Page 34 of The Scent of Happiness

Brooke stood and slung her bag over her shoulder. She held out her hand. “Would you like a tour?”

Theo’s hand was cool and he let it linger in hers for a moment, even after she pulled him to his feet. When he let go, she curled her fingers in, as if she could capture the essence of him in her palm. Nerves tingled on her fingertips and she didn’t quite know what to do with them. She brushed her hair away from her face and straightened her glasses.

She led him down an aisle of herbs—cilantro and basil and mint. Traces of fresh greens mingled with Theo’s scent. It helped.

Theo twisted his head to look into the next aisle. “Do you know the names of all these plants?”

“Most of them.”

“Do you think you could identify them by their smell?”

“A few of them.” All of them.

“I wouldn’t know a jasmine from a lily,” Theo said. “It all smells floral.”

“Let’s try.” Brooke squatted down and reached for the mint. “This is an easy one.”

He caught her sleeve. “Don’t touch it.”

“Why not? It’s not a Rembrandt. Touching plants doesn’t hurt them. And I’ve only been kicked out once.” She noticed the alarm on his face. “I’m kidding. You can touch if you’re careful.”

Theo brushed a leaf with the tip of a finger.

“You’ll need to release some of the oil. Like this.” Brooke took his hand, which was much warmer than before. All of Theo seemed to be heating up in the tropical air. She guided him to a leaf and showed him how to rub it between his thumb and forefinger.

He brought his hand to his face and breathed in. “I know this one,” he said. “Mint.”

“What else?”

Theo tilted his head to the side. “Nothing else. It’s mint.”

“So you’ve identified it. Big deal. Now truly experience it.” Brooke took his hand and moved it toward his face. “What does it smell like?”

“It smells like toothpaste.”

“Close your eyes. Don’t think. Remember. Relate.”

Theo frowned, but did as she asked. He inhaled and paused for a moment. Then his face relaxed, his forehead smoothed, and his lips tilted up. “Candy canes. Christmas morning. The peppermint hot chocolate they have at the ice rink.”

“Nice. I love that.”

Theo opened his eyes and looked at her in wonder. “I haven’t been ice skating in years.”

She pointed to her nose. “Memory.”

“Spooky.” He stood up to his full height. “You should try one. Without looking at it first.”

“Sure.” Brooke closed her eyes, more to humor him than anything else. Having a sensitive nose was like having x-ray vision. When she met friends at the movies, she always knew which restaurant they’d been to for dinner. She could tell when people had been drinking or if they were coming down with a cold. Sometimes she thought she could even smell emotions.

Theo stood close to her. Heat radiated from his body but his breath was cool on her cheek.

Then she was hit with a tangy wave of citrus. “It opens very lively, right? But under that it’s green and a little woody. It reminds me of summer. Iced tea. Going barefoot. I adore lemon balm.”

“Hold on,” Theo said. “Let me check. Yep, lemon balm.”

Brooke opened her eyes and chucked him on the shoulder. “You’re not going to take my word for it?”

“The sign is right there.”