Sweet Surrender

ARYA’S POV I stood in the kitchen where flour dusted across every surface with bowls and measuring cups scattered everywhere while Claire and Maria's voices echoed through my phone speaker, both of them laughing at my latest culinary mishap. It was two days since I had apologized to Giovanni for embarrassing him and although he said all was well, I felt I had to make up for it. And judging by the way he was all but avoiding me during the past forty-eight hours, I could tell he was still mad about it. "No, no, Miss Arya," Maria said, her voice warm with amusement. "You need to fold the batter gently. Gently! Not beat it like it insulted your mother." "I am being gentle!" I protested, wielding my whisk like a weapon. "You're murdering it," Claire chimed in, and I could hear her giggling. "I can hear it screaming from here." I laughed, and it filled my chest with warmth. This felt almost normal. "Okay, so after I murder the batter-I mean, gently fold it, what's next?" "Pour it