I don't hear anything for a moment, then as I silence the oven timer she click-clacks… into the kitchen. I ignore her as I slide an oven mitt over my hand and remove the trays from the oven, placing them on the burners to cool.
"You're making cookies? And a pie?" She bursts out laughing, wiping away tears from the corners of her eyes. "Adorable. Are you doing arts and crafts too?" She looks around the kitchen as if she expects to see macaroni art in progress.
I'm not a fighter, so I remain quiet. There's really no response to that anyway. Jean would have put Gina in her place with a few well-said words. Everly would have jumped on her monkey-style and started ripping her hair out. I smirk a little at the thought, but I keep my mouth shut as I move the cookies to a cooling rack.
"So where's Luke?"
I don't feel like answering her. It's not normally in my nature to be unhelpful, but Gina brings out my inner bitch. "He's out." I look up at her and smile, trying my best to appear like she's not bothering me.
Gina eyes me for a moment before responding. "You don't know where he is, do you?" She seems smug. I'm not sure if she's smug thinking I don't know, or smug because she thinks by taunting me I'm going to answer her. I just smile and scoop balls of cookie dough onto the baking pans I just emptied.
"Aren't you going to offer me a coffee? That is what you do for a living, isn't it, Sophie?" Gina smiles at me. Evil. Bitch.
I look at her and flick my eyes to the Keurig on the counter. "You operate on hearts for a living, I'm sure you can figure out a single-serve coffeemaker."
"Luke's slumming it with a barista who won't even make coffee without being paid." She laughs. "You're cute, Sophie. I hope you're enjoying this time playing kinky Betty Crocker with Luke because it's not going to last. This infatuation he has with you will not last. You think a Miller marries a barista? It's never going to happen, sweetheart."
Marry? Wow. I've been with Luke for a month. No one is talking marriage, but Gina is threatened, that's for sure. I don't know why though. They broke up years ago based on what Luke said at Thanksgiving.
"And you think he wants you back?" I raise an eyebrow in her direction and place a sweet smile on my face.
She doesn't answer, instead runs her hands across the granite countertop and surveys the kitchen. "I think Luke is at a settling-down age and we have a history together. I'm a suitable match for him," she adds, stressing the last part.
I wish I knew who broke up with whom. I have no idea why things ended between them. As it is, I can't say much without revealing that I know nothing.
"Plus his hands." Gina sighs. "He's very good with his hands, isn't he? I bet he's a huge improvement over the boys you normally fuck. A little word of advice, Sophie, commit it to memory because Luke's a hard act to follow in bed."
My chest tightens and I feel both rage and fear. Rage that she's reminiscing about having sex with Luke right in front of me and fear for the same reasons. I'm not a confrontational girl and she's making me feel like I'm under attack. No, I am under attack.
"Has he taken you shopping yet for the gala?" She eyes me up and down. "I assume he's bringing you?"
I drop a ball of cookie dough onto the baking sheet. I don't know anything about a gala, but I know she's looking for a reaction.
"I was planning on wearing a dress from Target." I smile. "From last season's clearance rack, obviously."
"You probably would, wouldn't you?" She snorts. "I cannot wait to look back on this and laugh. When Luke and I are back together and you're nothing but a bad memory."
I cannot believe Luke was engaged to this person. She is nothing like me. What did he see in her? What does he see in me? My insecurities about being nothing more than a fuck toy for a rich man resurface. I'm graduating in a few months with a degree in corporate accounting. If I'm lucky I'll get a job offer from a mid-sized corporation. If I'm not lucky I'll be working in a strip mall preparing tax refunds.
In other words, not a heart surgeon.
The from door opens and Gina tosses me a smug look before rushing into the hall. "Luke!" Her voice is distraught and I can already hear the tears in her voice. I wonder if she double-majored in drama and pre-med.
"Where is Sophie?" Luke asks, and I clearly hear her reply about what a darling I am, inviting her in for coffee while she waited and keeping her distracted with stories from Thanksgiving.
Bitch. I cringe at the picture she just painted. I slide the last of the cookies into the oven as the door to Luke's office closes. So he's going to entertain her and listen to her fake tears. Gross.
I clean up the kitchen for the second time today and watch the oven timer. Nine minutes. Five minutes. Two minutes. The timer dings and I remove the last tray from the oven and transfer the cookies to a plate to cool before placing the cookie sheets in the dishwasher.