“Okay, well… Don’t work too hard.” It’s all I can think to say that will prevent me from asking him to come back to Whispers. Back to me.
“Take care, sweetness.” The call ends as quickly as it started, and I sigh, look around my kitchen, and decide to make some dough in case I stumble across some spices. If I can’t, I’ll make cherry puffs instead.
Four hours later, among the batches and batches of dough and pastry, there’s a knock at the back door.
“Delivery!” a man yells, and I frown, not expecting anything.
“One minute.” I wipe my hands and peek out the window. Sure enough, a delivery driver stands there, carrying a box.
“Hi,” I greet him, opening the door. “Just on the counter, please.”
He notices my bump and nods and walks inside, putting the box down for me and handing me a tablet to sign.
“Where’s this from?” I ask him.
“India Imports. Urgent delivery.”
My eyebrows rise as I pass the tablet back to him. “India Imports?”
“A bulk importer of spices and items from India. They organized a private flight here today for this. Must be pretty urgent, miss. Enjoy your evening.” He gives me a wave and walks out, and I stand at the door, watching him leave.
He was right. The smell hits me immediately as I open the box. Large jars of fresh spices—turmeric, curry, chili, cumin, even saffron, which gives me pause, because it’s the most expensive spice in the world.
My heart races as I pull out the paperwork, a small note included.
Found the spices for you. Griff x
“Oh…” I think I’m in shock. There’d be no way I could find this quality of spice here in Whispers or even in Williamstown. At best, I could probably find a small shaker that’s been sitting on the shelf for months. This spice from Griffin is top quality, directly imported and probably the freshest you could get outside of India.
I plop on the stool near the counter and take a minute to gather myself. The man is on the other side of the country, building mansions and ranches, yet he still downloaded a baby app, found authentic spices, and sent them to me within hours.
I have no idea who Griffin is, exactly. I don’t know his past. But I do know he’s an amazing man. One I’m grateful to have in my life.
I have Whitney blaring on the speakers throughout my kitchen as I pull out the last tray of curry puffs from the oven. While I could make a curry or some type of laksa, the baker in me loves these pastry spice mixes and the town is loving them too. I’ve made them all week, ever since the spice delivery turned up. So I now have fresh curry puffs, savory vegetable pies, and spiced muffins all cooling on the counter, ready to go for tomorrow. Minus a few here and there that I gobbled as I danced.
None of it has helped, though. I have no pains, the baby is still firmly intact, my belly position remains high right under my ribs, yet I’ve swayed, twerked and salsa’d my way around this small space for days since my checkup with Hudson. No amount of spices or dancing is helping; this baby is holed up tight.
“Ohhh, I wanna dance with somebody…” I sing at the top of my lungs and shimmy across the floor to ensure the fridge is shut properly.
“I wanna feel the heat with somebody…” I shimmy back, holding my bump, moving my hips from side to side as best I can.
“Yeah, I wanna da—” The words die on my lips as I turn and spot someone standing in my doorway, watching me. Eyes wide, expression unreadable. I turn down the music, my cheeks flaming under his burning gaze. “You’re back?”
I swallow hard as he remains silent. His eyes trail down my body and back up again. Like he’s ensuring I’m in one piece.
“Griffin?”
He still hasn’t moved. Hasn’t said a word. His eyes burn into mine. His hair is a little scruffy, like he’s been pulling at it, his eyes a little dark like he hasn’t slept much.
“This is your warning…”
“Warning?” I frown, confused.
“I’m going to put my hands on you.” His voice is a growl as he strides forward, his gaze not leaving me as my eyes widen in understanding and my stomach flips.
“Oh,” I whisper as this man stalks toward me.
“You alright?” His hand slides around my waist, settling at my lower back.
