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Emma busied herself with taking the cinnamon rolls to the kitchen so her sister couldn’t see her blush.

“You know I can’t tell you—then it won’t come true.”

“I can’t believe you follow the same rules as my ten-year-olds,” Avery said.

“Well, they’ve always been precocious,” Emma said. “Should I pop two of these in the oven? You want yours warmed, yes?”

“What am I—a heathen? Of course I want it warmed.”

Emma put two of the cinnamon rolls in her oven. Her sister had brought her a dozen—she was set for breakfast all week.

“So how was the trip?” Avery said.

“Good,” Emma said, going for nonchalant. “She approved everything. So that’s officially where we’ll film.”

“And how was the kissing?” Avery asked.

Emma startled. “What? There was no—why do you think—” She cringed, knowing she’d given herself away.

Indeed, Avery’s jaw dropped. “Oh my God. I was just teasing, but you actually kissed, didn’t you?”

“Um, maybe?”

“Emma Judith Kaplan!” Avery smacked her on the arm. “This is amazing. I need details. What was it like? How did it happen?”

Emma flushed and couldn’t stop her smile. Avery sounded as excited as she was about the whole thing. The oven timer went off then, and Avery waved Emma away.

“I’ll get them,” she said. “You talk.”

Emma tried to explain what it was like at the restaurant. How the thought of leaving Jo had suddenly pummeled her in the chest. She tried to explain the tension on the sidewalk or in the car onthe way home from the airport. Like there was electricity in the air. Like the part in a movie where the soundtrack lets you know something important is about to happen.

“And then she said she hoped I had a good birthday, and I just—I—I leaned down and she leaned up, just a little, and I kissed her.”

Avery put a plate with a cinnamon roll on it in front of Emma, but Emma couldn’t be bothered right now.

“I kissed her,” she said again. “And she kissed back. And it wasn’t even that big of a kiss but it wasamazing, Avery, gosh, it was so good. Shekissed me back. And then I just pulled back and said my birthday had been pretty good so far, and then I came inside.”

Avery clicked her tongue. “Damn, my sister’s smooth.”

Emma giggled and rubbed a hand over her face. She finally picked up a fork and attacked her cinnamon roll. Avery had made it, so of course it was delicious.

“So, yeah,” Emma said. “She kissed me back. And now I can spend the whole day freaking out about it and we’ll see what happens when I go into work tomorrow.”

“You’re not going to text her or anything?” Avery asked.

“No,” Emma said immediately. “What would I even say? No. No. Definitely not.”

“So, that’s a no then.”

“Yeah. No.”

They ate their cinnamon rolls in silence for a bit, Emma’s heart still pounding over the retelling of the kiss.

“Dylan owes me a hundred bucks,” Avery said.

“Hmm?” Emma asked around a bite. She swallowed. “Why?”

“I bet you and Jo would kiss before the end of the year,” Avery said.