Page 26 of Pick Me This Time

12

DAPHNE

Sterling emerged from the bathroom with his black hair damp and slicked back, his jaw not clenched for once and a light in his eyes that almost made me swoon. In a blue tee and board shorts, he looked more like himself again and he smelled divine, like soap and a hint of something masculine but not overpowering. Shower gel, probably. How revolutionary.

I ducked my head before rolling my eyes at myself. Get it together, girl. It’s just shower gel. Jeez.

Cooking dinner with him was going to be interesting. That was for sure.

As he joined me in the kitchen, that same awareness from before prickled through me. The scent of him intensified now that he was right next to me and I bit my lip to keep from moaning. When he spoke, it was clear he was used to being in control of things.

“We’re grilling hot dogs tonight,” he said far more authoritatively than the occasion required. “Eric told me you’re baking bread and we’re doing a salad with it, correct?”

“Correct,” I said, not knowing if I was more annoyed, amused, or turned on. “I’ll make the salad in here and get started on the bread. I made the dough before I left home so we don’t have to worry about the mess. Why don’t you go fire up the grill?”

“I will, but let me help you with the bread first. We need to make sure that the dough has risen properly and rested before we⁠—”

“Thanks, but I’ve been working with June for a while now. I know what I’m doing.”

He nodded slowly, glancing at me from the corner of his eye. “June Gracen learned from my mother, and so did I. If the dough isn’t treated with respect, the bread will be inedible.”

“I know,” I repeated gently. “I do know what I’m doing, Sterling. Will you please go fire up the grill?”

“Sure. Let’s get the ingredients for the salad chopped, and I’ll go do it,” he said.

Exasperation crept through me.

“You’re very bossy,” I said, only half-joking as I pushed a chopping board and a knife toward him. “I promise you that I will not mess up a salad and some bread. What we need is a fire to cook on, and I’m pretty sure the grill is going to be filthy, but we can’t clean it without burning off the worst of whatever is stuck to it, so…”

He sighed, then surprised the crap out of me when he winked and threw his hands up in front of him. “I’m bossy because I’m used to being the boss, but sure. This is your show. I said I’d help, not take over, so I’ll go light the fire you’re so worried about. Then I’ll come help you in here again.”

“Wonderful.” I flashed him a sweet smile instead of letting him see that I was equally frustrated and turned on right then. “I’ll carry on in here. If I have any bread questions, I promise I’ll come find you.”

As he left the cabin, I watched him for a minute, unable to tear my gaze away from that strong frame. He strode to the grill and bent over, giving me a good view of his tight ass as he fiddled with something. A dreamy sigh escaped me and I shook my head at myself, forcing my feet to move so that I could fetch the dough from the bowl I’d transported it in.

After washing my hands, I carried the bowl to the counter, just about to start kneading it when he suddenly called out. “Daphne, we’ve got a problem with the grill.”

I frowned but abandoned the bread to go outside. “What’s the issue? We were just out here last month and it was fine.”

“Well, things have changed between then and now,” he said, eyes flicking to mine as I approached.

“You’re telling me,” I muttered under my breath, trying to ignore the fact that my heart was beating faster now that he was looking at me. “What’s changed?”

“I’m assuming when you were out here last month, the grill didn’t have squirrels living in it.” He smirked. “Unless it did, and you meant we were cooking hot squirrels and not hot dogs.”

I felt myself blanch even though I knew he was joking. “That’s horrible. Absolutely not.”

I leaned down and felt Sterling moving into position next to me. He pointed a finger through a crack and I blinked hard, seeing the family of squirrels just a second before I heard the chittering.

“Oh, gosh. They’re so cute,” I whispered, watching the little furry bodies play around the inside of the barrel.

Sterling smiled when I glanced at him, a soft, kind smile for the first time since he’d gotten back to Allisburg. He nodded, taking a few steps toward the fire pit and then inclining his head at it, his eyes twinkling now just like they used to back in high school.

Gone was the cold, hard demeanor, and in its place were those eyes that glittered like stars in the night sky and a relaxed, easy smile. “What do you say I just build us a fire over here instead, Ms. Bossy Pants?”

I laughed. “If memory serves, you were the bossy one.”

“Says the girl who chased me out of the kitchen,” he said. “This is our only option, other than either roasting or rehoming that family in there.”