How was she ever going to let him go?They had only spent a few days together during the convention when she worked with him and helped his handler, and it was now day two of their long weekend together.But oh, Abbie was falling hard and fast.She didn’t think she would fit in his world anyway, and a deal was a deal, so she’d enjoy this time with him, then let him go.And hopefully find someone who came even a little close.
“Yeah, it can be.But there’s also joy in release and letting go.When the time is right.”
Derek took her hand in his and kissed her palm.“What if the time is never right?”
What if the time is never right, indeed?She could only give him a small smile in answer.There was no way Derek felt the same way she did, was there?Unlikely.According to tabloids, his last girlfriend had also been an actress, Katherine Levinson; beautiful and talented.Abbie had seen one or two of her movies and a few interviews.There was no way Abbie could measure up.
Abbie had also seen a ton of negative comments and discussions about Katherine – no topic was off limits to trolls it seemed.That was the last thing Abbie wanted to face.
Derek’s smile brought her out of her reverie.
“I have a weird and slightly out of left field question for you, and I’m not sure what you’re going to think.”
Derek raised an eyebrow.“Very few things will surprise me.”
She bit back a smile and asked, “Do we have anything here for baking?”Abbie was met with a moment of stunned silence.
“Baking?”
“Yeah, like cookies.Chocolate chip cookies, to be specific.”
“You want to make chocolate chip cookies today?”
“I make chocolate chip cookies every weekend, so I can enjoy them during the week.I bring them into the office and the other paralegals love them.”
“Can I ask why you don’t buy a package of cookies?”
Abbie shrugged.“Baking calms me.But if I’m trying something new, I’m just worried it’ll taste bad.Which only ever happened once, and I was still learning how to convert certain things.Anyway…” She shrugged.“I like to bake cookies on the weekend.”
Derek chuckled.“Well, if there’s nothing here, I can run into town to pick up what you need.”He pointed to a small door next to the kitchen.“I think the pantry is over there.”
“I want to come into town with you.”Abbie stood and headed to check supplies.“I’m guessing your assistant doesn’t get many requests from you for baking supplies?”There wasn’t much in the cabinet by way of flour, brown sugar, or baking soda, or even chocolate chips.But she found a small container of salt and some sugar.It was a start.
“Not really, no.You said you want to come with me to the store?”Derek had followed her to the small closet that served as a makeshift pantry.“You find anything here?”
“A few things, but we’ll definitely need to go to the store.”Abbie looked up at him and caught him staring at her with a look of disbelief.“What?”
“Nothing.Just not what I expected to be doing today.”
“Oh.”Abbie shuffled on her feet.Anxiety crept over her, and her thoughts came tumbling out.“We don’t have to if you’d rather not go into town.It’s probably not a good idea anyway, because what if we’re seen and people take photos, and it gets posted online –”
Derek gently grabbed her shoulders and turned her to face him.“That’s not what I’m saying at all.”He cupped her chin and leaned in to brush her lips with his.“In fact, if you bake wearing nothing but an apron and a pair of lacy underwear, I’ll even do the dishes.”
Abbie’s body flushed with heat.“Deal.”She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back.Derek’s tongue stroked her lips, and she parted them just enough for him to slide it in.He gripped her waist and pulled her closer into his body, his erection pressing against her through his pants.
She took a step back and bit her lip.“Except, I didn’t pack an apron, so I’ll just have to bake in my underwear.”Abbie shrugged and turned to walk back to the bedroom to get ready.
Abbie shivered as Derek growled and followed her.
