“Keep it.” She waved me off. “It looks better on you than it ever did on me. That reminds me, I need to go get yours out of the dryer.”
“You should keep it. In case you miss me.” I waggled my eyebrows, and she rolled her eyes, a smile creeping onto her face.
“In order for me to miss you, you’ll have to leave first.” She cracked a smile. “Speaking of, do you need me to drive you back to the hotel?” She sipped her latte, closing her eyes for a second from the sheer bliss of that first sip.
“I’m good.” I shook my head. “I’ll text Brady to come get me.” I pulled my phone out of my pocket and tapped out a quick text.
“What are your plans for the day?”
I took a bite from my muffin. Naturally, it was heavenly. “That depends.”
“On?”
“If you’ll let me see you again.”
She laughed softly, a blush rising to her cheeks. Her hair was still messy from sleeping, and I had truly never seen anyone more beautiful. “You’re not tired of hanging out with me yet, huh?”
I grinned. “Not a chance.”
She chewed her lip thoughtfully for a moment, and I glanced away to stop myself from thinking about what it would be like to kiss her again. “Last night, you said you’ve never made a cake before.” She took another sip of her coffee, her hands wrapped around her mug. “Come to the shop later, and I’ll teach you.”
“I’d love to, but you have to let me take you out for that dinner tonight.” I knew asking was a risk, but something felt different this morning. Something about our energy had shifted since the night before, and it felt as though she might be slowly letting her guard down.
She sat thoughtfully for a moment, gazing into the backyard. Finally, she turned her eyes back to mine. “Okay.”
“It’s a date.” I smiled. This time, she didn’t try to deny it. Maybe she hadn’t quite caught up with me yet, but I was willing to wait.
“Wait.” Liv laughed, holding out her hand to stop me from dumping the cup of powdered sugar I held into the bowl of the electric mixer. “Remember, you have to sift it first.” I’d spent the afternoon at the bakery, and she’d been teaching me how to bake while Ella and Katie looked on in amusement. We’d managed to make a chocolate cake and some plain white cupcakes before Liv began teaching me how to make a simple vanilla buttercream.
“Just dump it in there,” Ella said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “It’s fine.”
Katie snickered, elbowing Ella playfully in the side. “Don’t listen to her. There’s a reason she’s our business manager.”
“And it’s the same reason I make all of Grace’s birthday cakes.” Liv stuck her tongue out at Ella before turning her attention back to me. “Sift the sugar into the bowl with the butter.”
“Like this?” I asked, slowly pouring the sugar through the sifter and into the bowl. The paddles on the mixer whipped in a slow circle.
“Exactly.” Liv beamed at me, and I found my gaze falling to her soft lips. “We’re going to add some vanilla extract, and a little almond extract.” I watched intently as she measured out the ingredients, pouring them into the bowl. “Now, we turn up the speed and whip it into submission.”
We both reached for the switch at the same time, and my hand covered hers for one blissful second.
“Sorry.” Liv quickly withdrew her hand, the faintest hint of pink creeping onto her cheeks. “You do the honors.”
I noticed Ella give Liv a pointed look, raising her brow. “Whip it into submission, honey.” Ella sassed. “Whip it good.”
This time, Liv was the one narrowing her eyes in Ella’s direction.
“You got it.” I laughed, sliding the switch so the paddles whirred inside the bowl.
“You’re doing good, and you’ve got the best teacher,” Katie said, squeezing Liv’s shoulder as she walked past her. “I’m going to go clean the cases out front.”
“Thanks, Katie Bug.” Ella hunched over the island in the center of the kitchen, resting her head on her elbows as Katie disappeared through the door. “So, what are you two doing tonight?”
“I’m taking Liv to dinner.” I smiled at Liv, and the pink in her cheeks turned a rosy red. “In exchange for this baking lesson.”
Ella tilted her head slightly, a dreamy smile spreading across her face. “You guys are so cute.” Liv exchanged another look with her in a seemingly wordless conversation I couldn’t decode. “What? You are.” She sighed heavily. “I guess I’ll go and start closing things down since Jax clearly isn’t setting the kitchen on fire today.”
“You mean like you did when I tried to teach you how to make cre`me bru^le´e?” A mischievous grin spread across Liv’s face.
