Page 45 of The Scent of Happiness

Theo was openly grinning now. “It’s not like we weren’t all thinking it.”

“Stop it.” A giggle burbled up her throat. “What are we, twelve?”

“Even your parents were probably thinking it.”

“He was pretty douchey.” Brooke put on her best stick-up-his-ass cop voice. “Is that your car?”

“I’m looking for the ambulance you chased here,” Theo said, sounding almost like Uche. “Because I have no original jokes.”

“What are you hiding?” Brooke asked. “I need to see your soap. All of it.”

“Because bubble baths are a matter of public safety.”

And even though it wasn’t that funny, something about Theo’s voice struck Brooke just right and she guffawed. She gave in to it, letting herself bray with a wide-open mouth.

That set Theo off and he joined her, his baritone providing a counterpoint to her soprano. She caught her breath, took one look at Theo, and they both started up again.

By the time they were done, Brooke was reaching under her goggles to wipe her eyes and Theo had stuck his head out the door several times to breathe fresh air.

“You are very bad,” she gushed.

“You started it. You said it.”

“You were thinking it.”

“Only because he was such a douche,” Theo said. “He didn’t have to be.”

“Clearly, he wanted to be.” Brooke gave him a playful nudge, tapping his arm with her elbow.

He nudged her back. They smiled at each other, the earlier tension between them gone.

“Are your parents okay?” Theo asked.

“They’re weirdly calm about it. They trust you.” When Brooke had gone inside to turn down dinner, she’d found both of her parents on their laptops. Mom was on the Nextdoor site reassuring all the neighbors that everything was fine and Dad was on Facebook. They both said how happy they were that Theo had been there to take care of Uche because now they’d have nothing to worry about.

“Why shouldn’t they trust me?” Theo looked left and right and struck a conspiratorial tone. “I’m actually very good at my job.”

“I’m good at mine too.” Brooke indicated the curing soaps. “Let’s get to work.”

Chapter Fourteen

This was harder than Theo thought.

The process of soapmaking itself was straightforward, and Brooke had all the ingredients and tools at the ready. She explained how they were going to make a container of lye water and a container of melted oils, blend them together, and pour them into a mold. That’s all there was to it.

Making soap was easy. Making soap with Brooke was difficult.

Because there was no room in this tiny kitchen, and she was standing way too close, looking like an adorable mad scientist in her oversized goggles, waving her gloved hands in excitement as she explained what they’d be doing. He discovered a cheek dimple that appeared when she grinned at him, but beneath that were her full, lush lips and all he could think about was the taste of them. There was a hum in his blood and a stirring in his body and he wasn’t entirely sure he was going to make it through this lesson.

“How long will this take?” Theo asked.

“I can make a basic batch in twenty minutes,” Brooke said. “I’ll give you twice that.”

Forty minutes. I can do this. Then he’d find some excuse and leave before anything else could happen. Classical music unspooled from Brooke’s player, adding a soundtrack that he didn’t need.

He was relieved when Brooke opened the window above the sink, bringing in a cool breeze. She put a plastic container on the scale, plopped some ice cubes into it, and handed him a jug of distilled water. “You’ll need ten point two ounces of water.”

“Counting the ice?” he asked.