Lindsay

 

 I want to make some grand gesture to show Kate how much her friendship means to me, even if she hates me for being with her dad, but I come up with nothing, not even anything small. My messages have all fallen on deaf ears.

Then I remember Mom talking about making cookies for Kate. She loves those. I could do that and take them over. See if I can get anywhere. At least it would be an excuse to visit her to try to build some bridges.

When I get home from work, I get out the mixer. It’s good to feel like I’m doing something even if I never dare deliver the cookies. I’m making three kinds—chocolate chip (her favorite), butterscotch and coconut, and some nutty crunch ones I don’t think she’s had.

The doorbell goes off as I’m getting the last batch out of the oven. The washing up is done, and I’ve already eaten three cookies, trying to calm my nerves at the idea of going next door. Those cookies will be going straight to my hips. Maybe Kate won’t thank me for them.

My heart lurches when I see a tall broad figure through the frosted glass. And when I open the door, and it’s Gavin, my heart lurches even more.

He smiles like he’s really pleased to see me. Maybe he’s just relieved it wasn’t Mom who answered the door. I’m pretty sure she’ll have chewed him out, even though I told her not to. I asked her if she did, but she refused to talk about it.

“Is it okay if I come in?”

I shrug and open the door wider. I’m too scared to give myself hope this means anything other than one neighbor calling on another.

“I’ve been baking cookies.” Talk about stating the obvious.

“My detective powers are not failing then.”

I look at him like a dork. Where has my voice gone?

“You have powdered sugar on your cheek, and you’re wearing an apron covered in flour,” he says, helpfully, as if I didn’t know what the evidence for cookie baking was. “I need to talk to you.”

“Right.” I have to ask. “Does Kate know you’re here?”

“No. She…”

“Won’t she be upset if she finds out?”

“Not after the chat we had this morning. She’s calmed down about everything.”

“Really? That’s good. But what does that mean? That she’s not going to throw things at me if I pass her in the street?”

“She told me she wants me to be happy and that she knows you make me happy. It would make me happier still if you two were talking. She says she misses you.”

“I baked the cookies for her, but I didn’t know if I could drum up the courage to give them to her.”

“I think she’ll like that.”

His fingers trace my cheek and brush the powdered sugar away.

“It isn’t just Kate who misses you,” he says. “I missed you, like crazy.”

“I missed you, too.”

“Are you done baking?” he asks.

“Yes.”

He unties my apron and lifts it over my head. “I love that apron on you, but if I go back covered in flour it will be a dead giveaway.”

He takes me in his arms and kisses me as if he’s waited a long time for this kiss. We both have. I love the feel of his hands in my hair pulling me toward him, the scruff of his cheeks on my face, his hard body against mine. Oh, and I missed that feeling, too, the sudden need for more, much more than a kiss. I put my nose to his neck, breathing in the male scent of him that I remember.

“Let’s go out,” he says, his voice rough.

“Out where?”

“For a walk.”

“You want to go for a walk now?” Walking is the last thing on my mind.

“It’s safer not to be alone with you in your house the way I’m feeling right now,” he says. “Not with your mom and dad due back any moment and likely to barge in on something no parent wants to see.”

And then I remember that awful chat with Mom in the kitchen. “Did Mom ever come to see you?”

“She did. Yesterday.”

“But I told her about us ages ago.”

“Maybe she didn’t want to speak to me in front of Kate. I don’t know. My dad came to take Kate out to lunch and I was home on my own.”

She probably waited until I was out, too. “What did she say?” I can’t imagine it was good.

“A whole lot of things best not repeated. But I told her the truth. I told her that I love you.”

“You love me?”

“I do.” He kisses my nose, and I melt inside. He loves me! “I told her that I was only staying away from you until Kate was well again and that I was going to have a real heart to heart with her soon because I didn’t think she understood how serious I am about you.”

“And so you spoke to her?”

“I was going to speak to her tonight, but Kate got there before me.”

That’s the friend I know, back thinking of others. “What did Mom say when you said that you loved me?”

“It stopped her in her tracks. I don’t think she had finished her tirade. But I told her I hoped you loved me too and that if you did, not all the moms or daughters in the world could keep me away from you, in the end.”

I leave Mom a note “Out with Gavin. Back soon.” I hope she’ll be happy for me. I know she’s tired of me moping about. And no doubt, she’s filled Dad in on everything. They don’t seem to have any secrets from each other. I like that.