Page 40 of After All

Hell, for all she knew, most of the people in Sapphire Falls thought Adrianne did all of the baking that made them all happy and feel good. Peyton didn’t care. She liked that she had a simple, straightforward way of putting some good out into the world that didn’t get any more complicated than getting just the right shade of icing for the occasion. And heck, even then, if it wasn’t right, she could scrape it off and start over.

That was really the beauty of baking. As long as you had enough ingredients, eventually you could get anything to turn out right. She wished more things in life were like that, frankly.

But she should not make Scott cookies. Because one, he’d definitely know they were from her, and two, she had the sneaking suspicion that hewouldthink about what was behind them. They wouldn’t be a simple sugar rush for him. No, he’d have to make themmeansomething.

Peyton chewed on her lip. She knew Heather would be at the wedding reception in Baltimore by now. Heather and Seth had been having an amazing time—even outside of the expensive silk sheets inside the fancy hotel suite. Heather had texted her a photo of the dress she’d chosen—or rather, that Seth had chosen for her—and her friend’s smile had been huge.

But Heather would pick up if Peyton called, she was sure. She wouldn’t keep her long.

“Help me,” she said, when Heather answered.

Peyton could hear music and laughter in the background.

“What’s wrong? Are you okay? Is Scott okay?” Heather asked.

Peyton rubbed her forehead. “Yes, yes, sorry. Everything is fine. I’m sorry to call.”

“Don’t be silly. I just slipped out to go to the bathroom. It’s fine. What’s up?”

“Are you having fun?” Peyton asked first.

“Yes,somuch.”

Peyton could hear the smile in her friend’s voice.

“Seth is amazing. This night has been amazing. I can’t wait to tell you all about it. But what doyouneed?”

Peyton’s heart warmed. She might not do a lot of things right, but she picked awesome friends. “I’m thinking about making Scott cookies. But I shouldn’t make him cookies if I don’t want to keep him, right?”

“Um.”

Peyton knew her friend didn’t totally get her adamant refusal to get involved with Scott. Heather knew about Peyton’s parents and everything, but she wasn’t from Sapphire Falls, so she didn’treallyknow the history like most of the town did.

Flat-out, Peyton hadn’t really had parents. She’d had two people who had given birth to her and let her live in their house until she was old enough to leave. And a dad who had come to pick her up at the police station when they called. Of course, it would sometimes take him hours to get there. Peyton’s crush on Scott had really started when she saw how angry that made him, and when he’d first pulled her dad aside and chewed his ass about it. She hadn’t heard what Scott had said to Dan, but she’d read the body language. Scott had been defending her.

“I’m afraid he’ll read too much into the cookies,” she said.

Like she wanted to take care of him, and even making him a sandwich that he’d liked had made her happy, and watching him sleep had been a moment of realization for her. She’d likedwatching him sleep. That was stupid. And maybe a little creepy. The fact that she’d felt happy and relaxed in his house, working while he slept, moving things around in his living room, familiarizing herself with his kitchen, making herself at home, had made her admit that there were things about Scott she was drawn to that went beyond the physical.

“Yeah, okay, if you’resureyou don’t want to keep him, definitely don’t make the cookies,” Heather said. “Do something else. Do laundry or something. Something that needs to be done, so it doesn’t seem like anything too thoughtful or personal, but will still make you feel like you’re helping.”

“I don’t need to feel like I’m helping him,” Peyton said.

“Yes, you do. Him getting shot made you realize that you care about him more than you thought, and now you want to take care of him but you don’t want him to realize it because, in your words, you’re not sure you want to keep him.”

“Iamsure,” Peyton protested. “Idon’twant to keep him.” She was such a liar. She didn’t think sheshouldkeep him. That was different.

And Heather was wrong. About one thing, at least. Peyton had realized she cared about him more than she thought before he’d gotten shot.

“But you’re making him cookies.”

“I’malmostmaking him cookies. I’m calling my best friend to talk me out of it.”

“Well, I think you should make them,” Heather said. “But I also think you should keep him, so there’s that. Because if you give the guy a cookiegasm, you’ll never be rid of him.”

Peyton laughed in spite of herself. Heather always said she had cookiegasms after eating Peyton’s. She really was good at cookies. “So I definitely need to kill time somewhere other than the bakery.”

“Oh, you’re at the bakery. Well, that’s a little better than his house. If he walks into that smell, he’ll never let you leave. Though sex in cookie dough could, and should, totally be a thing.”

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