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“Yeah, I can see how zest would balance the flavor,” she said after a few chews. “Which is better? Orange or lemon?”
Theo laughed, the sound so deep and rich I squirmed in my seat and crossed my legs to relieve some of the pressure that started building the moment he walked through the door.
“That’s up for debate,” he said. “Mana swears by oranges, but Thia Eleni always made it with lemon. She said you needed a bigger bite to cut the sweetness.”
He looked at the plate of baklava and all the mirth drained from his face.
I wanted to pull him into a hug, but judging by how fast he’d jumped away from me in the kitchen, he didn’t want me near him. I shot my sister a worried glance. Being the perfect person she was, she’d already reached over and grabbed his hand.
“How much zest would I use for a batch this size?” she asked softly, giving his hand a single squeeze and dropping it. Just enough to show she cared, but not enough to embarrass him.
“Mana used one orange. I suppose you’d use the same with a lemon, but I never watched Thia Eleni make hers.”
“Which did you like better?” I asked.
“I’ve always preferred my sweets with a little bite.”
The way he looked at me when he said it was so hot, I considered opening the window and sticking my head out into the ice storm to cool off.
“Um, so lemon then,” Rowan said, her cheeks flushed. “More coffee, Theo? Poppy, come help me get Theo more coffee.” Shegrabbed my arm and yanked me from my chair before he had time to answer.
“Holy pheromones,” she said, grabbing an oven mitt as soon as we reached the kitchen and fanning herself. “No way you two aren’t sleeping together. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because there’s nothing to tell. We’re just friends.”
“Who bang,” she shouted.
I slapped my hand over her mouth. “Quiet. I don’t need Mom or Theo hearing you. No one is banging except you and Cal. I mean, unless Lauren and Aiden have indulged in a hate fuck or two and kept it to themselves.”
“Oh,” Rowan said when I took my hand from her mouth. “Why not?”
“Just drop it, please.” I pulled another mug from the cabinet since Rowan had failed to grab Theo’s in her dash to the kitchen. I wished I knew why Theo didn’t want to move from friends to more. Every reason I could think of felt like a kick to the crotch. Maybe he simply didn’t find me attractive, though that little voice in my head was getting easier to ignore since everyone around us thought otherwise. More likely, he didn’t see me as someone he could be in a committed relationship with, and since he was straightedge and didn’t believe in friends with benefits, we were just friends. I got it. Sort of. I could be a bitch at times. I wouldn’t want to date me either.
Just as I started to pour the coffee, something cracked outside, followed by a boom so loud the floor shook.
“Crap,” I said, spilling hot coffee on my hand. The lights flickered and died.
Rowan grabbed my arm. “What was that?”
“Poppy, Rowan,” Theo shouted in the other room. The swinging door creaked opened before either of us could answer.
“We’re fine,” I said. I fumbled around with my stinging hand to set down the coffee pot on the counter. A moment later I felt Theo’s large hand on my shoulder.
“Girls, Chris,” Mom yelled. We heard a thump and then a “son of biscuit” before the door swung open so hard it slammed into the wall.
As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I could make out Mom’s outline in the doorway, and Theo standing between my sister and me with a hand on each of our shoulders.
“We’re OK,” Rowan said.
“Oh, thank goodness,” Mom yelled. She ran to Theo, threw her arms around his waist, and hugged him from behind.
Rowan and I started laughing.
“Cal?” Mom asked.
“It’s Theo, Rose,” he said. “Chris is at Cal’s.”
“Oh, I’m glad you’re all OK,” she said, finally dropping her arms. “I wasn’t sure if the tree hit the house too.”