"In the future," he said, breaking the silence, "don't leave without an escort. New York has changed, but Frost Tower is not in the most desirable of locations."
"Then why did you put it there?" I protested as I followed him.
"It was cheaper."
"Probably for a reason. A lot of people use fake vanilla because it's cheaper, and it also has a cloying aftertaste. It's better to just pay for the real thing. Otherwise you'll be paying more because you have to dump your whole batch of cookies."
"Did I get the right vanilla?" I heard him mumble.
"What?"
"Nothing." We walked a few more blocks in silence, then he said, "You remind me of my mom. She's a scientist and has weird facts that she blurts out as non sequiturs."
"You have parents?" I said in mock surprise. "You didn't just pop out of a snowdrift and into my life as an aggravating villain?"
"I'm not a villain," he said.
"You weren't very nice," I told him. "Didn't your mother teach you any manners?"
His face went dark. "I don't want to talk about my parents."
"Fine," I said. "Let's talk about the fact that you said my cookies were garbage and that I'm dumpy and ugly."
"You aren't ugly," he said. He stopped and turned to look at me. His eyes flicked from my nose to my mouth down to my chest and back up. "You're cute," he said, taking my hands. "And I'm sorry."
"Well," I said. He did make a pretty picture. "I forgive you. But you have to let me find a cookie or a dessert you like. We're humans. We are evolutionarily primed to like sweet, salty, fatty foods. I was sure you would think the wedding cookies were yummy."
He released my hands and turned away from me.
"I told you I don't like sweets," he said.
"Yes, but they weren't that sweet. That was the point," I said. I scurried after him and his dog Milo, who was trotting along.
When we reached the tower, Jack escorted me inside. The security guard was snoring at the desk. Jack shook his head.
The lobby looked even better at night. The Christmas trees and the lights made it look like a fairy kingdom and Jack its prince. He turned to me and took me by the shoulders.
"Don't go walking around in the dark," he said. "Promise me. You could be hurt, and then who's going to bake those cookies?" His eye seemed to sparkle slightly in the light when he mentioned cookies.
I smirked at him for a moment, then I crowed, "I knew it! I knew you liked my cookies!"
12
Jack
"Iknew it!"
"No, you don't," I protested.
The security guard woke up with a snort. "Mr. Frost," he said. "Package for you, Ms. Chloe." Then he went right back to sleep.
"You liked my cookies," Chloe said, poking me in the chest. The lights in the lobby glittered off of the melted snowflakes in her honey-blond hair. I had this sudden desire to kiss her, but I fought it back.
She danced around the Christmas decorations with glee.
"You loved the cookies, you loved them!" she whooped, then she ran over and hugged me. It was startling, and she released me as soon as the warmth and softness of her registered.
Then she skipped to the elevators, singing a little made-up song about how Jack Frost liked her cookies. Watching her so ecstatic that someone liked something she had made stirred something in me. Was my icy heart starting to melt? I couldn't let that happen.
