“Two more. Minimum.” Contemplating historic holiday dinners, I rubbed my chin. “You’ll prepare the loaves the day before?”
“Don’t I always?”
“Nothing beats your loaves, baby. Not even the stuff from the bakery.”
“That’s because I don’t use your mom’s recipe at the bakery.”
My eyes widened. “You don’t?”
Her smile turned sheepish. “That’s your bread. Nobody else’s. I use a tweaked variation for my customers.”
I growled, “You’re lucky we’re in public or I’druinyou right now.”
“Already tried that once, mister.” Her delighted laughter echoed down the aisle. “Look where that got us.”
When I tumbled her into my arms, her laughter followed, so I vowed to show her later what her revelation did to me. “Is that a complaint, Mrs. O’Grady?”
“Not at all.” She smirked. “That bread won you over?—”
“Nah, baby, you did that by breathing.”
Her amusement softened as she trailed the backs of her fingers over my jaw.
I tilted my head for better access and drawled, “Okay, I’ll need one loaf to myself. Minimum. Only Jake can have my recipe. Not my brothers?—”
“Finn,” she chided around a giggle.
“—I don’t know what you do to the turkey, but sweet fuck, that, the stuffing, your bread, and some mayo? Heaven. In fact, that’d be my death row meal.”
“A turkey stuffing sandwich would be your death row meal?” she stated, tone dubious as she scanned the deli area for more items on her list and nipped my ass to get me moving.
“No.Yourturkey stuffing sandwich onmybread.” I patted my stomach when I saw her peering at the fresh turkeys. “I dedicate an extra hour in the gym in the run-up to the holidays for those alone.”
“You’d think I didn’t feed you on the regular!”
I curved an arm around her waist and hauled her into me again. “You feed me all kinds of sugar. No, I was wrong.” I pressed a softer kiss to her lips. “This’dbe my death row meal.”
Her hands pressed against my pecs and she leaned into me. It came as a relief, actually. Aoife still got flustered by PDAs, and that Karen could have ruined it for her.
But, no.
She sighed into my mouth, head arching back as I deepened this kiss. When my tongue swept over hers, her fingers clutched at me and she broke away to breathe, “I just remembered why I can’t take you grocery shopping.”
“Why’s that?” I pressed soft pecks to her cheeks and forehead and wherever else I could reach.
Aoife snuggled into me. “Because you’re a menace.”
“I live to menace.”
“That isn’t even a verb.”
“You can check it out in the dictionary later.” I nuzzled my nose into her temple, where the scent of her was sweet and clean and justAoife.
Fuck, I loved her.
Some days, it felt like it exploded out of me.
I closed my eyes, just appreciating the moment, the intimacy in a fully public space. She relaxed into me, arms around my waist in a total hug that neither of us wanted to end.
