I can never say no to those eyes. “Uh… sure, baby. We can bring him some cookies.”
“Okay. I’m done. Let’s go,” she says and hops off her stool to put her shoes on, even though we’re only going three feet across the landing.
I guess we’re doing this right now. No time like the present.
I pull out a plate and load it with half a dozen crazily decorated snowman cookies.
“Put that one on the plate, please,” Autumn demands while pointing at the cookie she just decorated. It looks more like a melted snowman, but I do as she asks because why the fuck not? These aren’t gourmet creations. We literally do this so we can take them over to my parents and she can munch on them while getting a sugar high on Christmas day. Nobody else eats them.
“Let’s go, mom,” she says impatiently.
“Excuse me,” I tell her. “That’s mommy to you. Not mom.”
She rolls her eyes, and I ruffle her hair. I grab the plate of cookies, and we head to the landing to knock on Declan’s door.
Over the last week and a half, since we’ve been unbroken up, we’ve chatted here and there. It’s not exactly like it was before; we don’t talk every day, but it’s similar, familiar. My heart does this little flutter thing anytime I get a message from him, though, and quite frankly, it’s pathetic.
That’s why I’ve decided to be active on the dating app for real this time and have a date planned with a financial advisor for after the new year. Because a new year equals a new me. I’m more than ready to put myself out there and find love because I can’t wait around for love to find me anymore. So, I’m taking the bull by the horns and going for it.
It still doesn’t stop the little flutter my heart does at the prospect of getting to see Declan face-to-face, though. I hear rustling behind the door before it swings open, and instead of Declan, a beautiful blonde woman stands before us.
“Um, I’m sorry. We were looking for Declan, but we’ll just come back later,” I say and slowly back up towards my door.
The woman is dressed in a killer emerald green pantsuit with a black silk camisole and matching heels, and I’m standing here wearing flour-covered overalls, a ratty old band T-shirt, and Santa socks. Never mind that my hair hasn’t beenwashed in four days because hers looks like she just got a blowout. I’m basically an ogre next to her.
“Who are you?” Autumn asks.
The blonde looks from me to Autumn and then smiles. She has dimples for Christ’s sake. Could she be any more beautiful?
She holds out her hand to Autumn. “I’m Kate, and you are…”
Autumn shakes her hand like a miniature adult. “I’m Autumn, and this is my mommy.” She throws her thumb over her shoulder. “We live right there.”
Kate looks at me and reaches her hand out. “You must be Penny, I’ve heard a lot about you,” she says and gives me a genuine smile.
I step forward and shake her hand, confused by how she knows about me. Surely Declan doesn’t talk about me to the women he brings home. That would be weird.
“I’m Declan’s sister.”
Oh.Oh.
Now I feel like an idiot.
I finally get my head on straight and say, “It’s nice to meet you. We were just making cookies, and Autumn wanted to give some to Declan.”
“Declan’s just in the shower. Why don’t you come on in?”
“Oh no, we wouldn’t want to impose.”
“Please, mommy?” Autumn asks with her puppy dog eyes.
I chew on my bottom lip for a second before I relent. “Just for a minute. The oven is still on.”
Kate widens the door, and we follow behind her. I take in the apartment, and it’s not what I expected. I thought since he’s a bachelor, Declan would have a dark and moody space, but that’s not the case.
A light gray couch lines his living room wall, and across from it is a really cool entertainment center reminiscent of the reception desk in his tattoo shop. He’s got a dark blue Persian-style rug on the floor and a fiddle leaf fig tree in the corner. His kitchen isn’t updated like mine is but it’s clean, free of any counterspace mess.
“I can take the cookies from you,” Kate offers.
