"I need your help, Grace," Joshua said, peering into our room. "My cousins ditched me in the kitchen, and we just started the cookies for Santa. Could you help me?"

I looked down at my pajamas and back up to him. "But I just started reading! And it's late."

"You're willing to stay up and read, but not spend time with me?" he asked, pouting. "Besides, we just finished the play, and we haven't had time to bake Santa's cookies. Tomorrow is Christmas!"

I sighed, wishing he didn't look so cute in his reindeer pants. I stood up and took Joshua's hand since it was outstretched. He pulled me closer to him and whispered, "You're going to make Santa very happy."

I laughed, rolling my eyes. "Of course I will." I shut the door behind me, noticing that most of his cousins were nowhere to be seen. That was strange because he had a ton. "Where are they?"

"Could be outside," Joshua answered. "Or hiding. Playing a prank. I have no clue."

He looked like he knew more, but I didn't push him. I didn't want to ruin the delicate mood that was settling over us. With one word, I could shatter it.

I hadn't really been in the kitchen, so I was very surprised. A huge stainless steel refrigerator was situated in the corner. An island was in the middle, sugar and a pan on it. A double oven was on the wall on the opposite side, with cabinets formed around it. It looked perfect to bake in!

"This is a bit overwhelming," he said sheepishly. He rubbed the back of his neck as I slowly spun in a circle.

"It's awesome!"

Joshua laughed. "I find it to be a bit too big."

"I love to bake, Joshua. This is perfect."

"That's good because I love sweets."

He smiled at me and I returned it. "So, what type of cookies are we making?"

"I was thinking of my famous chocolate chip cookies."

"Are you mocking me?" I asked with a laugh.

"What? Of course not!" he said quickly. "My cousins always request them because I make them with love."

"That's exactly what I said."

"I'm not mocking you," he said softly.

I laughed, shaking my head. "I know that. I'm kidding." I crossed over to the island, grabbing the box. "You really make it out of a box? God, you're like Fin."

"That's why they're so popular!"

"We're doing this from scratch."

Joshua gasped, pressing a hand to his heart. "How dare you?"

"What?"

"They are famous, Gracie."

"Gracie?"

"If that's alright with you."

I smiled, nodding. And then I threw the box of cookie mix away. His gasp filled my ears again but I started rummaging through the cupboards. "Do you have any vanilla extract?"

"I have no clue."

He joined me, but he wasn't looking through the cupboards with me. His eyes lingered on me, and I could feel my face grow a little warm. I tried to focus on finding the ingredients, but he was distracting me. Especially when his hip brushed mine.

"I want to bake cookies." He hummed a response, running a finger along my jaw. Every touch made me forget my objective. I turned to face him, whispering, "Was this your idea all along?"

He grinned. "No. But I think I like where it's going."

I wished I could disagree. Things would have gone so differently if I was strong. I wouldn't have found myself covered in flour if I had continued making the cookies. His cousins wouldn't be laughing so hard right now as I tried to hide behind Joshua.

"Shannon!" he yelled.

"Yes?" she asked innocently.

"What were you thinking?"

"It wasn't my idea!" Her hands were up in the air in surrender. "Eddie dared me to do it."

I was thankful Joshua was taller than me. In his angry state, he seemed to be bigger than he actually was. That way his cousins didn't have to see me. Instead, Jamie pulled me away from Joshua. He looked a little upset but threw me a smile anyway.

"Can I talk to you?" Jamie asked, her voice soft yet firm.

"Sure."

I stepped into a room I hadn't ever been in before, and Jamie shut the door behind her. A bed was situated in the corner and bags were strewn across the floor. A small table was situated in the corner opposite of the bed, and Jamie gestured to one of the two seats.

I immediately sat down, my heart hammering slightly. Jamie seemed like a nice woman, but she wasn't an open book like Joshua was. She was very intimidating with her intense eyes.

"What's up?" I asked, my arms resting on the table.

