Page 45 of Not Until I Found You

Edna frowns and points at him. “And did I not eat every single one of them on the drive home?”

Luke sighs like he’s accepted defeat, and a laugh slips out of me. Olivia slices tiny pieces of cake and hands plates around while Wren reaches over and places one of the lavender cookies directly onto my plate.

“You have to try it.”

I stare down at the purple cookie. “You act like I’ve kicked a puppy every time I say I don’t like lavender.”

“That’s because your hatred for it is irrational,” Olivia adds, offended on behalf of her desserts.

Luke immediately looks down at the table, stifling a laugh. What traitors. There isn’t one person at this table that’s on my side. I should probably be annoyed, but instead, my grin spreads, causing a sharp sting to shoot through my cheek, and I wince.

“Ouch,” I hiss under my breath.

Everyone’s attention is fixated on me as I reach up and touch my face instinctively. The swelling’s gone down some, but my skin is still hot to the touch and tender every time I smile too wide, which apparently I’ve been doing more than usual lately, considering a certain girl next door has been occupying my thoughts every five seconds.

“I survived falling into a wasp nest yesterday. Haven’t I suffered enough?”

Luke looks up from his cake, fork halfway to his mouth. “Is that what happened to your face?”

Wren squints at me from across the table, her head tilting as she studies the swollen spot on my cheek. “You look like a lopsided chipmunk.”

Olivia elbows her sister. “He does not.”

“I absolutely do,” I add, because every time I’ve caught my reflection today, it’s been a reminder that I’ve lost a fistfight with nature.

A giggle slips out of Olivia, while Luke shakes his head at me as if he’s disappointed in my survival instincts. I can’t blame him—I’m disappointed too, especially since I embarrassed myself in front of Maxinne. I can still feel the ghost of her fingers against my jaw, steady and sure as she pressed the plant to my cheek.

I pull my phone from my pocket and flip on the front-facing camera to inspect my wound, when I’m distracted by a text notification from Maxinne sliding across the screen. Seeing her name causes my brain to forget every speech I’ve given myself about keeping my distance from her.

Butterfly

How’s your sting healing up?

A grin pulls at my mouth immediately. Unfortunately for me, Wren notices.

“What’s that look on your face?” A sheepish smirk takes over her face.

I ignore her and reply back to Maxinne, grinning at the silly text I’m about to send her.

Me

It’s okay.

I have an important question for you, though.

Do you remember how Peter Parker turned into Spider-Man?

Butterfly

...Yes?

Her immediate response makes my smile grow.

“You have a flirty texting smile on your face right now,” Wren says, pointing at me.

“There’s a difference between a regular smile and a texting smile?” Luke asks, his eyes bouncing back and forth between them.

“There absolutely is,” Olivia adds before taking a bite of a cookie and humming with delight.