He hadn’t said my name in so long, I didn’t know what to say. My brain literally shut off.
When I said nothing, he reached for the cake box. “Please, let me get that.”
I handed over the cake without even thinking and, like a zombie, headed for the house. I don’t even think I blinked; I just moved one foot in front of the other, trying not to breathe in his warm, sensual citrus scent. Or notice the fact that in his passenger seat was the biggest pink unicorn I had ever seen. There went my favorite status with Gemma. I was already hanging on by a thread. Like I said, he was the most doting uncle of all time. To combat his coup, I was going to have to plan the ultimate sleepover with her and Whitney and bake a bazillion cookies to eat while we watched movies.
“Happy birthday?” he said as if he had just remembered it was my birthday too.
“Uh, thank you. It looks like you need to bring in your gift for Gemma. I’ll take the cake in,” I rushed to say.
“I was planning on sneaking it in later.”
“That makes sense.” I kept marching forward.
“How are you?” He seemed hesitant to ask. I was sure he knew about my breakup. No doubt Dani and Brock had filled him in. They were like the Three Musketeers. All for one and one for all. Their bond over the last year had only seemed to deepen. Grandma was right—there was something odd going on in the Hollands’ world. And more than the fact that John and Sheridan Holland were separated. There was this nervous energy around all of them. It had been easy to ignore when I was with Tristan, but now, being around him, I felt it on a molecular level.
I tried to shake off the weird feeling. “I’m good,” I lied. “How are you?” I dared a peek at him.
He stopped and tilted his head, making me stop. “It’s really good to see you,” he didn’t answer my question. Or did he? I didn’t know, but he made some butterflies take flight in my stomach, and that I couldn’t have. I was evicting all the butterflies and putting up warning signs that if any of the pretty winged creatures tried to sneak in, they would be drowned by chocolate. Lots and lots of chocolate.
“It’s nice to see you too,” I said, flustered. Dang it. I was going to be aloof, not nice. It was my downfall. My sisters always said I was too kind. Maybe they were right.
He smiled. Like a real smile. I hadn’t seen that smile in a long time. Yep, more butterflies. I supposed that meant there was going to be a mass execution tonight. Death by chocolate.
Cue a bunch of awkward silence as we stood staring at each other and, admittedly, smiling. I needed to get tough. So, what did I do? “I adopted a cat. A male cat.” I. Was. An. Idiot.
He squinted, not quite sure what to make of me. That was a good call on his part. I had no idea either, so I walked off, my cheeks burning in the cool autumn air.
“What’s your cat’s name?” he asked as we hiked up the steep stone steps that led to Dani and Brock’s postmodern-style mini-mansion.
Of course, he would be kind and ask a question like that. I wished he would just ignore me and let me live my life in peace. I say peace, but I had a feeling I would be tortured for the rest of my life knowing what he tasted like. It was better than anything I had ever created in the kitchen. Worse, I’d felt the comfort of his arms, and as hard as I tried to deny it, they felt like home. I’d thought I would feel the same way in Tristan’s embrace, but deep down, I’d known I was only a visitor who would eventually find that she had overstayed her welcome. Why, then, did it hurt so badly to be kicked out?
“His name is Oscar,” I finally said once I’d quieted my mind.
“Oscar the Cat. I like it.”
That concluded our conversation as we journeyed up the steep steps. Once we made it to the top, we had another awkward moment while we waited for someone to answer the door after ringing the bell. We looked anywhere but at each other. That was, until he whispered, “You look amazing.”
I didn’t get to respond, other than my pulse skyrocketing, because Dani opened the door.
As she took us in, she lost all color in her face, and her eyes widened as if she’d seen a ghost. “Did you come together?” she could barely articulate.
He reached out and touched her arm as if to comfort her. “We only arrived at the same time.”