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Despite a sleepless night filled with lustful fantasies, I feel ready to take over the world today. The diner kitchen is running like a well-oiled machine, compliments are coming back to the kitchen in droves, and Kinley’s sweet floral scent lingers in the hallway. She’s been hiding out in the office the past couple of days.
It was a bold move, kissing her again after what happened three years ago.
But I’ll be damned if I was going to letanotherasshole sway her away from me. One kiss, I knew, would tell me everything I needed to know. The way Kinley’s lips moved pliantly against my own, the way she tangled her tongue with mine and dug her fingers into my neck, gave away her secret: she wants this too.
I’m tired of her hiding from this—fromus.
“You got this, Deke?” I nod to the grill where three burgers are sizzling.
“Yes, sir.”
“It’s Rowan,” I say to the high school kid, but he doesn’t seem to hear me. The important thing is he won’t burn down the kitchen if I slip away for a few minutes. Rose trained him better than she let any of her granddaughters believe. There’s a lull between the late breakfast crowd and the early lunch crowd. “I’ll be back in five.”
I untie my apron and drape it over a hook in the hall, eyes zeroed in on the office door that’s always closed.
I knock before twisting the knob, surprised to find it unlocked. Kinley looks up, eyes wide. As though she’s been caught doing something inappropriate. A quick scan of her in the chair, fingers hovering over a keyboard lends me to believe only her thoughts have crossed into dirty territory. God what I wouldn’t give to watch her pleasure herself. An instant blush spreads across her cheeks, nearly as bright as that red lipstick. My dick twitches in approval.
“Rowan, hey. Did you need something in the kitchen? Do I need to pick up some groceries or—”
“There’s only one thing I need, Kin.” I slip inside and close the door behind me, my gaze drawn to those lips. She thinks I won’t risk messing up her lipstick. She’s wrong.
She folds her arms over her chest and leans back in her chair, the earlier surprise morphing into defensiveness. The wall she puts up doesn’t hide the flare of desire in her gaze as it drops briefly to my mouth. “Come here to lecture me about the other night?”
“I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“You know I wasn’t drunk, right?”
“Wouldn’t have kissed you if you were.”
“Rowan.” Kinley grips both chair handles tight enough for the whites of her knuckles to show. “We can’t…”
I step closer, my shins brushing her knees. “Because?”
She looks back to her computer screen, but I doubt the spreadsheet has an ounce of her attention. “I already told you—”
A loud knock startles us both. Kinley squeaks and jumps in her chair. I don’t mind the way her tits bounce with the quick movement. I’ve been dying to get my mouth on her nipples for years. I wonder how shocked she’d be to know just how long I’ve wanted her.
“Hello?” Grandma Dottie’s voice calls through the door as she jiggles the handle. I step to the side of Kinley’s chair as Grandma Dottie barrels in like she owns the place. For such a petite woman, she sure commands a room with little effort. Something I’ve always admired about her.
“Dottie?”
“Oh good, you’re both here,” she says to Kinley.
“Grandma Dottie, what’s going on?”
She pulls a pink camouflage apron from her oversized purse and shakes out the folds. “I need a favor.” Dropping her purse on the desk, she drops the apron over Kinley’s keyboard. I let out a discreet sigh of relief. I wasn’t about to wear it, but I also know better than to tell her no. “I need you two to help me whip up some desserts for the bake sale.”
“Bake sale?”
“There’s a fundraiser for the school tomorrow. I signed up to bake half a dozen desserts before I knew about Rowan’s new arrangement. And with Cassius in town, I’ve been simply swamped.”
She looks back and forth between Kinley and me, that innocent, pleading look I can’t refuse pointed at both of us. “Those crumbles aren’t going to bake themselves, you know. I’m picking up all the ingredients first thing in the morning. The desserts need to be dropped off by six tomorrow night.”
“Tomorrow night?” Kinley repeats the words slowly, as if some realization is dawning. Tuesday is the only day of the week the diner’s closed. And now she’ll be spending her one day off with me. A wicked jolt of excitement races through me, imagining Kinley in the kitchen beside me. Flour on her cheek, blueberries staining her lips.
“Kinley, you’ll help, won’t you? I brought this apron especially for you.”
It takes every ounce of restraint not to laugh in this moment. Grandma Dottie may as well be a cute, innocent puppy with those desperate eyes. Kin is screwed and she seems to know it.
