“I like sex.” His mouth barely grazes my lips when the kitchen door swings open. We jump apart and scramble to our feet.
Sadie stands in the doorway, cell phone pointing straight at us. “Betty and Fred certainly down played the mess they made. And look who I found. Betty’s other granddaughter in a compromising position with Fred’s grandson.”
“It’s not compromising.” I dust off my rear end and the back of my legs.
“We will let the followers decide. Comment below and watch for more live videos. This is Sadie signing off and, remember, the secret ingredient to baking is always love.”
“Perfect timing, Sadie, you can help us clean.” I throw a wash cloth at her.
The kitchen gets a wash down from top to bottom. Every surface is mopped up and disinfected. There’s no saving the raw or baked cookies from the egg shells and dry ingredients. And I don’t know where the flour starts and the baking soda, sugar, and butter ends. They used every ingredient their naughty paws could obtain during their food fight.
Cole catches my batch of cookies before I toss them in the trash. “Hey, hey, hey. Let me see these.”
“Why?”
“Maybe I want to taste one.”
“No. They’re ruined.” I reach for them.
He pulls them away. “Do these mountains of colorful pastry have a name?”
I debate sharing anything about my cookies with him. I’m used to hiding my creations from the competition. I had planned on baking them for the Bake the Day competition. But that day seems like a distant dream I can’t catch. And Cole is not a power-hungry ruthless pastry chef.
“Dreamy Monster Cookiextreme.” My sister beat me to the answer. I’m surprised she stuck around as long as she did.
“Fitting name.” Cole admires my cookie.
“This is my holiday sugar cookie version. Brown butter batter in red and green swirl mixed in with vanilla cream chocolate chips. The stuffing is vanilla cream bean cheese frosting. Or it was.” I frown. “Our five-year-old grandparents ruined them.”
Cole bites my cookie. Dusted in flour, or sugar, or possibly even baking soda and wet with egg on top. The creamy bean cheese frosting drips down his lip. My fingers squeeze the pan to keep from reaching out.
“This is good.” His mouth is half full.
“Yeah?”
“Of course they’re good.” My sister snatches a cookie for herself. “They’re the best damn cookies in the world. I keep telling her she needs to make these. People would gobble them up.”
He swallows. “I agree. Soft, gooey, delicious.”
“Thank you.”
“You don’t make these in the city at your big fancy bakery?”
I shake my head. “I wish.” I continue to dump the cookies in the trash.
“She has to bake what her asshole boss tells her to bake.”
Cole swipes the tray from me. “I’m keeping these for later. A midnight snack.”
“At least let me make you new ones that aren’t ruined.”
“Sweetheart, these aren’t ruined.” He searches out a to-go container and fills it with my cookies.
“Are you ready to go shopping?”
***
COLE
