CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Tess narrows her eyes. “There’s something different about you.”
Ten o’clock on a Sunday morning is too early to deal with my sister’s personality. I was hoping that when she dropped off Lisset she’d leave straight away, but no such luck. Tess waltzed breezily into my kitchen, helped herself to coffee, and is now trying to help herself to a significant portion of my life.
“It’s like you have a glow,” she murmurs.
I ignore her and focus on Lisset, who’s sitting at the kitchen island and undressing her American Girl doll. According to Tess, the doll hasn’t left her side once. “Did you have a fun time with Auntie Tess and Uncle Aaron?”
“Uh-huh,” replies Lisset. “They bought me tons of presents.”
“You’re sparkling,” Tess adds, still eyeing me.
“This isn’t Twilight,” I mutter. “What did you have for dinner?” I ask Lisset.
She adopts a shifty expression. “Lots of food,” she says vaguely.
“Food, huh?” Her prevarication tells me she probably ate an inordinate amount of junk food and Tess has sworn her to silence. No matter. I know it’ll all come out later.
“Can I go to my room, Mom?” She’s hopping from foot to foot, desperate to play with the rest of her presents.
“Sure. Off you go.” I give her a hug and she scampers off. Then I face Tess, who’s leaning on the kitchen counter, sipping her coffee and waiting expectantly.
Oddly enough, I am dying to tell her. Just not in front of my daughter.
“Gideon helped me tidy up after the party yesterday,” I say offhandedly.
“That’s nice of him,” she responds with disinterest, “but I want to know—” Her eyes widen as she gets it. “Is he the reason for the glow?”
“Yep.”
She sucks in a sharp breath. “Did you two finally kiss?”
“We did.”
“And?”
“It was incredible.”
“The man can kiss?”
“He can totally kiss.”
Her hands fly up to her mouth.
“No squealing,” I warn her. “I don’t want Lisset to know.”
“But you’ll tell her eventually, right?”
“Maybe.”
“You look so happy.”
“I feel happy.”
Tess presses a hand to her heart. “I do believe we’ve finally uncovered The Kate Whisperer.”
Gideon and I agreed last night not to see each other today. We agreed that I would spend the time with Lisset while Gideon would... Well, I’m not sure what he had planned for today. But now, sitting alone in my kitchen after Tess has left and Lisset is upstairs playing with her new toys, I wonder whose idea it was to come up with such an asinine agreement.
Before I can think too carefully about it, I grab my phone and send him a text: Missing you .
Five minutes later, there’s still no reply and I’m angry with myself. Why did I send that text? What did I hope to accomplish? Look at me, being all weak and needy.
The doorbell rings.
Slowly, I pad down the hallway to the front door and open it. Gideon stands there. We stare at one another for two, three, maybe four heartbeats without saying anything.
Then he says, “Where’s Lisset?”
“Upstairs.”
He steps inside, kicks the door shut with his foot, and hoists me into his arms. I wrap my legs around his waist, and he backs me up against the wall. We’re kissing fiercely and frantically, like two people finding their way back to one another after a cyberattack knocked out the power grid and we ended up stranded on opposite ends of the country. There’s an edge of hunger and desperation and joyous relief in our kiss.
“Mom!” Lisset’s door is flung open and she clomps down the stairs. “I can’t find my brush anywhere.”
Gideon sets me down and we step apart hastily, straightening our clothing, our breathing fast and shallow.
“Gideon!” She charges toward him, unabashedly hugging him and chattering away about how much she loves her doll. Abruptly, she stops talking. “Mom, why is your face so red?”
“Is it?” I press my palms to my cheeks. “It’s pretty hot today. I must be overheating.”
She frowns. “It’s not that hot today.”
“Hey, Lis,” Gideon says evenly, “do you and Mom want to have dinner at my place tonight?”
“Yes, please. Will you make my favorite food?”
“What’s your favorite food?”
“Macaroni and cheese. But you have to make it just like mom’s.”
“I’m sensing a trap,” Gideon says. “How amazing is your mom’s macaroni and cheese?”
“The best in the world,” she declares solemnly.
He shakes his head. “Uh-uh, I’m not competing with the best mac and cheese in the world.”
“The secret ingredients are a little mustard and paprika,” I tell him. “Also, lots of cheese.”
“Still not making it.”
I smile at him. “I’m fine if you want to throw some hamburgers on a grill.”
He looks relieved. “That I can do.”
“I love hamburgers!” Lisset exclaims. She grabs his hand and tugs him down the hallway. “Gideon, come see how I’ve dressed my doll.”
As I watch her lead him away, all I can think is, in seven days Lisset leaves for a three-week summer camp and I’ll have Gideon all to myself.