Page 113 of Our Scorching Summer

There’s absolutely no fucking way she can open her journal. I know for a fact she hasn’t read it since we made those rules back in Brazil, or she would’ve mentioned the notes I’ve slowly added to the blank pages.

She can’t see them—not yet.

Lily’s dark brows furrow. “What’s up with you? Let me go.”

My eyes land on my phone at the other end of the kitchen, and the excuse works its way into my mouth. “Text the list to me.”

“Text it?”

“Yeah, it’ll be easier for me to find than some crummy written list.”

She huffs at my poor regard for her journal, but it’s enough for her to sit back down. “Fine. Okay.”

I grab my phone off the charger and plop it in her hand. “Where do we start?”

“In Brazil, you mentioned talking to some tattoo artists over here,” she suggests.

I did.

“Good memory, beautiful.” I pour the batter for another waffle. “There are a few shops I wanted to book an appointment with.”

Lily’s eyes brighten. “You’re actually getting a new tattoo while we’re here? What are you thinking?”

So curious and so sweet.

“You’ll have to wait and see,” I tease, and she moves her eyes in a circle.

The line work I had in mind for my next tattoo has been floating around my thoughts since our talk on the beach.

“Okay, so we have a starting point. Maybe a tattoo app of some kind.” Lily taps on my phone and looks back up at me. “What’s something else that you’re passionate about that you need to fix?”

Lots of things: the fact I’m not inside her, how the creases on her forehead would look better if my hand ran over them, and how badly I want to hold her.

Definitely not going to tell Lily any of that.

“Um…” The last waffle beeps, and I toss it on the stack. “Maybe something to do with conquering a fear of heights like—”

What would an app like that even consist of? Maybe a recording of Lily’s voice saying,It’s all going to be okay. I know I’d pay top dollar for it.

“Wait, what about something with adrenaline? Scary movies?” The rush of an idea boils to the surface, greasing the gears in my mind. “Maybe an app that acts as a database for all the haunted places in someone’s area?”

“Sounds like my definition of a nightmare, but I’ll write it down.Scary stuff.” Lily taps away on my phone before watching me top each of our waffle-stacked plates with berries, butter, and maple syrup. “Anything else feeling urgent? Some secret passion I don’t know about?”

You.

It’s as if she’s trying to get the words out of me.What if I say them in my head first?

Lily, I think I’m falling—

She gasps. “Oh! Maybe a breakfast delivery app? Breakfast at all hours of the day? You can call it Nico’s Hotcakes.”

“You like my hotcakes so much, you think they need a whole app?”

She giggles. “Shut up.”

“What about a cooking class?” I suggest. “We can take one and see if it’ll help spark some more brilliant uses for my body parts.”

Lily ignores the implication. “I’ve always wanted to learn how to make those little crumpets.”

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