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“Peace offerings.” He looks past me into the apartment. “Can I come in?”
“I guess.” I turn and head back to the couch, which has a permanent imprint of my butt from the last few days.
“You weren’t kidding about the kitchen being tiny,” he says, closing the door.
“Yep.”
He comes to the couch and sits right next to me, his leg touching mine. My traitorous body tingles at his touch. “Madeleine, I mean it. I’m so sorry.”
“What changed your mind?” I ask.
“My mom helped. So did this.” He opens the notebook to my list of ways to improve the bakery. “When I saw this, and how genuinely you were trying to help, I realized that I’ve been a complete idiot.” He sets down the notebook and looks at me. “You and I are a great team. And we should be a team. I’m sorry I kept you down for so long.”
“So what are you offering?”
“I’m offering for you to come back to Cookies. But you don’t have to work in the front—unless you want to. I want to work together, baking cookies, trying each others’ creations…” His eyes dip down to my lips and back to my eyes. “And you were right. There was something between us. I hope there still is.”
My breath catches in my throat. “At least I was right about that.”
“You were right about a lot of things.” He opens the box and takes out a single cookie. “Speaking of which, I have one last test for you.”
“I thought you said you went too far,” I protest.
“I did. But this isn’t a test to see if you’re good enough. It’s to test if you can forgive me and move forward. Because you and I together can accomplish amazing things.” He holds the cookie to me, giving me the chance to decide.
Is this what I want? Do I want to forgive him and give him another chance? I know I won’t forget the way he acted. But I can understand why he was so paranoid. And if he’s willing to make changes, I can forgive him and try again.
I take the cookie from his hand but don’t take a bite yet. Still, his smile lights up his whole face. “I finally cracked the code on my gluten-free cookie,” he explains. “And I wouldn’t have figured it out without your list. But I want you to figure out what the secret ingredient is.”
I finally take a bite. Chewing for a moment, I smile when I realize the ingredient. “Chickpeas,” I say.
He nods. “You thought about peas, but chickpeas—garbanzo beans—were exactly what I was looking for.”
“I still prefer cookies with gluten,” I say.
“Oh, me too. But now I have something to offer my gluten-free customers.” He takes the cookie from me and sets it back in the box. Turning back to me, he takes my hand in his, and his chocolate brown eyes are staring deeply into mine. “I want this to be a true partnership—and I don’t just mean in business.”
He lifts a hand to my cheek, and I have to remind myself to breathe. “What exactly do you mean?” I ask.
He raises his brows once and doesn’t hesitate another moment. He leans in, capturing my lips with his. I draw close to him, putting my hands on his chest, and he cradles the back of my head with his hand. The kisses are sweet but intense, gentle but meaningful.
And they taste like chocolate.
He pulls away after a moment and kisses my forehead, my heart stirring with the sweet gesture. Leaning his forehead on mine, he asks, “So? Will you come back to Cookies?”
“On one condition,” I say.
He pulls his head back and looks at me quizzically. “What’s that?”
“We need to change the name.”
He laughs out loud. “And what do you propose we name it instead?”
With a mischievous grin, I lean in and kiss him softly on the lips. “Cookies…and Kisses.”
Epilogue
Luna
