And then there was Sylvik, and the way he made me feel…averycompelling reason to stick around.
But today, trying to focus long enough to decorate my sister’s delicious Christmas cut-out cookies, I was third-guessing those thoughts. Because therewasa reason to return to L.A., and because Sylvik had kissed me, and I’d kissed him back.
Nope, that had been more than kissing. You were all hot and bothered in the space of like two seconds, and if you’d held out foranother thirty, he probably would have made you come just by rubbing against you.
God, he’d felt good.
How many times since the solstice had I regretted stopping him? Even if that hadn’t been his real intentions, even if hehadlost control…I’d wanted that. Wantedhim. So, so badly.
So here I was, grumpy and horny and angry at the world for something I could have fixed.
Riven sighed as she leaned across Mom’s counter to scoop up a small icing bag filled with black royal icing, then reached for the scissors to snip off the end. “You’ve been distracted for days. What happened at the Solstice Circle?”
I started guiltily. “What?”
Without looking up, Mom hummed. Too eagerly, as if she’d been waiting for an opening. “You disappeared with that nice young Sylvik fellow.”
Oh God.
Since my sister was holding out the icing bag and smirking, I yanked it out of her hands, grateful for something to focus on. “What’s this for?”
“Since you suck at methodical and careful icing application?—”
“I hate you,” I interrupted without rancor.
Riven continued with a deeper smirk. “—you’re in charge of decorating the snowmen. Make each of them unique.”
Oh. Well, I could do that, no problem.
“No penises this year,” Mom called out.
Damn.
Still, as I exhaled carefully and bent over the tray offloodedsnowmen cookies, I felt myself calming a bit. This was a good way to use the creative side of my brain, and I could feel my antsiness easing as I blobbed on two eyes, then an open mouth, to make this guy looked shocked. Buttons were easy, and I could make little stick hands look like he was holding a present…
“Sooo…” Riven had gone back to her task, but she wasn’t letting me drop the topic. “What’s been going on, Brooke?”
I wasnotgoing to tell her—or Mom—about that kiss, so I blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “I got another job offer. In L.A.”
Silence, and I peeked up after I finished that snowman to see my mother and sister exchanging a glance. Mom settled a careful look on me. “A new job? In California?”
Riven pounced. “Are you going back?”
“What’s the job?” Mom asked.
I winced and reached for another cookie. This one would have eyelashes and boobs. “It’s not a new thing. It’s…Ethan wants me back.”
There was a clatter from where my sister was working, but I didn’t look up, pretending fascination with the shape of the snowwoman’s thick lips. Lips that felt like mine did after Sylvik pinned me against that tree…
“He wants you back?” Riven blurted, higher pitched than normal. “Like…dating?”
I managed to shrug as I went to work on the modest little neckline of the sweater my snowwoman was apparently wearing. “To work. He has a contract from a client who wants one of my visions, and I think?—”
“Yes!” Mom’s shout startled me to blob on a button too thick, and I looked up in time to see her pumping her fist. “What?” she asked unapologetically. “Iknewthat jerk would realize how brilliant you were and come crawling back, begging you to save his sorry ass.”
…What?
Gaping, I exchanged a glance with my sister, who looked equally shocked by Mom’s harsh words. When I glanced back, our mother shrugged.
