Gale straightens up, a hint of amusement playing at the corners of his mouth. “Smart creature.” He nods sagely.
As he transforms my kitchen into a chocolate disaster zone, something shifts inside me. I’d planned to be alone, to accept he’d be with someone else—my own stupid setup. I shouldn’t want him. Every cell in my body screams caution. And yet. My gaze traces the curve of his jaw, the flex of his forearms as he works. The smart move would be to turn away. To slam shut the door on this temptation and never look back.
But I’m not good at being smart when it comes to him.
He must sense my inner struggle—or maybe it’s the fact that I’m staring like he’s the last slice of pizza—because he turns. Yeah, yeah, I’m playing with fire here, but maybe I can just toast some metaphorical marshmallows without making a wildfire.
He’s looking at me with a softness, a smear of cocoa powder on his cheek. “I didn’t want you to be alone today.”
Heat creeps up my lower stomach like ivy. “Who said I’d be alone?”
“Brooke said you were gonna work for the day. It’s the weekend. Didn’t sit right with me.” He rubs the back of his neck, a hint of vulnerability in his eyes. “Thought maybe I could change that. Make it something worth remembering. If you want. Dessert for breakfast. Bubble bath. Whatever makes you feel good.”
For a moment, I’m speechless. Then, surprising myself, I reach out with my free hand and wipe the cocoa smudge from his cheek. “I do like feeling good,” I say.
Gale’s grin unfolds slowly, like a secret being revealed, and I feel a swoop of vertigo, thrilling and terrifying. Unspoken words linger between us, mingling with the rich scent of baking chocolate.
“So,” I manage, my voice a stranger to my own ears, “about that bubble bath...”
His eyes darken, a flash of something primal quickly masked by playfulness. “Guaranteed to make you forget everything but the here and now.”
Chapter Fourteen
Gale sat on the hallway rug and pressed the back of his head against Harriet’s bathroom door, inhaling deeply while fiddling with the rug’s wool tassels. The mingled scents of almond and vanilla wafted through the air. He’d spent nearly twenty minutes at the store searching for the perfect combination of fragrant foams and fizzing bath bombs.
A gentle splash of water reached his ears, followed by a low sigh that seemed to reverberate through his bones. Harriet was just feet away, soaking in steamy water. Her soft, bare skin lay hidden beneath a mound of shimmering bubbles. He swallowed hard, his throat clicking audibly, and squeezed his eyes closed. “So, birthday girl,” he called out, hoping his voice didn’t betray the chaotic energy thrumming through him. “How’d you say that thirty is treating you so far?”
Her laugh echoed off the tiles. “Well, considering I’m lounging in a bubble bath fit for a princess, I’d say pretty damn good, thanks to you.”
His skin hummed with a warmth he couldn’t explain, like sunlight breaking through clouds. A smile took over his whole face before his brain could catch up. “Anytime.” There was something about making Harriet happy that did things to him he couldn’t quite figure out—like his heart had suddenly grown three sizes and he didn’t know what to do with all that extra space. Simpleas he was, he knew this much: seeing her smile made everything make sense, even if he couldn’t explain why.
He wasn’t a monk, or a prude. He’d definitely been around the dating scene. The relationship merry-go-round? He’d taken spins. And the lust roller coaster? Yep, ridden that plenty of times. His love life had its ups and downs, for sure. Some thrills, some spills, and a whole lot of learning experiences. But Harriet? She was shaping up to be a whole fucking theme park.
There was another splash, and her next soft contemplative sigh hit him straight in the dick.
“You know,” Harriet mused, her voice drifting through the door like steam, oblivious to the effect she had on him. “I thought turning thirty would feel more... I don’t know, weighty?” She paused, and Gale could almost picture her shrugging in the tub. “It sounds dumb to say out loud, but I guess I’d always sort of expected I’d eventually get some sort of manual downloaded into my brain. Like... ‘Congrats! You’ve unlocked the Secrets of Adult Wisdom.’”
Gale snorted. “And? I’m guessing no user guide popped up when you woke up this morning?”
“Nada.” Harriet sighed dramatically. “Still waiting for that ‘aha’ moment when I magically figure out work-life balance, meal prep, and, I don’t know, maybe how to fold a fitted sheet.” She was quiet for a moment. “But you know what? Maybe it’s okay to be imperfect or unfinished or whatever.”
“If you ask me, you’re doing pretty damn good across the board.”
“I guess. Thanks for the pep talk.” There was a pause, then another splash—quieter. When she spoke again, her voice was softer, tinged with something he couldn’t quite place. “Though I have to admit, sometimes I see friends settling down, or even startingfamilies like Brooke... and it gives me FOMO. Which is dumb, I know, because we’re all on our own journey. Still—”
“You’ve done so much more than so many people.”
“I hate that my big serious relationship was Zach.” Harriet sighed, and he could almost picture her running a hand through her damp hair. “I mean, I spent so much of my twenties wrapped up in him. It was like we rode a stupid seesaw, taking turns going up and down. And the worst part was that I wasn’t even really into him by the end. But for some reason that fact made me feel like an even bigger loser. I think I just didn’t have the courage to admit that I’d made a giant mistake. Sometimes I guess it takes the most guts to admit defeat.”
Gale’s jaw clenched at the pain in her voice. “I gotta say, I never liked him.”
“I know. Evidence you are wiser than me,” Harriet continued, her voice a mix of regret and self-deprecation.
“Remember Brooke’s birthday party last year?” Gale’s mind flashed back to that night. Harriet in a summer dress, her hair down for once, loose and wavy around her shoulders.
“Oh God. I wish I could delete it from my brain.” Harriet groaned. “The night that he went on about ‘optimizing’ our relationship in front of everyone.”
Gale’s temple twitched. “Talking about your life together like it was some kind of a portfolio.”
