Her hand covers her mouth, and she’s fighting a laugh. Her cheeks are pink, and when our eyes meet, mischief sparkles in hers.
“Surprise,” I say with a dash of sarcasm. “I’m a guy. Give me a minute to take care of this.”
My hands fall away, and I step into the bathroom. The door closes, and I hear her laughter coming from the bed. I stand in front of the sink, my shoulders dropping as a smile pulls my lips as well.
Rolling my eyes, I shake my head as I switch on the tap and put some cold water on the back of my neck. It’s not how I’d like to handle this situation, but thinking about the alternative isn’t going to help my dick calm down.
The small cottageis empty when I come out of the bathroom. A text from Dove is on my phone telling me to come to the house when I’m G-rated. She’s one to talk.
I shake my head, stepping over to my suitcase and taking out a fresh pair of jeans and a maroon tee.
Kelani meets me halfway across the yard, barking and hopping along beside me as I walk to the house. I bend down and scrub her cute little head, and when I open the back door, she races up the short flight of steps.
Dove, her mom, her aunt Mindy, and Gina are all crowded around an open laptop on the table when I enter.
Taron is at the stove with Maddie on a stool beside him. They’re both wearing aprons, and I see he’s making his famous hoe cakes in the cast-iron skillet.
I’ve had those little fried corn cakes on all my visits here, and I can attest they are delicious.
“Looks like I got here just in time,” I say, and they all look up.
“Maverick, good morning!” Dove’s mom smiles. “I hope you slept well. I’ve got Mountain Dew for you in the fridge.”
“Legend is they got their name because farmers would fry the cakes on the back of their hoes…” I hear Dove’s dad gently explaining to his little helper in the same way he did with all of us.
“Daddy saidhoeis a bad word, and I shouldn’t say it.” Maddie looks up at him with wide eyes.
Gina snorts from the table. “Different kinda hoe, Mads!”
“A farmer’s hoe is a tool like a shovel,” Taron says. “Only it’s flat instead of rounded, so you can use it for chopping.”
Maddie nods slowly, listening, and I walk over to get in on this action. “Got any for me?”
“Coming right up,” Taron says.
“We have sausage links, too,” Noel says. “Dove, go take care of Maverick.”
Dove glances up to where I stand, and her eyebrow arches. “Mav takes care of himself, don’t you, honey?”
“Tara Dove,” her mom scolds. “Every man likes to be spoiled.”
“Boo has an aesthetician coming over to do everyone’s mani-pedis in a little bit,” her aunt Mindy says. “She said it’ll take most of tomorrow to get everybody’s hair and makeup done for the ceremony…”
The delicious scent of frying cornbread makes my stomach growl, and I use a fork to stab one of the sausage links.
When I straighten, I notice Dove is watching me again, her coffee cup at her lips. Energy passes between us, and Iglance down at the link. Lifting it up, I give her a slight nod as I glance from it to her.
Air bursts from her nose, and she leans forward, putting her hand in front of her lips.
“Dove!” Gina cries, wiping her arm. “Spit-take much?”
“What’s wrong?” Mindy frowns. “Do you not like your colors?”
“Sorry…” Dove chokes, waving her hand. “No… it’s all perfect.”
I turn to face the stove, grinning as I take a bite of the fresh hoecake Maddie just slid onto my plate.
“Mm-mm…” I make a big noise of delight. “That is the best hoe cake I’ve had since the last time I was here.”
