The kiss shifts, softening as I tilt my head and deepen it. Her lips move against mine, tentative at first, then more assured, and the taste of her—warm and sweet, like vanilla and sugar—goes straight to my head. Utterly perfect. It’s like tasting the cookies we just baked, only better, more alive, more real. It’s everything I’ve been remembering and more, and I’m already wondering why I didn’t do this sooner.

When we finally pull back, we’re both breathing heavily. Her cheeks are flushed a deep pink, her chest rising and falling with every shaky breath, and her lips—now pink and slightly swollen—are curved in an expression I can only describe as dazed. She blinks up at me, her gaze flickering between my eyes and my mouth like she’s still trying to process what just happened.

“Sorry—actually, I’m not sorry,” I say, my voice rough and a little uneven. “I just didn’t want to take the chance that you’d have another sibling come and interrupt another attempt.”

She blinks up at me again, and this time a soft, breathy, laugh escapes her, “It’s just the three of us, no more siblings.”

“Good,” I murmur, letting my thumb brush against her cheek before I force myself to step back. “Goodnight, Selene.”

She is still processing what just happened, but then a small smile tugs at her lips. “Goodnight, Theo,” she whispers, her voice shaky but warm.

I turn and head for the door, the bag of cookies dangling from one hand, but my mind is no longer on anything but her. My pulse races, my mind spins, and my lips still tingle with the taste of her. As I step outside into the cool night air, the crisp breeze does little to calm the heat simmering in my chest. My heart is a riot in my ribcage, and one thought cuts through all the noise, clear and sharp as a knife.

I’m already counting down the minutes until I can see her again.

16

Selene

The morning light streams through the kitchen window, spilling golden streaks across the table where Celeste is seated, her perfectly manicured fingers wrapped around a steaming mug of coffee. Across from her, Orion leans back in his chair, sharp gaze darting between us as Celeste and I gossip about last night.

“You’re welcome. If it wasn’t for me you wouldn’t have had a cute little cookie cutter date. See what I did there?” Celeste says with an exaggerated wink. “Did the sexy Theo impress you with his kitchen skills or were you too busy making googly eyes to notice?

I shoot her a mock glare, but I can’t stop the blush creeping up my neck. My heart is still tangled up in last night, in the way Theo looked at me, touched me, kissed me. “It was… nice.”