He gives my shoulders a reassuring squeeze. “The condo job won’t be forever, and then we’ll set our own schedule, maybe start our own business. That means we’ll all be around more, at least until we get our business off the ground.”
“And Derek?”
“The sheriff will arrest him.”
“And if he doesn’t?”
With his left hand, he touches my forehead with his thumb and index fingers, pressing down on the many frown lines I feel forming. “Hewill. Or your ex will move on when he can’t get to you, and he can’t get to you here with the security system. The whole town knows someone is looking to hurt you, and no one is going to let that happen.”
“But—”
He brushes his lips across mine, silencing me with a kiss so sweet I don’t mind swallowing my fears for a bit longer if he’ll kiss me like that again.
“How about we stop worrying about future maybes and focus on short-term practicalities?” he suggests.
I lick my lips, wanting him to kiss me again. “Like?”
His eyes hungrily track the motion, but he leans back as if forcing himself not to kiss me like he wants to. “Come downstairs, and I’ll explain.”
“How about turning the kitchen into a bakery?” Hunter suggests.
My eyes slide to the large farmhouse kitchen with its thick, rustic-style dining table and six chairs that sit smack-dab in the middle of the room. Thecleankitchen. While they were down here talking, and I was upstairs hiding, they were cleaning and eating pie. Two pies have been decimated, and the dishwasher makes loud sloshing sounds as it does its thing.
“Abakery?”
“Yeah.” Hunter offers me a coffee and pulls a chair out from the table.
I sit down and take the coffee with a grateful smile. One sip confirms something I already suspected. While I was learninghow they drink their coffee, Hunter must’ve been learning how I drink mine.
“How did you know how I like my coffee?” I ask, surprised.
“Asked Lina the last time I was at the diner. Figured the information might come in handy one day.”
“And has it?”
He drops into the seat beside mine and leans over to touch his lips to mine. “It put this pretty little smile on your face, so I’d say definitely.” His eyes flick down, and he softly groans. “I have to stop doing that. I’m becoming addicted.”
“To?”
I have to stop letting him kiss me or I will never leave, no matter how dangerous it would be for me to stay.
His eyes linger on my mouth. “The taste of your lips.” Shaking his head as if he needs the action to clear his mind enough to think, he gestures to the kitchen again. “So, what do you say? You want to help out Nico, but in a less public way. Your pies are incredible, and he’s down a waitress, so if he doesn’t have to do the baking, it means you’re taking a big job off his hands. Why not bake here? We can drop the pies off at the diner on our way to work in the morning.”
I sip my coffee as I ponder his suggestion. It’s a good one. The kitchen is spacious, with plenty of surfaces to work on. I could keep myself busy instead of biting down the few nails I have left stressing about Derek. Most importantly, I could earn my keep. I don’t know how much Nico would pay me to take over all his baking, if he agreed to it at all, but some money is better than no money.
I’d have all the time in the world to test out new pie flavors instead of being limited to what’s on the diner menu. It would befun. And that’s before I consider the possibility that I’d be spending a lot more time with four alphas I’ve been attracted to since the first time I saw them.
“You’re not immediately refusing, so I’m going to assume you like the idea?”
Hunter’s amused tone returns me to the present.
Excited but terrified to hope this will work out, I frown instead. “Nico might say no.”
He fishes his cell phone from his pocket, unlocks it, and offers it to me. “Call him and ask. His number is in my contacts. Search for Nico.”
I hesitate for a bit longer, though I’m secretly dying to ask Nico. Then I put my mug down, take the phone from Hunter, and search through his contacts to find the number I need.
It’s not lunchtime yet, so either Lina or Nico could answer. I luck out on it being Nico. After asking if I can speak to him for a couple of minutes, I wait for him to move into his office for our phone call.