An easy smile rested on Jamie's face as she said, "I'm glad Josh has found someone that can keep up with him."

I ducked my head, but a smile appeared on my face. "I guess so."

Jamie nodded. "He hasn't ever brought anyone here, so you must be something special."

"I would hope," I said with a laugh. The smile dropped off my face when I said, "What about his ex?"

Jamie sighed. "He was going to bring her. But they broke up."

"He only told me the short story," I said hesitantly. "Were things good before they broke up?"

"Everything was fine until that day," Jamie explained, her eyes shut to remember. "He came home from school and told us that he broke up with her."

"Who would do that?" I wondered aloud. "He is so nice and better than anyone I've met in a long time."

Jamie's eyes searched mine before saying, "How did you two meet?"

"Well, we've been going to school together forever. But he needed help on math, and he came to me. We haven't really left each other's side since then."

Jamie was about to answer when the door burst open. I knew exactly who was there; I could feel his eyes on my back.

"Are you interrogating her?" Joshua asked with a laugh.

He finally came into my view, and my breath caught in my throat. His hair was flopped over his forehead, sweat glistening above his brow. An apron wrapped around his waist and neck, inviting me to do the same. The most striking thing about him was his eyes. They were shining with an unknown joke or unseen feeling.

"I am not interrogating her," Jamie fired back.

"She just wanted to talk," I replied, trying to take the tension out of Jamie's voice.

"About?"

"You."

Joshua nodded. "Don't worry, Jamie. She's way too good for me."

A warmth seeped into my chest. It spread throughout my body. I didn't know what it was, but it wasn't the first time it had happened.

"It's not about that," Jamie said, sighing.

"We were just talking," I repeated, hoping the tension would settle down.

"Grace, I have no idea if the cookies are done," Joshua said, gesturing to the kitchen. "Can you come check on them?"

"Yeah." I didn't mention that they probably weren't done because it had only been five minutes. I got up and he brushed some flour off my cheek. I nearly tripped because of the touch.

"When we finish getting the batch out, you can go to bed if you want," he said, nodding.

"I'd like to shower first," I said, laughing.

"That would be good. Wouldn't want to get flour in the bed," he said.

I faced him when we made it to the kitchen. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

I opened the oven door and shook my head. "They're not done. They need about five more minutes."

He nodded and dropped into a seat at the island. Charlie pranced in with the smell of the cookies, but I ignored him. I sat down next to Joshua and said, "What's wrong?"

"I heard you talking about my ex."

I sighed. His mouth was settled into a thin line. I wished he hadn't overheard my conversation with his sister. He looked so sad, and I wanted to make it all better. "You did?" I asked softly.

"Yeah." He nodded. "Why didn't you ask me about her?"

I shrugged, not meeting his eyes. "You get very sad when you talk about her."

"Grace." He touched my cheek, so I looked at him. A small smile was making its way onto his face. "I don't mind sharing that with you."

"I don't want you to be upset."

"I know you don't like sharing what's on your mind," he said softly, "but I do. And I want to say that, yes, she did hurt me. But it helped me get to where I'm at."

I looked down. "You had to say that about me?"

He really did look upset that he had hurt me. I slowly smiled as he said, "I didn't mean to hurt you -"

I stifled a laugh, but he knew I was joking. He smiled too. I didn't want to get sucked into his hypnotic eyes, so I busied myself with pulling the pan out of the oven. The cookies were a beautiful brown, and they smelled delicious. I split one in half and offered it to him.

Joshua grumbled something and pushed me out to the hallway. A small trail of flour followed us and settled on the carpet below my feet. My chest heaved up and down but laughter bubbled out of my mouth.

"What's so funny?" But a smile was tugging at his lips, lifting his face from the frown.

"Today has been good," I said, nodding. "Better than the past few years. Thank you."

"Anything for you," he said softly.

I allowed myself to believe that he actually liked me for one second. It felt good to believe that he wanted me like I wanted him. Maybe I could think like that more often.