He reached over and snagged one from her container. The still-warm cookie melted in his mouth, and he nodded. “They do. Nice.” It was. Unique and interesting.
Both their phones beeped at the same time, and Seth frowned. Was there a problem?
He noticed a slight tremble in Mara’s fingers as she pulled out her phone. Her face cleared instantly as he checked his own notifications.
From Ford. You probably can’t hear the bell from there. Dinner is served in ten. Be here.
He grinned. “Sounds like we have to leave our kitchen.”
Mara sighed dramatically, but her eyes twinkled. “I was hoping we’d never have to leave.”
That comment hit him straight in the gut. And slightly lower than his gut.
He was back to picturing her spread out on the island for his own personal feast. And up against the fridge, lost in a mind-shattering orgasm. Bent over the table while he thrust into her.
Hell.
He yanked himself under control. It took an effort to keep his voice light. “Same. Well, let’s bring our offerings and see what they’ve concocted for dinner.”
She put a lid on her cookies and sighed. “I wonder who’s cooking tonight.”
He wasn’t sure, but whatever it was would take his mind off the images of a naked Chaos Machine with bubbles from the sink the only thing covering her nude body. “Let’s find out.”
He had his body under control by the time he locked the door behind them and engaged the security system.
Whatever they were eating wouldn’t be as good as the images his brain kept feeding him.
Dumbass.
Chapter 7
Nobody Here But Us Chickens
A few days later, Mara wasn’t sure she’d ever been this content as an adult. Baking for an appreciative crowd was fun. Playing with recipes was even better.
Sharing a kitchen with the sexy Seth was the best yet.
Because they didn’t have actual guests yet, they didn’t need a schedule. She couldn’t break the habit of waking early and setting dough to rise.
The farm was full of early risers, but she still beat them all by at least an hour. She’d learned which steps creaked, and how to set the security system.
Walking up the farm road in the early morning was magical. Soft mists easing up from the grass, the barest hint of dawn brushing the horizon, and sleepy songbirds calling out their greetings. Nothing like her rabid dash for the bus back in New York.
Her morning songs played on her phone while she mixed up the filling for a sea-salt caramel apple cheesecake. She’d never tried one before, but she was betting it would be a hit. Maybe even a staple for the inn.
Along with the morning baking, she wanted to offer breads, rolls, or biscuits, and dessert options for the guests. Cheesecake would be an easy fit.
She’d included some hazelnuts with the crust, and she wondered how that would go. She’d considered adding some spices there as well, but she’d start with this as a basic recipe, and change only one variable at a time. There were tons of options she could play with, changing up the recipe every week.
The alarm beeped to warn her that someone was entering the inn. Probably Seth, although everyone at the farm had the code. She hadn’t seen Gray and Amber yet, so it was still early.
Sure enough, Seth walked in before she could turn off the music. In deference to the early hour, it wasn’t loud, but she knew Seth preferred to work in silence. He hadn’t complained, but he’d said he’d preferred silence on their way to Phail, and she tried to respect his wishes.
Once guests arrived, their schedules would likely be different. However Seth appeared to prefer prepping early in the day as well.
The hitch in his step wasn’t visible in the mornings. She wondered if he split his prepping and cooking times to give his leg a break.
She was curious, but hadn’t asked either him or Ford about it. Her brother had once said something about Seth being injured overseas, but no details. She wouldn’t ask him to betray a confidence. It was none of her business. “Good morning.”
