I can’t let my body tank my plans. It’s time to rest.
Tomorrow is another day.
The kids are chatteringa mile a minute and there’s a buzzing electricity in the air that fuels even my tired body.
“Hey, guys! Settle down! We’re just about to start and I can’t hear myself think!”
The low, dark voice has my body pulsing in seconds. Startled, I glance over at the huge guy in the baker’s apron and a huge white smile. A swath of his dark hair hangs into his crystal-blue eyes and my whole body tenses as those eyes turn to me.
“Hello, I’m Mark. I’m in charge of these guys tonight. I’m assuming you’re my podcaster?”
“Oh, hell yeah!”
His bright eyes twinkle and his hand comes out to touch my shoulder and it feels like a jolt of fire sizzles along my skin where his fingers rest.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” he chuckles. The kids around us are laughing and that’s when I realize that I fucking said it out loud!
Oh shit!
“I’m sorry, I’m really tired tonight. I’m afraid I’m not making any sense.”
He shoots me a skeptical look that narrows the crystal blue eyes he studies me with. “Well, let’s get this party started, kiddos! Grab your spots and make sure that you’ve got your essential ingredients and specialty items. I put everything at each station since we’re such a small group tonight but check the recipe that’s tacked onto each board and make sure.”
He shoots me a smirk that turns my knees to liquid. “You can set up wherever you want to. We’re gonna take a few minutes to set up and then get started.”
He turns away and oh my! His backside is just as beautiful as his front. His ass is a work of art. Round and just the right size to take a bite out of.
My cheeks flush bright red like I know he can read my mind and he knows what I’m thinking.
But he’s just talking to one of the kids. A pretty girl with dark curls and crystal blue eyes, studying me like I’m some strange insect that she doesn’t know what to do with.
I remember the description of the bakery and smile gently. I have a feeling that I’m looking at the guy’s daughter.
That’s one of the special things about this place. Single dads. They’re all single dads.
I’ve heard women and the way they talk it’s clear that they like the guys here. Hell, it’s clear that they want to jump the guys here.
But if this one guy is anything to go by, I can understand. He’s gorgeous. At least six three with a body that’s lean and muscular, tanned skin and bright blue eyes. The unruly lock of hair that keeps falling into those eyes just makes him look more human.
He claps his hands and I jump. He swings to me. “You want to tell the kids what you’re doing today?”
Straightening, I grin at the kids and pull out my phone. I don’t use expensive cameras and shit. I’m a one-woman show. That’s one of my taglines.
“Hi guys!’ I wave at them and they wave back. “I’m going to do a podcast recording today for my show, Lily of the Valley, which is all about the special things around our area for people to do. I just want you to do what you normally do and I’ll ask a question here or there. I don’t try to get in the shots. I’m concentrating on you guys so just have fun with it. Your parents have signed all the forms, haven’t they?”
Nods all the way around and the guy in charge grins at me. “I gave them the stuff before you got here.” He hands me a stack of signed papers. “We’re all good to go. We’ve only got eight kids tonight including my daughter, Casey so we thought it would be a good night for you.”
The way his firm lips twist tells me that he’s lying right now. I’m guessing he wasn’t a fan of this. But it’s gonna be great for them so I’m sure he’ll be happy once it goes out.
Nodding, I start lining up my shots and chatting with the kids. “Just do what you normally do and have fun with it.”
I fade into the background like I usually do and smile when I start my recording.
The big guy steps into the middle of my screen and my whole body goes hot as a furnace. His pale blue eyes sparkle with life as he talks to the kids and then smiles at the screen.
His big body moves around the space with wild efficiency. Like a carefully controlled breeze that’s about to whirl into a hurricane. He’s a force of nature. His daughter chatters a mile a minute and every once in a while, I pop into the recording to ask a question.
Everything is going smooth as silk and then all of a sudden, one of the kids forgets to set the lock on the mixer and the air’s full of whirling white sandstorms that cover everything.
