We stand there, side-by-side, for another moment, my armaround her shoulders, before she jumps out of my grasp. “Okay, good night!” She rushes over to her bed and climbs under the covers.
I chuckle to myself as I head to the balcony, wondering what’s going on in her mind, and half-hoping she’s feeling the same thing I am.
Because there’s nothing I want to do more than come back and spend time with her.
I sleep in the next morning, exhausted from the conversation we had, and spend the afternoon playing with Gwen and the boys. Gwen doesn’t ask any questions about last night, so she must not have known that I was gone.
That night, I climb the tower with a lot more confidence, knowing there are no booby traps. Freaking Henry, trying to scare me off.
As I swing my leg over Lily’s balcony, I wonder what I’m in for tonight. More music lessons? More talking? My heart races, whether it’s from the climb or anticipation, I’m not really sure.
I knock on the door, a little more confident that she knows I’m coming. She answers it quickly, swinging the door open with a grin on her face, her long hair braided over her shoulder. “Hi!”
For the first time, she’s not wearing pajamas. Did she purposely keep regular clothes on? Before today, she was just wearing baggy pants and pajamas, and now she’s wearing a pink sweater with fitted jeans. My mouth goes dry at the way her clothes hug her curves.
I get a hold of myself, though, managing a very eloquent, “Hey.”
She steps out of the way, and I walk in.Say something, Ryder!“Uh, it smells good in here.”
“I baked a sourdough,” she says. “Frederic Dough-pin was dying to be made into another loaf.”
“Who?”
She snorts a laugh. “My sourdough starter. I named him Frederic Dough-pin.”
I rack my brain for the pun but can’t come up with one.
She sighs heavily. “You need more music education. Frederic Chopin? Only my favorite composer of all time?”
I shrug a shoulder. “I told you, I’m not into classical music.”
She puts a sassy hand on her hip. “What am I going to do with you?” she asks.
I smirk at her. “Teach me, I guess,” I reply, a flirtatious lilt to my words.
Her eyes widen, and her cheeks pinken. “Yeah, I, uh…guess so.” She turns and heads to the kitchen, busying herself with taking a giant, circular loaf of bread out of a huge pot. I notice she’s wearing the bracelet I made her, and it does something funny to my chest.
I slide my jacket off and don’t miss the way her eyes rove over me, then catch on the bracelet she made for me. A tiny smile appears on her lips, but she doesn’t openly acknowledge it. Instead, she gestures at the bread. “Well, here it is. Have you had fresh sourdough before?”
I shake my head, and she clicks her tongue.
“I might be living in a tower, but you’re living under a rock,” she says.
I laugh out loud before reminding myself that I need to keep it down. The last thing I want to do is hide in Lily’s closet again while Agatha barges in to look for something.
Lily slices a piece of bread, steam rising in her tiny kitchen,and spreads some butter over it, then hands it to me. “Careful, it’s hot.”
I take a bite of the bread, and it’s easily one of the most delicious things I’ve ever tasted. Soft with a crunchy rim, just the right amount of sour. “This is amazing.”
“Right?” Lily slices a piece for herself and takes a bite, then slumps with a smile. “Nothing like fresh sourdough.”
I finish my piece, and before I ask for more, Lily has already sliced and buttered another. I take it from her with a grin. “So, what did you want to do tonight?”
“Uh, watchThe Count of Monte Cristo, of course,” she replies. “Unless you’re too chicken.”
“Chicken? What would I be afraid of?”
“That I’m going to be right, and your entire worldview is about to be shattered.”
