I stare into Remy’s blue eyes as they study me. A soft, gratified smile plays at his lips, and the instant contentment I feel makes me bury my face into his chest on a whisper of a sigh and nearly pass out.
Good luck resisting the L-word, Ria. You might already be too late.
Twenty-Six and a Half Years Ago…
Sophomore year, Friday afternoon in December
Maria
I am officially a free woman.
Well, free from midterms, that is. As of thirty minutes ago, I turned in my last exam to Mr. Parton, my chemistry teacher. Thank everything!
The excitement of Christmas break sits before me as I step off the subway. My house is only a short block away, but the chilly December air warrants me to button up my navy-blue pea coat as I walk up the steps that lead to the sidewalk.
No homework. No exams. No waking up early, I mentally list off the positives of winter break. More time with Remy. Christmas morning with my mom and Isabella. Christmas dinner with the wild Winslows.
My head is basically in the clouds as I maneuver through the busy pedestrian traffic that’s mixed with locals taking a lunch break and tourists exploring the city while it’s all dressed up for the holidays.
Once I’m in my building, the aroma of cookies hits me right in the face.
They smell absolutely delicious, but since there’s no way that’s coming from my apartment—with my mom at work, Isabella should be the only one home, and she’s strictly forbidden from using any major appliances while she is—I’ll just have to taste them in my dreams.
Isabella wasn’t too thrilled over the prospect of being alone at all, actually, but with her winter break starting two days before mine, we didn’t really have many other options. I assured her my midterm wouldn’t take long, and our mom made sure Cindy, our kind next-door neighbor, would be home in case she needed anything, but she has to be getting hungry with the smell of chocolate chips in the air.
I climb the final staircase to our floor and unlock and shove open the door quickly, closing out the blizzard-like cold of winter behind me as fast as I can.
“Isabella,” I call out as I remove my jacket and toss my purse, keys, and backpack down in the catchall area of our entryway. “Isabella!” I shout for her again, only this time, my voice is much louder.
“In the kitchen, Ri!”
Wait, the kitchen? Please tell me she hasn’t decided to try her hand at baking and rebelling against authority.
Isabella might be nearing twelve now, but she’s liable to burn down our whole building with how easily she gets distracted. She’s unbelievably book smart, but when it comes to common-sense life stuff, she has the attention span of a squirrel.
Quickly, I slip off my brown boots and pad down the hallway, my sights set on the kitchen and a hopefully empty oven.
But what I find there is not at all what I expect. The oven isn’t empty, and neither is a single square inch of the counter.
“My God,” I whisper into the untidy space and the sight of Isabella, Remy, and Winnie baking in holiday-themed aprons. “What on earth is going on here?” I ask, my eyes scanning the current state of the kitchen. It’s an absolute mess—sprinkles, icing, bowls, and all sorts of baking utensils and ingredients are everywhere.
Dreaded thoughts of cleanup disappear in a poof! of air, though, as soon as I look back to them. Their smiles could fill a cruise ship, they’re so big.
“Maria! You’re home! Look! We’re baking cookies!” Winnie exclaims proudly, and Isabella lifts a cookie in the shape of a snowman to prove the point.
“You have to try our snowman sugar cookies, Ri. You’ll love ’em.”
“Hey, babe. How did the big chem midterm go?” Remy asks, his smile taking on a more knowing edge as he scrubs his hands down the front of his apron and closes the distance between us.
“Good, I think… But I thought I wasn’t going to see you until tonight?” I question, and he shrugs.
“I figured since I didn’t have any exams today and I knew your mom was at work and you would be busy until noonish with your midterm, Winnie and I could come over and keep Isabella company until you were done.”
It sounds like such a simple thing, him baking cookies with our sisters, but it’s not.
Remy could’ve slept in today or hung out with some of his buddies or done pretty much anything he wanted, but he decided to entertain our sisters. Entertain my sister, so she wouldn’t have to be alone.
He could’ve chosen to do a hundred different things, but he chose to be here.
“I love you,” I blurt out, the words shooting past my lips before I can even think about it, and his smile migrates up his face until it’s inside his eyes.