"These could be my new favorite lemon dessert." He smiled at her, unable to hide it anymore. "Is there anything you bake that doesn't taste incredible?"
She shrugged and her smile looked as tempting as her cookies. "Not that anyone would admit to my face. My father says that my bran muffins are stilltolerablygood."
Katie leaned forward and grinned at him. "Your doctor said you should eat some of those, right, Daddy?"
Oh great.
The last thing he wanted to do was be cock blocked by his own daughter, but she couldn't know the pull that Ruth had on him.
"You want me to make you some?"
He smiled up at Ruth and hated to answer the truth. "Yeah, I don't think my stomach can afford to say no. I tried some from a fancy ass bakery in town and it tasted like cardboard."
Katie made a noise that sounded like she was gagging.
"Katie?"
She lowered her gaze. "Sorry, dad, but you're the one who said something gross."
"Tasteless," he corrected, "not gross."
"Yeah," she grimaced. "Well, boys are gross."
Nick rolled his eyes, but he was glad to agree with her. "Yes, like boys."
Ruth's smile and raised brows said she understood the humor in Katie's words.
"Well, as long as you both like my cookies, I'm happy. Why don't you both taste some of the others while I box up my orders for tomorrow. If you have any suggestions for what you’d like to have at the tea, we can talk while I work."
Katie lifted up the orange crinkle cookie while she chewed on the lime one. "I don't have any suggestions," she mumbled around her mouthful. "I'm going to like them all."
Ruth put her hand on Katie's shoulder, smiling at his daughter and fuck if his chest didn't swell with an emotion he didn’t know how to name.
"Good," Ruth moved around to the sink and started to wash her hands. "What about you, ... Nick?"
He loved the way she said his name. Sweet, but a little breathy.
"Do you have any suggestions?"
He smiled trying to hide the heat and hunger in his gaze. He had plenty of suggestions, but none that he'd dare to voice in front of his daughter. Sure, he was single and hungry, but Katie was his focus.
Would always be.
"No," he shook his head and wiped off the powdered sugar from his mouth.
"Okay," she wiped her hands on a clean cloth and reached for one of the pink pastry boxes on the counter. "I have a few questions while I’m trying to figure this out in my head."
Nick sat back on his stool, bringing one foot up to brace himself. "About the show? Go ahead and ask."
Ruth smiled and picked up a pair of pink tongs. "So about this Mother Ginger role?"
“Wh-” Nick felt his stomach sink a little. "What?"
"Did you say no because of the skirt?"
He shook his head and took another bite. "No."
She paused counting the cookies she was putting in the box and turned her gaze back to him. "Then why?"
