownlee.

What is it all for?

"Sophie, what's the matter?" Derek asked. His voice changed, deepened. Sophie could tell he was worried about her.

Sophie hurried to the kitchen. "I just need to check the butterscotch cookies."

Out of sight, Sophie pressed her forehead against the cool of the window and breathed in, then out.

For a moment, and not because she wanted to, Sophie thought about the day Jeremy had broken up with her. It had been here in the house they'd shared. Here, where he'd taken her hands in his and said, "I just don't see a future between us anymore. I'm sorry."

Anyone can abandon you at any time.

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