Lauren’s eyes dropped to my chest, and she stepped away, rubbing her arms like she was cold. “Let’s get cracking on those cookies. They’re not going to make themselves.”
We put a counter between us and got to work opening and mixing things. I did whatever she asked, her silent servant until she relaxed enough to look me in the eyes again.
“You want music?” I asked, moving over to the iPod docking station I had on the counter.
She shrugged. “Sure.”
With no restrictions put on me, I scrolled to my Seventies playlist, which no one could ever resist dancing to, especially me. Our shop class teacher used to make us listen to a lot of Abba and the Bee Gees, and it just stuck with me.
WhenStayin’ Alivecame on, Lauren’s eyes widened, and she covered her mouth to hide a smile. I pretended not to notice and sashayed my way over to the oven to pre-heat it.
“What are you doing?” She leaned over the counter, resting her head on her arms and watching me. “This is not you.”
“How do you know what’s me?”
“Is this like, some sneaky seduction technique to get under my skin?”
I smiled. “On your skin.”
She touched her neck self-consciously. Her beautiful neck that was turning red along with her face.
“So, let me get this straight. You’re afraid to dance with me because you think it’s some seduction technique I’ve been saving to use on you? Are you saying it would work? I’m asking for purely scientific reasons.”
She rubbed her forehead. “I don’t know what to think.”
“Well then, relax, anddon’toverthink this.”
She stared at me for several seconds before adding the chocolate chips to the dough in the bowl. And then her head rocked back and forth, and before I knew it both of us had our arms in the air and we were shaking our hips like no one was watching. And no one was. This whole night was our little secret.
We sang along toHow Deep is Your Lovewhile spooning out the dough, and I had the tray of cookies in hand to put in the oven when Lauren froze.
“Did you hear that?” she asked, glancing toward the entryway.
“Hear what?” I put the tray down and moved to the iPod, pausing the music just in time to hear the doorbell again. Thank goodness I’d locked the door, because I had a pretty good idea who might drop by unannounced.
I tilted my head toward the hallway, and she didn’t need more encouragement than that to go hide before I jogged to the entryway. I’d never wished for a salesman I could slam the door on more in my life.
But no, it was Parker. He walked in without an invitation the second I opened the door and walked straight to the kitchen, taking in the cookies in progress. He glanced back at my Kiss the Cook apron and raised one eyebrow. “You definitely need a social life more than I do.”
“I was actually in the middle of an important… thought. And you interrupted.” Dang it. Why didn’t I have anything going on that gave me a legitimate reason to kick him out of my house?
“Well, sorry to interrupt. I’ll be quiet so you can finish your thoughts or whatever. Are you going to stick those in the oven? It’s preheated.”
He made himself comfortable at my kitchen table with his feet propped up on another chair, and I picked up the tray and shoved it in the oven with a little more force than necessary.
“I’m gonna go use the bathroom.” I stalked down the hall, closing the bathroom door on the way before checking the guest bedroom and then mine for Lauren. Where was she? I moved over to my closet and began sliding the door open. There was a tug on my ankle, and I jumped forward and hit the closet door before grabbing the sides and regaining my balance. I was lucky I didn’t take the door off its tracks.
“Lauren!” I hissed, dropping to the floor next to her. “What are you doing? Stop trying to wrestle with me all the time.”
“Yeah, you wish. So, who’s over stealing my cookies? Parker or Evan?”
“Parker. And technically the cookies were for me, so he’s stealingmycookies.”
“Our cookies. Fight me on it.”
“I know you’d like to.” I gave a strand of her hair a soft tug, enjoying our banter too much. It was the last of it we’d get tonight, which was a shame. “I’m sorry you’re hiding in here.”
“It’s just how things are,” she whispered. “But you better go back. I have to get out of your house.”
