Page 98 of The Scent of Happiness

“Don’t try to figure it out.” Mom handed her a coffee mug decorated with cartoon flowers. “Everything you need to know is in there.”

Brooke pried a note from the bottom of the mug. Meet me at Hotshot. “That’s it?” she asked.

“That’s all you need to know. Take my car.” Mom handed her the keys and hustled her out the door.

* * *

Theo wasn’t at Hotshot, but Emma was waiting for her at the front table. Brooke burst out laughing. This was getting fun now. Who knew where Theo would send her next? “Let me guess,” she told Emma. “You have something for me?”

“I do,” Emma said. “Do you want to fill that mug first? Derek says it’s on the house.”

Brooke had come into the shop still clutching the floral-print mug from Riverside Gifts. She inhaled the rich, caffeinated aromas, but shook her head. “This is exciting enough,” she said. “I don’t think I want any coffee.”

“Well in that case, I need you to do something.” Emma took a paperback out of her purse. “This book is due back at the library today. You need to return it. Like, now.”

Brooke grinned at the title. Theo had found a novel called Legal Trouble. Could this man plan or what? She flipped to the description on the back, but sadly, the book was not about a soapmaker having erotic adventures with a hot lawyer. Pity.

“Do you know what Theo is doing?” she asked.

“He didn’t tell me,” Emma said. “But I’m willing to trust him.”

Brooke gasped. “You? Trust a man?”

“I know.” Emma lifted her coffee mug in a toast. “But this one is special.”

* * *

“Finally!” Lauren said when Brooke dropped Legal Trouble into the return bin near the checkout desk. “I’ve been waiting for you to get here.”

“I don’t even know what’s going on,” Brooke said.

“Me either. But that hottie boyfriend of yours swore me to secrecy and gave me this.” She handed Brooke a note.

“This is just an address,” Brooke said.

Lauren gave an exaggerated shrug. “You’d better go see what’s there.”

* * *

Brooke’s GPS led her past the CU campus, away from the walkable convenience of Cannondale proper, into an area of low-rise buildings on the other side of the highway. The address was an apartment complex that looked brand new. And then she realized. Today was the first of the month and Theo had finally moved out of his student apartment and into a place of his own.

It took her a minute to maneuver into a parking spot, and she was on a line between spaces, but she was too excited to care. She spotted Theo waiting for her, wearing casual clothes and a huge grin.

She got out of the car and flung herself into him. “You did it.”

He twirled her around. “Wait until you see it.”

He put her down and Brooke breathed him in. Today, like every day, the intoxicating scent of his skin made her mouth water. After a moment, she remembered where she was and turned to the apartment building. “Is Derek okay?”

“He couldn’t wait for me to leave. One of his co-workers is moving in. They have the same schedule.”

They walked hand in hand up one flight and Theo unlocked the door. He flourished an arm. “Gallop in.”

Brooke was so used to her own dinky apartment that all other places looked huge. But Theo’s apartment truly was spacious, with dazzling summer light flooding in through oversized windows. He had a proper hallway with a coat closet, leading to a big living room and a generous kitchen. The apartment smelled of new carpet and fresh paint.

“Look at this place,” Brooke said. “This kitchen is big enough to make soap and food.”

“The kitchen is nice,” Theo said. “But that isn’t why I rented it. It took me a long time to find the right apartment. But once I saw this place, I knew I had to live here. Come on, I’ll show you.”