My eyes spring open, and the expression on Ryder’s face looks a lot like…well, like I pictured it would. Eyes soft, a small smile, and a piercing gaze looking directly into mine.
This is not helping my overactive imagination.
I swallow hard. “All clean?”
He blinks twice, as if coming to his senses, and snaps his hand away. “Yep. All good.” He wipes his hand on his pants, leaving another trail of purple icing against the black fabric.
“Cool. Thanks.” I look back down at the counter, knowing my cheeks are flushing like crazy, and start squirting purple icing on my piano cookie.
Oh, boy. I’m in trouble.
CHAPTER 29
Ryder
FRANZ LISZT — LIEBESTRAUM NO. 3 IN A-FLAT MAJOR, S. 541
What is wrong with me? I need to get a handle on myself.
All I’ve been telling myself for the last few days is that I need to keep myself from getting too entwined with Lily. Of course, the first thing I do when I show up at her tower is offer her my own calming object. Not that I’ve needed Galileo lately, but he’s been an important part of my healing for the last year.
Every time I get close to Lily, I try to pull back, but it’s so hard when she’s being…well,herself. Beautiful and sweet and bubbly and everything that makes me want to scoop her up and kiss her senseless.
After I finished “cleaning” Lily’s face of frosting, when in reality I was taking advantage of the opportunity to touch her, I internally scolded myself for getting caught up in the moment. What was I thinking? Adam, never mind Peter, my best friend, would lose his mind if he knew how I touched his little sister.
Madeleine comes back in with a hand towel. “Here, Lily. Oh.” She pauses. “You’re all clean. Sorry it took so long.”
“No worries,” Lily says. “Ryder…uh, never mind. All good now.”
Madeleine’s eyes shift from Lily to me, and she clocks the purple icing that’s smeared on my shirt and pants. I’m not sure I like the analysis her mind is doing. Because I know where she’s going with this, and I can’t let the rumors begin. After all, she’s best friends with Luna, who’s engaged to Lily’s brother, Henry.
“I was worried she would, uh, injure her eye,” I say quickly. “So, you know, typical safety business.”
Okay, Ryder. Time to shut up.
Lily saves me by proudly holding up her cookie to show Madeleine. “How does it look?”
“Oh, it’s…” Madeleine seems to be at a loss for words, and I don’t blame her. It’s pretty disastrous.
“I think you should stick to playing the piano instead of decorating one,” I offer.
Lily giggles. “You’re probably right. But this was fun.” She takes a big bite of her piano cookie, and her eyes flutter shut. “So delicious.” A smudge of icing dots the corner of her mouth, but I don’t dare touch it, no matter how much I want to.
“Speaking of playing the piano, are you heading there tonight?” Madeleine asks.
I nod. “Right after we’re done here. Gwen’s dad is giving us free rein whenever it’s unlocked.”
“That’s awesome,” Madeleine says. “I’d love to hear you play, Lily. Luna raves about your music.”
Lily blushes, the incredible, humble woman she is, and says, “I’d love that.”
We stay for a few minutes. Lily chats with Madeleine about Luna and Henry’s eventual wedding plans, and soon enough, Lily’s ready to leave. We wave goodbye to Madeleine andMason, and I carry a box full of our leftover cookies as we walk to the theater.
“That was so fun,” Lily says. “Even if I suck at decorating cookies.”
“It doesn’t bother you?” I ask. “The fact that your cookies were…”
“Horrendous?” She shakes her head. “Not at all. I’m used to failing at things.”
