Desserts & Dramas

Chapter 31

Idiot, Sofia thought. She no longer knew if she was thinking about herself or Gabriel. After that kiss that made her float, he acted like a rude and arrogant jerk. And she got carried away with all his charm and compliments and acted like an idiot too.

She really believed that he had some interest in her and that their friendship had turned into something more, yet it seemed that she was entirely wrong. After so much pressure from family and friends, she had allowed herself to feel something more than just friendship. She just picked the wrong person to do it with. Entirely wrong.

At least her sister was not there to see the spiral of unhappiness and self-pity that she had entered into. Alice and Tomás had left the day after the party for their honeymoon in French Polynesia, and she had an entire apartment to herself to alternate between whining and cursing. Gosh, it was only a kiss, she had no reason to be so upset either. She didn't even understand why such an intense reaction to just one kiss at a party. Less, Sofia, much less.

With no other commitments for Sunday night, Sofia put on her most comfortable pajamas, tied her hair into a messy bun, and went to cook her dinner. She could not only make sweets, she was also very good at savory dishes. She chose baking to sweeten people's lives, however, she also needed to feed herself. The menu for the evening would be a delicious green spinach pasta lasagna to accompany her fiction movie marathon. It wasn't exactly the genre she liked, however, she was sure she wouldn't see much romance in these movies and that was what she needed at the moment. Nothing like comfort food and star wars to soothe a wounded heart, accompanied by a not-so-small glass of wine.

As soon as she took the plate out of the oven and poured the wine, her doorbell rang. On a Sunday evening, it could only be Elton, his door neighbor struggling to open the gate through the intercom when his grandson came to visit. She left her glass on the table and opened the door.

"You."

The disdain in his voice had not been planned, yet Sofia was glad for her reaction. Nothing to show how much he affected her. The smell of the already familiar citrus perfume hit her in full force. The urge to close the door and the curiosity to know the reason for the visit waged a battle in her mind.

"Sofia, sorry to bother you at this hour."

This was all Gabriel could say in front of the vision. The homemade version of Sofia was even more beautiful than when she was dressed up for the wedding.

"What are you doing here?" She tried to sound bored and slightly irritated. Anything but hurt.

"I need a document from Alice to formalize some investment documentation for Tomás. It's a bit urgent and during the week it's always more difficult to find you at home to pick it up."

"Alice didn't leave anything with me."

"I know, she said to check the boxes she hasn't taken yet. It's probably along with some picture frames. She can't remember what she wrote outside the moving box."

"All right, come on in." Sofia pointed to the boxes stacked in the corner of the room. "Make it quick."

Gabriel egos inside the apartment, looking at everything. It was obviously old, but the two sisters had made it modern and cozy. The well-worn sofa indicated hours and hours in front of the television, and the kitchen was spacious enough for a chef like Sofia to be satisfied. What caught his attention, however, was the scent of home cooking. And then his eyes fell on the kitchen table.

"Dining alone?"

"Actually, I had a last minute cancellation."

Gabriel seemed not to believe her justification. The table was set for only one person. "And what was the menu for this supposed dinner for two?"

"Lasagna Bolognese."

She didn't say it was only one guest, however, better for her that he thought she had a date. Yes, she still resented him. Or herself. She didn't know anymore.

"The smell is wonderful."

"I can cook more than the desserts."

She resented him, otherwise she wouldn't have responded so rudely.

"I see."

Gabriel tried to take the conversation lightly as he investigated the boxes. He knew he had hurt her, yet there was no other way forward. He needed to put on his cloak of arrogance to keep things cool between them.

Sofia was obviously not at all comfortable with the situation. Mr. Elton's grandson might as well show up today. He was a bit young for her, but he was handsome and could improve the rejected girl vision she was certainly giving him. And with that she realized that he had got into the building without ringing the intercom.

"How did you end up on my doorstep?" Sofia asked.