“I wondered where you’d gone,” Rose says.
June comes out from the back of the bakery with a plate and five different slices of cake. Setting it down between us, she smiles. “There’s more where that came from if you need more choices.”
“Thanks, June.” Rose smiles at her. And then she nods at me. “Keep going.”
“I was in the bathroom for a few minutes, but I just didn’t want to go back downstairs. I don’t even remember getting there, but I got to Sam’s room…and he found me there.”
Rose’s face goes a little pale. “And you guys fought?”
“We did,” I say, “but first…we kind of had sex.”
“WHAT?”
Everyone in the bakery is looking at us now. “Rose,” I say. “Shh.”
“Umm…I will NOT. You had sex with Sam?” She stage whispers the last bit to me. “Why?”
I shake my head. “I honestly don’t know. I was just so lost in the past, in that room, and he was there, and the way he was looking at me…but it doesn’t matter.”
“Why doesn’t it matter?”
“Because he still won’t tell me why. When I—” I clear my throat, “came to my senses, I asked him again, and it was the same. He got all quiet and wouldn’t say anything about what happened that night. And I couldn’t handle it. So I left.”
Rose takes her fork and cuts into a piece of cake that looks like some sort of chocolate. “I’m sorry,” she says. “Are you okay?”
“I actually am,” I say. “He came into the office with Zeus, and we called a truce. Just trying to exist without that night spoiling everything. We can’t have a screaming match every time we see each other. Especially with the wedding.”
“Well,” Rose makes a face and cuts into another piece of cake, “I’ll do my best not to put you two together.”
I take a bite of a red velvet that practically melts and my mouth. “Oh my God you need to try that one,” I say. “And don’t worry too much. None of this is your fault, and I’m a big girl. It’s hard enough to plan a wedding without worrying about my drama.”
She takes a bite and groans. “Oh my God that’s good. And you’re right, but I’m not going to have you walk down the aisle together or anything.”
I laugh, and take a bite of what turns out to be lemon. It’s a good cake, but not nearly as good as the red velvet.
“So you guys have a truce?”
“Until he finally decides to tell me why he did what he did, yeah. It’s either that or the screaming matches.”
“I vote truce,” she says.
We try all five slices of cake, and nothing compares to that red velvet. “I’m going to go get the next flight,” Rose says.
“The next flight?”
“Lots of cake to try, sister.”
Oh God, I’m going to be in a sugar coma by the end of this. My phone chimes with a text message, and I fish it out of my purse. It’s not a familiar number. But the message makes me go still. It’s an address, and one simple sentence:
Dinner? Truce is still in effect.
It’s Sam. Sam is asking me to dinner. I’m guessing that address is his house on the edge of town.
How did you get my number?
I have my ways.
Which probably means that either Thomas or Rose gave it to him.
What would this dinner entail?
There’s a pause, and then the little typing bubble pops up again.
Normal dinner things. Food. Conversation. My sparkling wit.
But we’re still in the truce.
A longer pause this time.
Absolutely.
This is probably not a good idea. But it could be. It’s entirely possible that the more time I spend with Sam, the less I’ll care about what happened, whether or not he actually tells me about it. I mean, it’s a long shot. But here I am, telling my sister that she doesn’t have to keep me away from him so that I don’t kill him. I know that’s on me. Anything I can do to keep myself from that is a good idea.
What time?
7:30?
I’ll see you there.
I put my phone away as Rose comes back with another set of cake. I may not even be able to eat dinner with this much cake in my system. I guess I’ll find out. My phone buzzes one more time and I can’t resist looking at it.
Looking forward to it.
7
I realize as I drive up to the house that I never really took the time to imagine what kind of house Sam would live in now. It’s on the edge of town, just like he described, but it’s not isolated. There are nearby houses and it feels more like a spread out neighborhood than a house in the country. It is beautiful though.
It’s a modern looking house, a few sharper angles in the building than what’s typical of Hawthorne. The driveway is lined with oak trees, and the leaves are just starting to turn. Later in the fall I’m sure it will be absolutely gorgeous.