“We weren’t prepared to stay,” she began.
“And don’t have overnight bags with us,” I finished, my mind racing. We had the bar covered for the night, but I had to open early tomorrow. Not that it was an issue since we weren’t that far away. Ellie was our only delivery today, so technically…
“I have your room.”
That seemed to do it for Mae. I could tell by her wistful expression she was thinking of the last time we’d stayed in that room. As I was.
“Let’s do it,” I said.
“You were planning to check on the bar later.”
“Only if we ended up back in town,” I said. We’d already planned to walk around town and possibly stay here for dinner. “It’s not necessary.”
O’Malley’s had been running like a well-oiled machine thanks to our hire who not only handled the bookkeeping but was an excellent server. I’d promoted Spence to manager, a role he’d been so proud of that his entire extended family had come in to celebrate. And he was damn good at it.
She’d already decided but just wanted me to confirm. I knew her, not from being engaged to Mae this past month, but from growing up with her. Now, there was just a whole new layer to our relationship. One I was already looking forward to exploring tonight.
“Deal,” she said to Ellie. “We’ll have to go into town to get some things.”
“No need for toiletries, we have those. Now, about this taste test you mentioned.”
Just as her husband walked in, Ellie opened one of the trays. They fawned over Mae’s mini almond croissants and apple cardamom crumble cups, my personal favorite. Word hadn’t spread about Mae’d from Scratch only because of the support she’d gotten from Cedar Falls businesses—from Mason and Pia to Maggie at The Big Easy to Bella Luna and Cedarwood Bar and Grill—but because her creations were damn good.
After finishing with Ellie, we headed into town to get a few things and make dinner reservations. By the time we returned, our room was ready to check into. The second I opened the door, memories flooded back.
Our first kiss.
Our engagement.
“I can’t believe it’s been just over a month,” Mae said as I closed the door. She looked at the bed. “Do you remember the first time we had sex?”
Had she lost her mind?
“Remember? I fantasize about it daily.”
“You do not.”
“Calling me a liar?” I teased, pulling Mae toward me.
“Yes. A blatant one.”
“Not nice,” I said, reaching up to undo the first of her two braids. “May have to punish you for that one.”
“Oh yeah? What are you planning?”
One braid done. Onto the second.
“Maybe a nice slap on the ass. Or two.”
“Big. Fat. Liar.”
“Taunting me now, are we?”
I spun my fiancée around, pushed her hair to one side, and took advantage of the spaghetti strap dress she wore. “The first time I saw this,” I said of her tattoo, “I wanted to trace the lines with my tongue.”
Doing exactly that, I relished the sounds Mae made. Whimpers that got me every time.
“You like that?”
