“Here you go.” I hand him his apron, and he slides it over his head and ties the strings, his broad chest bulging beneath the fabric.
Why does he look so good in a kitchen apron? And why am I even noticing how he looks? Maybe Alina’s romance books are messing with me.
Focus. Apple cake. Simple.
As Professor Sage lights a fire in the massive brick oven at the far side of the room, preparing it for our cakes, I grab a large mixing bowl from the shelf under our workspace and start to measure our dry ingredients into it.
“How can I help?” Aric says. “I mean, I know you makekillercupcakes, but I’m not too shabby in the kitchen myself.”
I look up, and Aric is smiling again. Does he always smile like that? His hair is pulled back in a braid today, showing off his many ear piercings, and a thin silver chain adorns his neck. I don’t recall seeing him wear that before.
I shouldn’t recall any of these details about him, I chastise myself.Cake. Focus on cake.
“Can you mix the wet ingredients?”
I’m about to tell him how to do it, but he gets right to work, whisking together the butter, sugar, milk, and vanillaextract. His arm muscles flex as he whisks with finesse, and I catch myself staring not once, but twice, then have to pull my attention back to my own mixing bowl.
“So,” Aric says as we work, “I started a list of ideas for the ball.”
A jolt of surprise goes through me, and I look up from my wooden cutting board, where I’m dicing up the sweet red apples we’ll use in our batter. “Really?”
Aric arches a brow as he looks down at me. “Of course. That’s the deal, right? You tutor me, and I help plan the ball.”
Thatiswhat we agreed on, but a big part of me didn’t think he’d follow through. I’m realizing that I don’t know Aric Vandermere at all. I thought I had a good idea of the type of guy he was, but now I think I was wrong.
“Yeah,” I say, returning my gaze to the cutting board and grabbing another apple. “So, what did you come up with?”
“Well, I figure the theme will be the moon, right? I mean, Blue Moon Ball and all.”
He actually gets me to smile. “Yeah, the moon. Well, the blue moon.”
“And what’s the significance of the blue moon? I dropped my astronomy class, so the sky is a mystery to me. Here, you ready to add the apples?”
“Almost.” I finish dicing one last apple. “Okay, done.”
Aric takes my bowl of diced apples, his arm brushing mine, and a wave of butterflies goes through me.
The blue moon, I tell myself.Focus on the blue moon.
“The blue moon is somewhat rare,” I say as Aric beginscarefully stirring the apples into the batter we created with the wet and dry ingredients. “It only happens every few years. It amplifies energy, so most spellwork, manifestation, and intention setting will be strengthened. But it’s also an opportunity for inner reflection and self-discovery, among other things.”
Aric perks up and stops stirring. “Reflection...” He gets a thoughtful furrow in his green-tinted brow. “We could make that our theme. And we could use mirrors and water in the decorations. You know, reflective surfaces.”
I blink. That’s actually . . .
I crack another smile, this one bigger than the last. “That’s a great idea.”
Aric’s hazel eyes shine when they meet mine. “You think so?”
I nod, and the movement sends my glasses sliding down the bridge of my nose. “I do.”
He watches me as I push my glasses back up with a knuckle. He’s no longer focusing on the batter, just on... me.
Those butterflies flutter around some more, and I quickly turn my attention to our cake pan. “I’ll oil this, and then will you pour the batter in?”
Aric seems to shake himself out of whatever thought he was lost in. “Yeah, it’s ready.”
After I prep the pan, Aric carefully pours the batter in, sending up a delicious scent of apples, cinnamon, and vanilla. He smooths the batter into the corners with a spatula, then looks at me. “You remember the spell we’resupposed to use?” He glances up at Professor Sage, who is currently demonstrating proper knife-handling etiquette to one of the groups. “I was kind of distracted when she told us what it is.”
