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“We lived down the road from my library growing up and I was the biggest teacher's pet in history. Justreallycraved that adult approval. One of the librarians there took a shine to me since I spent basically all of my free time curled up in the children's section reading stacks of books as tall as I was. She warned me it would take a lot of schooling to become a librarian, but I wanted to be the steward of a place like that. One where kids could lose themselves in reading. A little beacon of peace in a world of chaos.”
“And here I thought you couldn’t get any cuter than you already were.” Jasper traced his fingertips over my ribs until I was shivering.
“What about you?” I asked. “Did you always want to be a baker?”
“Not my whole life. It really picked up when I was a teen. My grandmother was ahugebaker. At holidays she would send every single person home with their own ice cream pail full of cookies. I’m pretty sure she spent almost every day with something in the oven, passing them around to neighbours and friends.” His next breath stuttered a little and I stroked his cheek softly. “She passed away when I was sixteen and left me her recipe book. I started baking as a way for all of us to feel closer to her, and it was the look on peoples faces when they ate what I baked that really made me fall in love with it.”
“That's so sweet.” I wrapped my arms snuggly around him. “She’d be so proud of you.”
“I like to think so. I wouldn’t have my bakery without Billie. They hounded me for years about letting them be an investor until I finally gave in and let them make my dreams come true.”
“They have good taste and a good heart.”
“Very true.” Jasper laughed quietly. “Billie's thirst brings us all together. How are you feeling about the others?”
I fidgeted, sorting through my thoughts. “I really like Tony, too. Gabe kind of makes my brain shut off. And Hana…I can never quite tell if she likes me or not.”
“Trust me, if Hana didn’t like you, you wouldn’t be asking that question. She's just feeling you out right now.”
“I guess that's okay. She's so pretty. I don’t wanna disappoint her.”
“Don’t say things like that around her or she’ll get ideas.”
“What kind of ideas?”
Jasper shook his head. “That's for future Nicky to find out about. I’m not spoiling the surprise.”
22
JASPER
Wedecidedonrosemaryshortbread with a sweet lemon glaze for tonight's dessert. Hana meandered by every so often, checking in to make sure I wasn’t putting Nicky to work, but I still wanted to share this with her.
Everyone gave us this space, just a little bit of time to bond.
Nicky looked cute as a button in the apron she borrowed from Billie—solid black with sparkly purple text that readKiss The Cook, which I had done the moment she’d put it on.
“What can I do if I’m not allowed to work?” Nicky asked.
“Mostly keep me company.”
I had measured out all of the ingredients into bowls in the order I would need them, so at the very least Nicky would be able to pass them to me without Hana eyeballing me too hard. It was nice for Nicky to actually watch me in my element, and I was glad that she enjoyed what I made. I always found that things tended to taste better when you could see the love and work that went into them.
“Did you make shortbread with your grandma?” she asked while I sifted the flour.
“Every December. I’m more of the mind that shortbread is an all-season cookie. Especially when you mix up the flavours. Do you bake with your family?”
“Not very often. My brother is a pretty good baker, and once he got that skill I mostly just mooched off of him. Luca’s started making most of the desserts, but Mom likes things to be egalitarian so she passes around the duties between us.”
“I don’t mind if you mooch off of me. Lucky for you I can be paid in kisses.”
Nicky's cheek blushed pink and she planted her lips to my cheek with an adorable giggle.
“Payment accepted.”
It was way too easy to see this happening on a regular basis. I already knew that we were sexually compatible, and she’d proven that she was comfortable to be around, plus her interest in me as a person made for a dangerous combination. It was a slippery slope when I’d started to catch feelings with the other pack members.
I stole another kiss for good measure, and Nicky stood on her toes, matching my enthusiasm until I backed her up against the counter where she broke away with a laugh.
