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Declan’s lips pulled up, and once again, the breath sucked out of her as a full grin spread across his face.
“Then cookies it is.”
Cookies were going to be a mess, and Chris had said he’d never really been allowed to make a mess. So making sugar cookies with a six-year-old probably wouldn’t be high on Declan’s fun list. But an hour later, Declan was smiling. Laughing. She tilted her head, noticing for the first time a slight indent of a dimple. It was a crime that he didn’t show it off more often. He didn’t even complain about the flour dusting his shirt.
“What are you chuckling about, Goldilocks?”
“Dad,” Chris scolded.
“Sorry.Natalie.”
“You have flour on your shirt.”
“And you have flour on your nose.”
She instinctively reached for her nose. “No, I don’t—” She huffed and glared at both of her companions when she realized it was a trick. Now she did, in fact, have flour on her nose, and probably her cheek too.
“Don’t pout,” Declan said, stepping closer to her and bringing his hand up to wipe the flour off the bridge of her nose, his thumb skating across her cheek.
His gaze locked on her lips and held, sending a shiver through her and forcing the world around her to fade.
The oven beeped, bringing them both back to the present. She dusted her hands off and grabbed the baking sheet filled with sugar cookies, then slid them into the oven.
“Once they come out, they need to cool, but then you can decorate them with the white icing and sprinkles.”
“How come you brought icing with you?” Chris asked, his brow furrowed.
“I make a lemon pound cake with icing on Christmas. It’s been a tradition in my family since my grandmother was a kid.”
“Ew, lemon? In a cake? That’s weird.”
Declan opened his mouth to correct his son, but Natalie waved him off.
“How about you try a bite on Christmas day,thenyou can decide whether you like it?”
Chris looked at Declan. “Only if you try it too, Dad.”
“Why not?” Declan shrugged. “I already had bacon and ice cream, so why not cake filled with butter and topped with sugar? Clearly, I have no control anymore.”
The way he focused on her mouth as he said the words made Natalie’s core clench. But Declan looked away and pulled his phone out of his pocket. The corner of his mouth lifted in an almost grin she couldn’t pull her focus from.
“Sorry,” he said and tucked his phone away. “I don’t know if you know who Ryan Daily is…”
Natalie shook her head.
“How do you not know him? He’s a famous pitcher,” Chris said.
Natalie shrugged and pressed her lips together.
Chris’s eyes narrowed. “What about Corey Matthews?”
“Sure.” But Chris definitely wouldn’t like her explanation. “Every girl my age had a huge crush on Corey Matthews. I had a poster of him on my wall for most of my teenage years.”
Chris shook his head, but her attention shot back to Declan when she swore a growl slipped through his lips. His eyes were smoldering, and Natalie had to swallow hard. Man, she needed to turn the hormones off.
Declan cleared his throat. “Corey is practically engaged, so you’ll have to let that crush go.”
Natalie rolled her eyes. “Um, yeah, I think I did that about ten years ago.”
