Page 75
“Making you breakfast.”
“Oh, you don’t have to—”
“Too late.” I crack the eggs into the pan. “You need something to soak up the liquor, don’t you?”
She groans and stretches out on the couch, disappearing from view. “Probably. But potion first. My stomach hurts.”
I hum under my breath, flipping the eggs and buttering the toast. My stomach hurts too, but for reasons he can’t understand. Anxiety. Or maybe she does understand it, but either way, it’s different than her hangover.
That’s my cue to take my meds.
Once everything is finished, I set the food down on the coffee table and ladle the potion into a mug. “It’s hot,” I say as a warning, placing that down next. “Give it a few minutes to cool. Try to eat a bite or two of toast in the meantime. Please.”
I sink into the armchair, leaning back and closing my eyes. As soon as she’s gone, I’m napping in my bed. It probably smells like her, heavenly and warm. This isn’t how I thought I would spend the morning after our first date—I didn’t think she would come home with me at all, though maybe I’d hoped…
It doesn’t matter. Apparently, it wasn’t a date at all.
“Aren’t you going to eat?” she asks.
“Soon.”
Despite my warnings, I hear her take a slurp of the potion. If it burns her tongue, she doesn’t show it, calmly setting the cup down with a clink and crunching into the toast instead.
I nearly fall asleep as she nibbles and sips, but her voice rouses me.
“Should we talk about last night?” she asks quietly enough that it could be a dream.
“There isn’t anything to talk about. You made your intentions clear.” I open my eyes, meeting her gaze steadily. “We’re friends. I’ve always known that. Actually, I’d consider it a step up from… whatever we used to be.”
She tears a piece of crust from the bread and drops it onto the plate. “Okay. Friends, then.”
Even though she was the one to set the boundary, there’s something like regret in her voice. I can’t pay it any attention. This isn’t good for her, for us. I’m not good for her.
“Or perhaps we’re still competitors.” I smile softly. “I didn’t forget about you winning the contest last night.”
She rolls her eyes. “Stop. It was beginner’s luck. I’ll share my gift cards with you.”
“No need.” I chuckle and stand up, and without looking at her, I go toward my room. “I’ll take you home after you eat.”
I freeze in the doorway. Seeing her dress on my bedroom floor makes my stomach flutter.
Chapter 21
Aurora
It turns out being friends with Sterling is easy. Freeing, even. We should have been doing this all along. This is better than when I was trying to ignore him, and a lot better than when he kind of hated me—or maybe he didn’t hate me at all. It’s hard to say, but he definitely didn’t greet me with the warm welcome the rest of Starbrook did.
None of that matters. We’re friends now. Confirmed.
When I walk into the office on Monday morning, I’m carrying two coffees. One for me, one for him. I set his down on his desk and greet him with a brilliant smile. “Morning. I got your favorite.”
“Did you?” He inspects the drink.
“Duh. It’s not hard when you have the simplest order in the world. Seriously? You don’t even sneak a little sugar in there?”
“No.” He smiles, his lips pressing against the edge of the drink. His eyes remain locked on mine. “I don’t.”
“Too bad.” I turn away, glancing at him over my shoulder before I settle into the desk right outside Jewel’s office.
