Riley’s head tilts, and her brows pinch together. “Why was it rude?”
“It dismissed the effort that went into the present,” Cosmos replies.
Placing a palm on the center of my chest, I try to calm my heartbeat and focus on the conversation. I really hate spiders. I swear the thing is staring at me with a death glare.
“Oh,” Riley says. “Okay, I’m sorry. Thank you for the book.”
She reaches for it, but I don’t let go right away. It feels like the only weapon available to me if the tarantula gets out somehow. The fear is clawing at me like eight massive spider legs.
“How about I return it and get you one about insects?” I say, attempting to act casual.
Riley’s whole face lights up. “Can you get me Spiders of the World: A Natural History? That would be amazing. It has more than a thousand different species of spiders in it.”
It takes all of my control not to shudder at the thought of just holding that book.
“You okay?” Cosmos whispers.
I nod, keeping the book against my chest. I’m not ready for Cosmos to know about this phobia. Not yet. Everyone always tries to lecture me about how most spiders are harmless and there’s nothing to be afraid of. They don’t seem to realize that fear isn’t rational. It can’t be dismantled through arguments and lectures.
“I’m fine,” I squeeze out through tense lips.
I think he can tell I’m lying, because he takes my hand in his and gives it a tight squeeze.
“Dinner!” Camilla yells from downstairs.
I force out a smile. “I’ll see if I can find it.” I’ll just have to have the store gift wrap it so I don’t have to look at it.
Riley rewards me with a wide grin before running out the door. “MooMoo, guess what Aunt Hazel is going to get me?”
“Aunt Hazel?” I lift my eyebrows at Cosmos.
He holds his palms up in front of him, his smile at full force. “That’s all her.”
There’s a warmth in his eyes that consumes my attention. An expression that makes me think he doesn’t mind his niece’s assumption one bit.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Rather than leading me downstairs, Cosmos guides me out of the tarantula room, and into the room tucked next to it. It only takes a second to figure out this was his room. It’s perfectly preserved. Like a shrine to Cosmos. Various trophies decorate the shelf by the door, books pile high on the bookshelf, and a constellation of glow-in-the-dark stars adorns the ceiling.
As soon as the door closes behind us, Cosmos presses me against it and kisses me so fiercely I have to cling to his arms to keep my knees from giving out. His hands tangle in my hair, tongue swiping over mine. He smells of cedar and sandalwood—woodsy and masculine.
Just as I sink into the kiss and close my eyes, his mom hollers up the stairs again. “Dinner!”
Cosmos groans and drops his forehead onto myshoulder. “This is not what I would have chosen for our first date.”
“What would you have chosen?” I ask breathlessly.
He kisses a trail along my collarbone and up to my ear. “The beach sounded pretty great.”
His lips seize mine again. Conquering. Bruising. I’ve never been kissed like this before. It’s even more intense than the kiss we shared in the storage closet. It’s like he’s starving for me and can’t get enough, like he wants to devour me whole. After days of texting and flirting without seeing each other, I’m equally desperate.
A shriek from downstairs pulls us out of our feast. I laugh. “I’m not sure what the cicadas see in those mating calls. They definitely don’t do it for me.”
“What does it for you?” His eyes are half-mast and glassy. His hand rubs my hip, bunching the fabric of my dress. My body coils like a spring and vibrates from his touch.
“We should go,” I whisper. “They’re waiting.”
His eyes drill into me, seeing past my words. “Hmmm. You forget, darling. We have all the time in the world.”
