Page 52 of A Winter in Wonderland
‘Are you sure?’ she asked, one foot already out the door and hopping towards the sauna.
‘Yes, of course. And thank you.’
She paused and looked down at the table. ‘Is this the cookie Josh made?’
‘Is it? I don’t know,’ I lied from over by the sink.
‘I think it is. I saw him decorate one and then leave, back when you were throwing icing on the floor. Have you seen it?’
‘No. Do you think I should go and give it back to him?’
‘I think he left it for you.’
I frowned in confusion and walked over to the table. There, on the corner, was one of the heart-shaped gingerbreads, topped with white icing expertly calligraphied into the wordMyla.
‘That’s your name,’ Esteri hissed. ‘In a heart.’
‘Yes, I can see that,’ I replied, looking around to check no one was watching. My own heart thudded with a sparkle of what this could mean. He left this for me. My name, in a heart.
‘Do you think he likes you too?’
‘No, no, of course not, and I don’t like him like that,’ I whispered, picking it up. And then it dawned on me. ‘You know what, this is nothing. I just remembered that he saw Lumi eat the “Myla” cookie I’d made myself. He was just replacing it. It doesn’t mean anything.’
But even if that were true, even if it was nothing more than a friendly gesture, I was still in trouble. Because I could deny it to Esteri all I wanted, but I wasn’t fooling myself.
I had a crush brewing. On an elf.
Just my luck.
