Harper sighed, her hand going to her chest.
Tilly lifted a shoulder. “If people hadn’t egged my house, I honestly don’t know if I’d have had the willpower to stop it.”
“I love that. I love everything about you two being together. You know, that would kind of make us sisters.”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The man hasn’t so much as texted me since.” She pushed the board of chocolate forward. “All chopped.”
Harper frowned as she took the chocolate. “He hasn’t made contact at all?”
“Nope. Well, unless you consider formal responses to work emails ‘contact.’”
“Not exactly the contact I was talking about.”
“Didn’t think so.” She watched as Harper melted the chocolate over the stove. “So this is a new recipe?”
“Yeah, and to be honest, I’m not sure how it’s going to go. The shop was all out of white flour, so I have to use whole wheat.”
“Well, that makes it a semi-healthy chocolate cake, right?”
Harper laughed. “Hmm, maybe.” She glanced up at Tilly. “You’re coming to his birthday dinner, right?”
“Me?”
“Yeah. It’s Monday night because that’s when the bar’s closed, and we’re going to the local Chinese restaurant. Please come.”
“But I don’t really know Cody that well. He probably doesn’t want me there.”
“I would love you there.” At the deep, masculine voice, they both turned to see Cody walk into the room. He moved straight behind Harper, slipped his arms around her waist, and kissed her neck.
An ache formed in Tilly’s chest. What did it feel like to have someone love you so openly and fiercely? She’d only ever felt that easy, unhesitant kind of love from one person before…her mother.
Harper turned to face him and pressed her hands to her chest. “You cannot be in here. I’m making your cake.”
“I’m not here for the cake, but I could do with something sweet…”
Okay, way too much love in the room for her. She was about to excuse herself to go to the bathroom—either that or just hide in a bedroom until they were done—when the front door opened.There was no knock or ringing of the doorbell. That meant it had to be Eastern or—
Cody grinned toward the door. “Kayden!”
“Shit, what did I walk into?” His deep, raspy voice slid through her, making her blood rush faster throughout her body.
Harper pushed at Cody’s chest again. “Stop, we have people here. You’ll make them uncomfortable.”
“Uncomfortable watching me love my woman? Not possible.”
“Possible,” Kayden cut in. “Very possible.”
He stopped beside Tilly. Like,rightbeside her. So close she could feel the heat of his body radiating onto her own.
As Cody continued to ignore them and nuzzle Harper’s neck, while Harper laughed, Kayden looked down at Tilly. Even though she wasn’t directly looking at him, she could feel his eyes like hot beams. “Hey. I didn’t know you’d be here.”
Finally, she mustered up the courage to look at him. And yep, it only took that one glance at his beautiful blue eyes to make her heart go off in a gallop.
She cleared her throat. “Harper asked for my help with Cody’s cake, although I’m not much help.”
“Not a baker?”
“Oh, I can bake. Cupcakes. Cookies. Never cakes. They always sink in the middle.”
