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He whispered, “You felt amazing last night.”
“So did you.” Her eyes bored into his and he couldn’t look away.
The timer went off and broke the spell. Her cheeks tinted pink and she stepped away.
She stopped the timer, then donned the oven mitts to pull more cookies from the oven. She added another pan inside and set the timer once more.
“Are you baking two pans at once?”
“I am. I have them separated four minutes apart. That way, I have time to pull the cooled cookies from one pan before the next one comes out.” The smile she shined on him was magnetic. “Coffee is all set for you. I turned it on when I heard the shower.”
He chuckled and shook his head. Had someone, other than his parents, ever doted on him? That answer was no. It was a little weird to get used to.
He filled a cup of coffee, then glanced at Lara. “Do you want coffee?”
“Yes, please. Thank you.”
He grinned as he poured them each a cup. She turned to take her cup from his hands; her cheeks were bright red. He cocked his head. “What’s up?”
“I hope you won’t mind that I rearranged some things in the cupboards. I have a system at home and at the bakery and…”
He laughed and kissed her forehead. “I don’t mind. No one else will either. None of us cook, Lara. And by none of us, I really mean that. At home, we have a cook. She takes complete care of us and her daughter cleans and does laundry for us. We’re built for what we do, not domestic things.”
“Really? Your mom didn’t cook?”
“I think she used to. But, when she and Dad married, he was already running GHOST and Mrs. James was in place. Mom is an operative as well, though not as active in the field, which created a ton of arguments between Mom and Dad. We used to listen to them argue about it when we were little.”
“How many sisters and brothers do you have?”
“I have one brother and one sister. My brother’s name is Matthew, and he’s a year and a half younger. My sister’s name is Kate, after my mom’s best friend.”
“Oh, that’s awesome. I’ll bet Kate was so honored when your parents named your sister after her.”
He shrugged. “She was killed a long time ago. It’s what brought my parents back together after a long time apart. I’m named after my mom’s brother, who was my dad’s best friend.”
Lara stared at him for a long time. Her eyes teared up, and he leaned in and softly kissed her lips. “Hey. Don’t cry.”
“It’s just so sweet. What an honor to be named after someone your parents loved.”
He swallowed the emotion that welled up inside of him. It was an honor to be named after a loved one. He’d always known that. His parents told him often of his Uncle Tate and the fantastic man he was.
He kissed the top of Lara’s head and turned when footsteps sounded on the stairs.
Maya entered the kitchen. “I smell cookies.”
Tate laughed. “You do. Lara’s been up for a while working.”
Maya looked at Lara and smiled. “I love having you here.” She stumbled to the coffeepot, then stopped at a plate of decorated cookies on the counter. She bit into one and moaned. “Mmm, this is soo good.”
“Thank you.”
He chuckled and kissed Lara on the lips then went to the plate of cookies before Maya ate them all up.
Lara walked around the center island and picked up a bag of frosting and began decorating the cooled cookies. He watched her for a while, both enthralled at the process and in admiration of her talent. He was losing his heart to Lara.
More footsteps came down the stairs and Tate grabbed another cookie before anyone else took one and Lara laughed. Maya watched him but made no comment. She had a way of watching people without emotion, which made her a fucking skilled operative. You never knew what she was thinking until she told you. Just like her mom.
Aidyn made his way to the kitchen. “I heard talking and smelled baking. How can a man sleep like that?”
