Ugh, but he would have been so warm last night if I had snuggled into him. And I’d thought about it. I thought about melting into him, into his scent of leather and spice. I thought about how strong his hold on me might be, and frankly, I’m ashamed because that’s not something I’ve ever cared about before, but Rupert and Aunt Kitty confused me with the wine and the cream in my mouth and…ugh, I need to focus. I have things to accomplish.
“It seems like you were thinking about him, which is a good sign. The more you think about him, the more that love for him will grow.”
Love? That snaps me right out of my thoughts.
This is why Aunt Kitty can never get involved with anything romantic in my life.
“I’m going to stop you right there.” I rub my hand over my forehead, my headache feeling like it’s attempting to shrink my head into the size of a pea. “There is no love between us, there will never be love between us. So trying to make a nonexistent love grow is not worth your time, nor is it worth annoying me.”
“Annoying you? How could that possibly annoy you?”
“Because I don’t want it,” I say quickly, attempting to use a stern voice. “I don’t want it, Aunt Kitty. I know you have this notion in your head that I need to find someone to spend my life with, but I don’t care about that. I care about the candy shop. I care about showing this town that the Gossage name is not associated with screwing up. I have goals, and finding a relationship is not one of them, so please just stop.”
She leans against the counter, clearly not happy with me. “He’s a good man.”
“You don’t even know him.”
“I know that he helped you yesterday and didn’t get anything out of it. He did it out of the kindness of his heart.”
“He has ulterior motives,” I say. “He didn’t do that out of kindness.”
Although, I feel a little wrong saying that, because he did ask me to teach him how to do things because he’s never had those life experiences, and after we stared up at the stars, silent and holding hands, I don’t think that was for the whole proposal angle he’s trying to take. I think that was genuine compatibility.
Still, Aunt Kitty doesn’t need to know that, because she will take it and run with it.
“Sometimes you can change?—”
“Just stop,” I say, standing from the table, annoyed that she keeps pushing it. “Nothing is going to happen between me and Theo, so just let it go.”
“Okay,” she says somberly, making me feel bad that I yelled at her. “Well, he brought over that note on the counter. Left it here when he saw that you weren’t going for a walk this morning. I believe he wanted to hand it to you in person.”
I glance at the envelope and then back at her. “Did you read it?”
“Does it look like I’m someone who’d commit a federal crime by reading another person’s mail?”
“Yes,” I answer truthfully.
“Well, not anymore,” she answers and then takes off toward the living room, leaving the food on the stove to burn.
I quickly turn off the stovetop and then snag the envelope and open it up.
Hey Gossy,
After last night, I thought I’d make a new proposal of rules since you’ve been breaking them so often. It’s okay, not all of us can be as perfect as me.
The corner of my lip curls up in a smile, and I hate that he can charm me even through a simple note.
So to save you from further embarrassment, I propose these new rules. Feel free to make adjustments and send back to me. I’m accepting mail through the mail slot in the door if you’re too shy to bring it to me.
*Clears throat*
Rule Number One: Theo is not allowed to buy Renley and Kitty’s affection.
(We can keep this. I’m really not into the whole buying someone’s affection for me thing. I’d like to earn it.)
Rule Number Two: Theo is allotted five visitations with Renley each day.
(I propose we move this to infinite visitations because I can sense that you’re getting antsy not seeing me all the time. I get it, I’m enigmatic and playful and tend to be the sunshine in someone’s day, so by all means, let’s make this infinite for you. See how mindful I am, how demure? [Did you get that reference? Please say yes.])
