“What the hell is this?” I grunt from the weight. My arms tremble as I deposit it on the floor beside the table.
First, I unwrap the vase. It’s simple, elegant, and exactly something my mom would have chosen for herself. The second bag surprises me. I kneel on the floor and pull out a wrapped cube. A white envelope is taped to the top of the wrapping paper, and I cut through it with my fingernail before pulling out a card.
Maybe you were right about wanting to make someone else’s dreams come true.
-C
With shaky fingers, I peel apart the wrapping paper to reveal a professional mixer. I recognize the brand as one that belonged in my never going to happen but might as well torture myself with looking at it list.
My eyes fill with tears. It’s not about the mixer itself, but the meaning behind it that turns me inside out.
I reread the card again, and the butterflies in my stomach rage and riot even harder the second time. The feeling has nothing to do with the urge to bake until two a.m. tonight and everything to do with the man who gave me the rush in the first place.
Before I chicken out, I pull out my phone and shoot Cal a text.
Thank you for the mixer.
Cal
Thank me by making my favorite.
Deal.
I go to bed with the stupidest smile on my face that night, feeling better than I have in weeks.
25
ALANA
I wake up the next morning excited and ready to meet with the contractor. Now that things with Cal seem to be settled, I feel more ready to work with him on the house.
I breeze through the morning routine with enough energy to rival Cami. Her enthusiasm about starting summer camp rubs off on me, and we spend the entire car ride blasting her favorite song from the latest Dreamland princess movie.
I gave up on my battle against the Kanes and their fairytale empire ages ago. It was a pointless fight, especially when all of Cami’s friends are obsessed with Dreamland and their princess movies. Even I have to admit the films are pretty cute, although Cami and I both agree it would be nice for them to have a movie about someone from Colombia. Bonus points if they’re from Barranquilla like my family.
By the time I arrive back at the house, my mood can’t get any better.
“What has you smiling like that?” Cal peeks into the kitchen.
I drop the pan I was cleaning back into the sudsy water and shut off the music streaming from the portable speaker on the counter. “It’s the first day of summer.”
“Congratulations. What do you plan on doing first?”
I motion toward the dishes. “I need to finish this up before the contractor gets here.”
He begins to roll up the sleeves of his linen shirt, revealing his thick forearms. “How about I dry while you wash?”
I look up from his arms. “Why?”
“Because I finished up the attic, and I don’t have anything else to do before the contractor gets here.”
“You finished that attic already?”
“Yup.” He grabs a towel hanging on the oven and throws it over his shoulder before turning toward me.
I can’t help smiling at him. “Domesticity looks good on you.”
His lips twitch. “Maybe Iris was on to something.”
My spine stiffens. Who the hell is Iris?
I’ve never heard that name come out of his mouth before, but he obviously cares a lot about her based on the way his eyes light up at the mere mention of her name.
I grab the Brillo pad and get to scrubbing the leftover eggs off the pan. Cal stands beside me, drying the pot I had washed a minute ago. The scrape of the scouring pad against metal makes my ears ache.
He nudges me with his elbow. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“Iris says the same thing when she’s mad.” His voice sounds lighter, and I look up to find his eyes sparkling.
What a dick.
I scrub so hard, a piece of the pad breaks off and floats away.
“Are you sure nothing is wrong?” he teases.
“Yup.”
“If you insist. I’d hate to put our friendship at risk already.”
“Here you go.” I rinse the pan off and pass it to him so he can shut up.
He leans forward to whisper in my ear, “It’s cute to see you get all jealous over my sister-in-law, but it’s really not necessary.”
I blink. “Sister-in-law?”
“Iris Elizabeth Kane. AKA Declan’s wife.”
“Declan got married?”
He nods with a smile. “To my best friend.”
Well, don’t you look like the stupid one now.
“That’s nice that you two are close.” My nose wrinkles.
He taps it. “Declan doesn’t seem to agree either.”
A laugh catches in my throat. “How is he?”
“Insufferable as always.”
“That’s a shame. Hopefully he finally got that surgery to help with his resting dick face.”
Cal throws his head back and laughs. The combination of his smile and the light streaming through the window makes him rival the sun. I step closer, desperate for the warmth only he can provide.
“God, I’ve missed you.” He wraps an arm around me and tugs me against him. The gesture is intended to be completely platonic, but the tingling from my head to my toes definitely isn’t. Cal doesn’t seem any better with the way he leans close and sniffs my hair while he thinks I’m not looking.
My heart thuds loudly, blocking my hearing.
Day one of being just friends is going well. Can’t wait for what’s in store next.
Ryder Smith, the general contractor from Lopez Luxury, pulls out a tape measure. “Shall we get started with a walkthrough of the house?”
Cal looks over at me with a tight smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. “Ready?”
My right eye twitches. “Of course.”
Cal and I are careful to keep a wide berth between us while we show Ryder the house. The few times we end up touching, one of us has a knee-jerk reaction. I’m not sure if this is what Cal had in mind when he suggested being friends, but I’m hoping we can snap out of it.
Ryder doesn’t seem to notice. He jots down notes on his clipboard while asking us a ton of questions, some of which I don’t know the answers to.
Ryder squats down near the entrance to the kitchen where the wood floor switches to vinyl. “Does the wood floor continue under here?”
Cal looks over at me like I should know the answer.
“I remember my mom saying the previous owner covered up the floors in the kitchen, so I think the original flooring runs throughout the house.”
“I can have one of my guys take a look and confirm if that’s true. If they are original, we only need to refinish them which will save us a lot of time compared to waiting for a new floor.”
“With us setting such a high sale price, would buyers expect something more modern? Like marble perhaps?” Cal crosses his arms against his chest, giving me a perfect view of his veiny forearms.
I nearly miss what he says because I’m too distracted from the arm porn happening right now.
“Marble?” I ask.
“What’s wrong with marble?” Cal frowns.
“It doesn’t fit the style of the house.”