Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 67614 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 338(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67614 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 338(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
A light in the kitchen comes on, and Breena smiles.
“Yes, I’d love to hang out with you in your kitchen.”
The light goes out, and Breena turns back to me.
“I think Molly and I will be just fine.”
Unable to help myself, I brush the hair from Breena’s cheek, hooking it behind her ear. “Do you have any idea how sweet you are?”
“I’m not—”
“Yes. You are. You care enough to make nice with a ghost. I’m glad you’re here, and I won’t make things weird or awkward for you, but I think it’s time you know something.”
Her gaze dips to my lips, and it takes everything in me not to kiss her right here in the sunroom.
“What’s that?”
“When Lorelei spilled the tea all those months ago about how you’ve had a crush on me for years, and I seemed surprised and acted like a complete moron, it wasn’t because I was upset or put off by the idea.”
She starts to move away, discomfited by the direction of the conversation, but I take her hand and keep her where she is.
“It’s okay, Giles. It was just a teenage crush, nothing to worry about.”
“I was surprised,” I continue, ignoring her comment, “but because I’ve watched and wanted you for a long damn time. We were always squarely in the friend zone, though. Our families know each other. We’re in the same coven… We’re friends. I didn’t want to fuck that up by trying to hit on or date you because if it fell flat, I knew I’d probably lose you, and that’s not a possibility for me.”
Breena’s jaw drops, and her green eyes go wide.
“And it upset me that you had the same feelings for me all that time, and we could have been together. We could have tried.”
She finally finds her voice. “But as you said, if it doesn’t work, we’ll lose each other. What we’re working on right now is too important, Giles. We need to work together.”
I nod because I agree with her.
“I don’t want you to think that you aren’t just as important, Breena. Because you are. And I’m really sick and tired of you being embarrassed and avoiding me over something you shouldn’t be ashamed of or self-conscious about.”
“Why didn’t you say something before?”
I shrug and take a small step back before I do something silly like push her against the wall to have my way with her.
“As I said, you’ve been avoiding me like the plague. You haven’t given me much chance to spill my guts to you.”
Breena blows out a breath and crosses her arms over her chest.
“So, you’re telling me my crush wasn’t one-sided?”
“That’s what I’m telling you.”
“And what does that mean now?”
I shrug and push my hand through my hair. “It doesn’t have to mean anything right now. I just thought you should know. We can be embarrassed together.”
Her lips tip up in that sweet smile I love so much.
“Okay. I guess the first thing I need to do is unpack so I can get ready to weave a tapestry—which is not something I thought I’d ever say.”
“If anyone can do it, it’s you.” Unable to resist, I push that stubborn lock of hair behind her ear once more. Breena takes a little step toward me and tips her face up as if in invitation.
I lean in and brush my lips over her cheek, then move down to her ear.
“I’m going to take things one step at a time, Breen. I’m not going to mess this up.”
Chapter Three
Breena
It’s taken me a week, but I’m finished unpacking. After breaking down the last box and setting it neatly on the back porch the way Giles asked so he could take care of the recycling, I rest my hands on my hips and survey the kitchen.
It was a barren space a week ago, with no homey touches on the countertops, and nothing simmering on the stove. Instead, it was simply a pretty kitchen. It could have graced the pages of a magazine, but it had no character.
“I think we’ve changed that,” I murmur with a happy sigh. My big cast-iron pot is on the stove, ready for my next simmer pot. I have bottles of herbs and jars of this and that arranged just so on the counter, and I recently took my first loaf of rosemary bread out of the oven.
Having a big kitchen to create in was something I missed more than anything when I was in the apartment. I love to bake, cook, and imagine things in spaces like this. And now, because of Giles’s generosity, I can dig back into that stuff.
The former sunroom is now organized, with my big craft table in the center of the room, the shelves lined with products so I can make my creations for my business, and all my posters of beautiful botanicals and animals adorning the walls.