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“You sure?You won’t be bored while I whirlwind around the kitchen?”
He leaned against the sink and folded his arms slowly over his chest, giving me a very deliberate once-over.
“Darlin’, even if all I get to do is watch you bake all evenin’, I can hand on heart guarantee that I won’t be bored.”
Lust licked up my veins, and I swallowed back a pang of desire.“Rick—”
“I won’t get in your way, I promise.”He crossed the very small space and bent to kiss me.“I want to spend time with you, and if you have to spend some of that time baking, well, just know that it’ll be no hardshipwhatsoeverto watch you do that.And I’m great at doin’ the dishes afterwards, too.”
I cupped his cheek, and tugged him down for another kiss.“You’re a dreamboat.”When he huffed out a laugh, I added, “No, really.I can’t believe I get to be your date at the wedding on Saturday.Are you going to dance with me?”
He chuckled and rolled his eyes.“I’m a terrible dancer.”
“I don’t care, so long as you’re dancing with me,” I countered.
He frowned, but his gaze was warm.“We’ll see.”
I smiled against his delectable mouth.“You haven’t seen my dress yet.”
He tickled his hand through my hair, cupping the nape of my neck.“Christ.Probably won’t survive it.Don’t make me combust with wantin’ you too much in front of my damned cousin, Maddie.”
I just smiled some more.
Just ten minutes later, I let us into Jess’ house next door, preheated the oven and got to work.The sponge cake didn’t take long.Whisking the egg whites into stiff peaks was the most arduous part, and luckily Jess had all the best gear.I put Rick to work unearthing the tulip cake cases from the highest shelf in Jess’ kitchen while the electric whisk whirred.When the batter was ready, I added a few drops of rhubarb flavouring.These cute little cakes had been a hit for one of my British Chinese friends for her recent thirtieth birthday.
She’d wanted the softness of a typical Chinese sponge cake, but paired with her favourite autumn crumble flavour.I had been skeptical, but they were devoured in record time, and a new fusion bake was born.
“That smellsdivine,” Rick commented twenty minutes later as they baked in the oven.He’d been as good as his word, washing dishes and helping me tidy up.“Do I get to try one?You know, as a taste tester?”
“If you behave yourself.”
“Oh?”He came up behind me where I stood at the kitchen table, studying the sketches of the wedding cake with the placement of the fondant hearts.I had to assemble it all tomorrow evening, and I wanted to do itright.Aunt Laurie would, quite rightly, never forgive me if I messed this up.It was someone’s wedding, arguably the event they would remember best for their entire lives, and besides, there’d be no shortage of photographs to catalog my shame if the cake didn’t look perfect.
“Yeah,” I murmured, turning my head to kiss him.He wrapped his arms around me, nuzzling into my head.His stubble tickled in the best way, set every nerve ending inside me alight, just as I’d fantasized it would.
The oven timer started chirping, interrupting us.I bit back my disappointment.It seemed like we were forever doomed to one interruption or another.Rick stepped back so I could open the oven door and check the little cakes.They’d risen to perfection, and I slid the trays out one at a time.
“Amazing,” Rick breathed.“Kitchen magic.”
I smiled at him over my shoulder and closed the oven door.“The same could be said of what you do.Wood magic.”
“I’d like to give you some wood magic, if you know what I mean.”He smirked, and I laughed out loud.
“That was awful.I mean it,” I added, holding his gaze.“You make trees into treasure.”
He chuckled.“That’s one for the next batch of business cards.”
I slipped off the oven gloves and yawned hugely, stretching.I felt a pang of guilt as Rick looked at the cakes behind me.I hadn’t really had a chance to enjoy him being here, and now I was too dead on my feet to start something.Plus, I didn’t know if we’d sort of agreed to wait to...Doanything until Sunday.
“I’ll let you get to bed, Maddie,” he said softly.“I know you’ve gotta get up early.”He came in close for a kiss, and I responded eagerly, melting into his arms.
“Rick?”
“Hmm?”He dropped a kiss on the tip of my nose and my heart warmed.
“Would you stay with me?I mean, I’m so tired, we’d just sleep.I don’t want you to go, but also, I’m too tired to do all of the things I want to do with you.”
“Yeah,” he murmured, before I could make a total fool of myself by over-explaining in my clumsy British way.“It’d be a pleasure to hold you all night, Maddie.”
