Page 84 of The Weight Of Falling
Joel extends the plant he’s carrying. “This is for you,” he says to Sofia.
Her eyes light up. “Thank you.” She takes it, and I’m grateful her attention shifts off me. I nudge Joel’s shoulder in quiet thanks.
Sofia strokes a leaf. “Fake?”
“Yes.”
She grins. “You were briefed.”
“I was.”
“What’s wrong with real plants?” Tess asks.
“They’re too needy, and I don’t do well with needy things.”
“What about people?”
“I don’t do too well with them either,” she admits. Then she winks. “But I make exceptions. Come on in.”
She and Tess head down the hallway as we step inside. In the entryway, Joel leans in, close enough that his words are for me alone. “Another vice uncovered,” he murmurs. “So far I’ve got kissing strangers in dark rooms, breaking and entering...” His eyes flick to my mouth and back. “The list goes on.”
My breath stalls. “It sounds like you’ve been taking notes,” I manage.
“Just keeping up,” he says. “Wouldn’t want to underestimate the competition.” He straightens, but his hand hovers at the small of my back, a silent nudge forward.
I walk ahead of him, following the sound of voices and laughter spilling down the hall. My brain might be packed with trivia, but there’s nothing in there about how to steady a heart that’s falling too fast.
Everyone’s gathered in Sofia’s kitchen, munching appetizers and mixing cocktails. Side conversations taper off when Joel and I walk in.
Aaron kisses my cheek and greets Joel with a firm handshake. “You’re a brave man for showing up to one of these.”
“I’m not sure I had much of a choice,” Joel replies with a pointed look at Tess.
She grins, unrepentant.
Gideon slaps Joel on the shoulder and hands him a nonalcoholic beer. I’d warned them not to offer him alcohol. Joeltakes the drink and tips his head at me in thanks. The warmth in his eyes sends a quiet thrill curling down my spine.
Gideon slings an arm around my shoulders. “You ready to lose?” he asks good-naturedly.
“Look at you, living in denial,” I retort.
Gideon barks out a laugh. “Man, I love game-night Kenzie.”
“How often do you do this?” Joel asks.
“Every couple of months,” Gideon says. “We’d like to have it more often, but life gets busy.”
“Cocktails, appetizers, and games with my people,” Tess says. “Life doesn’t get better than this.”
We spend the next half hour eating, drinking, and laughing. The mood is upbeat, and the conversation jumps from one topic to the next with the usual teasing.
When Kate ducks into the bathroom, Gideon says in a low voice, “You have to help me. Kate’s talking about kale-flavored ice cream.”
Aaron looks mildly intrigued. “It might not be that bad.”
Gideon gives him an affronted look. “I’d rather parallel park a bus in a snowstorm that eat kale ice cream.”
I chuckle and glance away, only to catch Tess’s eye.
