“So that helped you feel better about going to Cookies & Kisses?” he asks.
“Definitely,” I reply. “And it’s perfect, because I’m comfortable with Madeleine and Mason. Did you know Madeleine helped my brother Henry propose to Luna?”
He shakes his head, so I regale him with the story of all the custom cookies my brother asked Madeleine to make that told the story of how they met—twice—and fell in love. Ryder listens carefully, smiling when appropriate, but I can feel a distance between us. Where’s the Ryder who tucked me into bed after my panic attack and defended me to my siblings? But it’s too awkward to ask.
Soon enough, Ryder’s opening the door to Cookies & Kisses. The smell of vanilla and cinnamon wafts toward me, and I feel warm all inside. Madeleine is standing behind the counter, and she smiles widely as we walk in.
“Lily! I’m so happy you’re here!” She gestures at the stools set up at the counter. “Sit, sit. Do you want something to drink? Coffee? Tea?”
“Any chance you have hot chocolate?” I ask.
“Yes!” She pushes the swinging door behind her and calls to Mason. “Can you get some hot chocolate going?”
“Sure thing,” he calls back.
“Mason’s here?” Ryder asks, his voice pitched a little higher.
I furrow my brow at him. “Why are you being weird?”
Madeleine gestures to me. “Yeah, what’s that all about?”she asks. “Mason was all grumpy when he saw you a couple weeks ago.”
“Uh, nothing,” he says, but I see the red tint on his cheeks.
“Ooh, did you and Peter do something stupid?” I taunt.
“Maybe,” he replies. He glances at Madeleine and back at me, then adds in a lower voice, “But Mason totally deserved it.”
I giggle, and Madeleine just shakes her head.
Ryder sets his hands on the counter. “So. What kind of cookies have you got for us?”
“I don’t know why you thinkyou’regetting cookies,” Madeleine says with a grin. “This is all about Lily.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll share,” I whisper to Ryder.
“You better,” he replies.
Madeleine reaches under the counter and produces a white tray. “I kind of went all out for you,” she says.
My hands fly up to my mouth. There are the classic chocolate chip cookies, but then there’s an assortment of macarons, snickerdoodles, peanut butter blossoms, and sugar cookies. I can’t decide which to eat first, and a little squeal erupts from my lips.
Ryder chuckles beside me. “You’re that excited over cookies?”
“Didn’t you have some a few weeks ago? When you met Madeleine here?”
Ryder shakes his head. “Henry scared me with his talk about booby traps, and I never tried any before Gwen finished them.”
I look at him, my eyes wide. “Trust me, they’re worth it.” I settle on a pink macaron and sink my teeth into the pillowy cookie. Raspberry. I close my eyes and savor the taste. “This. Is. Incredible.”
“Yay, thank you!” Madeleine says.
Ryder chuckles and chooses a chocolate macaron forhimself. His eyes widen as he takes a bite, and he lets out a little groan that sets a fire in my belly. “Okay, I take back everything I said before. You were right to be excited.”
“See?” I take another bite and hum in appreciation. “This is the best.”
“I’m so glad you love them,” Madeleine says.
Mason emerges from the kitchen, and I don’t miss the glare he sends Ryder’s way, but he doesn’t linger on it. He hands us two steaming mugs of hot chocolate, and I feel like a little girl again, but in a good way. It’s like I get to relive the best parts of my childhood.
