Page 62 of Petals and Plot Twists
The question makes me grimace, but I won’t lie to the guy. “I’m sure you’ll eventually meet someone who shares your passion, but that person will never be me.”
His jaw tightens. “Yeah, well. You don’t really have the muscle definition I’m looking for anyway.”
And that’s my cue to leave.
Fortunately, Aria is only a block or so away from The Serendipity. As soon as my feet hit the sidewalk, I feel an overwhelming urge to see Peter.
I don’t even care that he keeps avoiding the rooftop garden. That Istilldon’t know if he’ll make my flower bloom.
But I don’t want to fight this anymore. I just want to be with him.
I stop and loop my purse over my shoulder, then reach down and tug off my heels. Then I clutch them against my chest with one hand, lifting the hem of my dress with the other, and I run all the way home.
Chapter Twenty
Peter
I’m mixingoatmeal into cookie batter when Sophie’s apartment door opens, and she steps inside.
She’s wearing an emerald green dress that ties at her waist and makes her eyes look especially bright, and her hair is up. A few curls have sprung loose, framing her flushed face in a way that makes me wonder if she ran all the way here.
My eyes drop down to her feet. She’s barefoot, her heels dangling from one hand.
“Hey,” I say, heart suddenly hammering inside my chest.
She’s home, and she looks so incredibly beautiful, and tonight, right now, I’m supposed to tell her how I feel.
“You’re home.”
She drops her heels and walks into the kitchen, stopping a few feet away. “What are you doing?”
My cheeks heat the slightest bit. “Oh, um. Just making cookies.”
Her eyebrows lift. “Have you ever made cookies before?”
I look down at my shirt and brush at a smudge of flour along my ribs. “No? But I said I’d make you something sweet, and I found a copycat recipe for the brown sugar oatmeal cookies we always get from Cookie’s Coffee House, so I thought I’d give it a try.”
Sophie bites her lip as she walks closer. I’ve never seen this look in her eyes before—a hunger that makes my throat go dry and my blood run hot in my veins. I drop the spatula into the bowl of cookie dough and turn just in time for her to wrap her arms around my waist. She presses herself against me, cheek against my chest, hands clasped at my back.
My arms drop around her shoulders, hesitantly at first because I have no idea what’s happening right now. But then she breathes out a sigh, her body melting against mine.
I let out a little chuckle. “Everything okay?” I slide my hands up and down her back, the silk of her dress soft under my palms.
“Just glad to be home,” she says. She leans back and looks up at me, but she keeps her hands clasped. We’ve never stood like this before, holding each other like we’re in no rush to let go. This is more than just an embrace, more than a hug that has a beginning and an end. This is so much more intentional. Like we’re here, and we’re choosing to stay here, to stayclose.
Sophie looks over at the counter where containers of sugar and flour and baking soda sit clustered around the bowl of cookie dough. “You did all this for me?” she asks.
“Of course I did,” I say. “And I promise I’ll clean up. I didn’t mean to wreck your kitchen.”
She shakes her head, smiling softly as she says, “I don’t care about the kitchen.” She looks into the bowl. “Is it any good?” She keeps one arm tucked around my waist as she uses the other to dip her hand into the cookie dough. She scoops up a generous chunk and plops it into her mouth.
I suck in a breath, suddenly nervous that it’s terrible and she’s going to start gagging any second, but then she closes her eyes and lets out a low noise of pleasure as she licks a bit of cookie dough off her pointer finger. “Oh my gosh, that’s delicious,” she says. “Did you actually brown the butter?”
“That’s what the recipe said to do,” I say. “Is it really good?”
She nods and helps herself to another bite. “Willa would be so proud. Here,” she says, dipping her finger in the bowl one more time. “You try.” She holds her finger up to my mouth.
Eyes locked on hers, I open my mouth and close my lips over her finger before she pulls her hand away.
