Page 50 of The Scent of Happiness

“Then let me in.” Theo held her shoulders and steered her to one side.

He only touched her briefly, and she had layers of clothing between his hands and her shoulders, but she swore she could feel the heat of him on her skin. She backed away from the sink and held onto the edge of the countertop to steady herself.

Theo made quick work of the bowls and spatulas. He stacked them in the drainer, then ran the blade end of the stick blender under running water. “This has been a strange day,” he said.

“Very.”

“I never imagined it would end with me in your kitchen making soap.”

“Me either.”

“But I’m glad this is where I ended up.” Theo flashed her a brief smile—not a courtroom one but a real one, tilted eyebrows, eyes wrinkling at the corners, a brief glimpse of teeth. His eyes roamed down her body and he drew his lower lip in before going back to the dishes. It was all Brooke could do not to fan herself.

Theo saved the fragrance cup for last. He held it under his nose for a second before plunging it under the water with a little sigh. He tilted his head and gave a soft hum, as he’d just figured something out.

“Tell me about college,” Brooke said.

His mouth dropped open. “How did you know I was thinking about college?”

“Hunch.”

Theo washed out the fragrance cup, moving the sponge in meditative circles. “I liked Ohio State. For the first time, I fit in at school. I understood what I was doing, the spoken rules and also the unspoken ones. I liked my classes. I learned a lot.”

“Uh-huh.” That wasn’t what he’d been thinking about and they both knew it. “That girl, the one you followed up the stairs because she smelled so good. Did you ever get her number, or…”

“That’s the thing. I don’t know why I ever thought she was pretty.” Theo drained the dish water and reached for a towel to dry his hands. “I only saw her for a few minutes, but looking back on it, I remember that everything about her seemed added on, rather than baked-in. Her hair, her nails, her taste in clothes. And she walked up those stairs like the entire width of them was made for her, and she’d never have to step aside for lesser beings. She turned up her nose at the world. She was nothing that I find attractive.”

He put down the towel and took a step toward her. “She was nothing like you.”

Brooke wet her suddenly dry lips. “You think I’m attractive?”

“I know you are,” Theo said. “It’s not just your face and your hair and your body and your smile. It’s more than that. So much more.”

Heat spread through Brooke’s chest and pooled downward, settling between her legs. Lawyers chose their words carefully and Theo didn’t say a word he didn’t mean. She touched her shoulder where his fingers had been moments ago. She wanted him to touch her again. She wanted his lips to follow his fingers, kissing her there, and all over her body.

He came closer, and the scent of the freshly made soap mingled with the scent of Theo into an intoxicating blend. “I don’t know why I’m telling you all this.”

“Don’t you?” she asked.

“I know, I know. Scent evokes memory. But I didn’t know it was a truth serum.”

He took another step toward her, inches away from her now, and she had to tilt her head to look up at him. “You somehow took our conversation in the botanical gardens and distilled it into solid form. It doesn’t matter that we’ve finished the soap and done the dishes. The scent is everywhere. It’s on me, it’s on you. It’s clinging to my clothes and your hair.”

“My…my hair?”

“Yes.” Theo closed the distance between them. He wrapped his arms around her and buried his nose in the strands. He tugged at the band she’d used to bind it up until it slid free and fell around her shoulders and neck. “You smell amazing.”

She put her arms around him. His body was all muscle and she ran her fingers down his back, feeling the strength of him. Her pulse raced and moved everything southward. Butterflies danced in her belly and points lower. Damn, he felt good.

“Can I kiss you?” Theo pulled back to search her eyes. “I know I’m not supposed to. I’m not even supposed to ask for that. But it’s what I want.”

“I want that too.” She put her hands on his neck and pulled him toward her, meeting his lips with hers. The very air she breathed seemed infused with lust. It had been drifting through the room all evening, and now every bit of that desire had settled on her and in her. She was filled with a need so strong that nothing would satisfy it. Nothing except Theo. She parted her lips and their tongues moved together.

Theo pressed himself against her, his excitement plain. This was different from the kiss in the botanical gardens. That one had been like an exclamation point at the end of a sentence. Everything had been leading up to it.

This kiss was the beginning of something.

“I’ll tell you everything,” Theo said when they parted.