Page 36 of Fairy Cakes in Winter
“I dunno. She’s smart, so…maybe.”
Theo groaned aloud. “That’s not good. We can’t work together and do…sex things.”
“No apologies and no overthinking.” I squeezed his shoulder. “Last night was good.”
“Yes. It was,” he said dreamily.
“I’ll call you later. We can discuss…our business plan.”
“That sounds tawdry,” he murmured, fiddling with his hat as he cast a quick glance at the shop. “Yet tantalizing.”
“I should put that on my logo,” I teased, pleased when he gave me a hint of that sweet sunshine grin. Fuck, I wanted more of that.
“Tawdry, tantalizing, tasty treats. It has a certain ring.”
“It does,” I agreed, trying to think of a reason to stay with him even though my teeth chattered in my skull. “You need a ride to the station?”
“No, thank you. I like to walk.”
“Okay. Later, Theo.”
“Good-bye, Scott.”
He nodded—or I think he did. It was more of a slight tilt of the head, and then he was gone. I watched him move down the cobblestone street until the green pom-pom on top of his beanie disappeared from view.
My hands were cold, I couldn’t feel my toes, and I’d bet anything my cheeks were red from the wind. But you know, I felt pretty damn good.
And then I didn’t.
* * *
“Emmett wantedme to pass along a video game message.”
“Where is he? I thought he’d want to FaceTime with his cool Uncle Scott.” I guzzled half a beer and let out a mighty belch, earning an automatic growl of disapproval from my sister.
“He’s with his dad this week, and you’re gross.” Heather glowered, emphasizing those last two words with a tap on her screen.
I put my hand on my chest and widened my eyes. “Me?”
“Yeah, you.”
“Well, tell him I miss him and I’ll text him later.” I waited for her nod, then asked, “What was his video game message?”
Heather flipped her long, dark hair over her shoulder and shrugged. It reminded me of something our mom would do. And the old cuckoo clock hanging on the wall of her office behind her head once belonged to our grandparents, which reminded me of family. Fuck, I missed them.
I wasn’t sure I was in the right state of mind for a call from home. I didn’t know what my problem was. I’d been off since yesterday morning. Fine, but not fine. Sad but not sure I had a real reason to be.
“Em wants to trade his quarterback for the one on the tiger team,” my sister said, pulling me from my reverie.
“That sentence makes zero sense. There’s no tiger team in football.”
“They have orange outfits…like Tony the Tiger.”
We’d had the “uniforms, not outfits or costumes” conversation more times than I could count, so I let that one slide.
“The Bengals?” I offered.
“Maybe. Em said you’d know. He also said you hadn’t been playing online as much. And now I have to go all big sister on you and ask if everything’s okay.”