Page 85 of Where the Wattles Bloom

But … that was the state of play, and he’d roll with it because the baby was the important thing. In the absence of any interest from Rowena, the baby had to be the focus.

Although, the way she was looking at him now, her gaze fixed on his mouth, was full of interest.

Something hinky was definitely going on here.

There was a vibe she was putting out that he wanted to pick up, but this was a strange day and every ex-cop spidey sense he still possessed urged caution.

He frowned. ‘What?’

‘You have …’ Her top teeth dug into her bottom lip as she stared for long, long beats. Like she couldn’t drag her eyes away. ‘Cream.’ She lifted her finger as if to point but changed her mind, inching it closer instead, her gaze zeroing in like a laser on his upper lip.

Lachlan’s pulse, along with other parts of his body, leapt as her finger touched down, soft as a feather, searing like a brand. He stayed very still—which belied the absolute frenzy going on internally—waiting for her next move.

Her breathing was loud. Or maybe it just sounded loud in a brain that was so fucking hot it was melting inside his head. But every one of her rough inhalations and every husky exhalation felt as if they were being dragged from his throat.

She swiped at it, presenting the small dollop on her finger to him as if it was evidence to support why she’d touched him. ‘You missed a bit,’ she murmured.

Indeed he had.

Lachlan looked at it, then glanced at Rowena, who was staring at the cream intently, as if deciding her next move. Would she wipe it on the serviettes Gina had provided? Or would she maybe, just maybe, put that finger in her mouth and lick it clean?

Christ, even the idea of that was giving him a hard-on.

But what she did next took him completely by surprise. She pressed it to his mouth, her eyes locking with his as her finger exerted gentle pressure. Pressure Lachlan could no more have ignored than flown to the moon.

His lips parted. And when her finger pushed into his mouth, there was no way in hell he wasn’t devouring every morsel of the offering. Her eyes widened and she made a little noise at the back of her throat as his tongue swirled around her fingertip, lapping it all up.

And when every trace was gone, he sucked her finger in a little deeper, just to be sure, before slowly releasing it.

Lachlan’s gaze was hot on hers in the silence that followed, although how she—hell, the whole town—couldn’t hear his heart beating right now, he had no idea.

He was sure it was about to bust right out of his chest.

After long, drawn-out moments, she held her finger up. ‘All gone,’ she murmured huskily.

‘It would be criminal to waste a single drop,’ Lachlan replied, his voice rough as gravel in his throat.

‘Silvano would definitely disapprove.’

Lachlan chuckled. ‘I think given how heavenly that cream is, God himself would disapprove.’

‘True,’ she agreed. Then she laughed and it seemed to break the spell between them as she reached for a serviette and wiped her finger.

Pulling a second cannoli out of the packet, he offered it to Rowena. ‘Seconds?’

A small knot formed between her brows. ‘Not just yet.’

Lachlan inspected her face. ‘You feeling queasy?’

‘A little.’

‘Do you have some Life Savers?’

She waved her hand to dismiss his concerns. ‘It’s fine. I’m getting to know the difference between what needs immediate action and what will pass. I’ll have a cup of tea when we get home.’

Home. Lachlan loved it when she called Blairgowrie home. He knew it didn’t mean anything—it was just a term people used for wherever they were living at the time—but he really liked hearing it from her.

He put his cannoli back in the packet. ‘We’ll go now.’