I laugh. “Oh yeah? You like that? You want me to boss you around?”
He pushes my hair out of my eyes. “If at some point you tell me to make you come again, I’ll definitely like it.”
My knees about buckle. I don’t think I can take another round. Not yet. I can feel myself losing ground here. I don’t want to make this more than it is, and the more sex—scratch that, the more he keeps making me feel like this, the more it’s going to suck when it’s over. I point my finger into his chest and try to hide the thoughts in my head with a smile. “Forget that, big guy. We have work to do.”
He grabs my finger, kisses the end of it, and then holds my hand as we start walking to the bathroom. “You’re right. We’ll get clean and then go bake some cupcakes.”
I stare at the back of his head, wondering if I’m even going to be able to concentrate in a kitchen with Matt. He definitely has me thinking of other things besides baking.
Chapter 8
Matt
Five hours later, I’m exhausted, but I refuse to let it show. I’m a professional athlete, but I swear working in a hot kitchen, with all the bending, cleaning, and mixing is a lot.
“You doing okay?” April asks as she finishes icing the last of the cupcakes. She’s really good at what she does. And it’s obvious she loves it. She’s smiled the whole day, and I know she has to be exhausted too. Neither one of us got a lot of sleep last night.
I roll my eyes and lean over her. “Yes, I’m fine. I am a trained athlete. You know that, right?”
She lifts up with a smile. “Is that why I see you keep rolling your shoulders and stretching your neck?”
I grab on to my neck and massage it a little. “Old football injury. I just tweaked it.”
She drops the icing bag in her hand and comes toward me. “Oh no, are you okay? Let me see.”
I drop my hands and sit down on the stool so she can reach me better. She starts digging deeply into my shoulders, and I pat across my collarbone. “This too. This is hurting too.”
She moves around to the front of me and starts rubbing me on the sides of my neck. I put my hands on her waist and pull her into the V of my legs. It takes her a minute, but she finally gets what I’m trying to do.
She puts her hand on my chest and pushes away. “Oh no. You have to go and get changed and take these to the party. I promised Violet they would get there on time.”
I grab her hand to stop her. “You’re going too.”
She shakes her head and looks around at the spotless kitchen. “No, I’m not. I need to clean up.”
“Try again. I already cleaned it while you were icing all those.”
She blinks, trying to come up with an excuse. “I wasn’t invited.”
“I’m inviting you. Plus, you made the cupcakes. I mean, it’s a given you’re invited.”
She bites her lip. “I dunno...”
I close the lid on the last box. “You’re going. That’s final.”
I try to keep my face stern, and out of the corner of my eye, I see her pop her hip out and put her hand there. “Excuse me. You can’t tell me...”
I bust out laughing, and she figures out I was playing with her. “Fine, I can’t make you go. But I can ask you. Will you please go with me?” I’m afraid she’s going to say no, so I tell her the only thing I can think of where there’s no way she can refuse me. “I’m a bit of a klutz. What if I drop the boxes while I’m carrying them?”
“You don’t carry them all at once,” she says.
I play dumb and flex my arms for her. “Really? I’m pretty sure I can carry the cake and all four boxes of cupcakes at the same time. Have you seen these arms?”
She shakes her head. “Fine, you win. I’ll go with you... to help set up.”
“Deal,” I say, leaning in to sneak a kiss.
She pulls back. “Deal? What do I get in this deal?”
I wiggle my eyebrows, and she starts walking away. “Forget it. C’mon, we gotta go if we’re going to make it on time.”
I load my truck up and drive us into Jasper. After a quick stop at my apartment to change clothes and to grab some more because I’m hoping that I may get another night with April, we bolt over to Brody Andrews’ house.
When we get there, I leave April with Violet and Brody’s wife Callie as the guys and I carry in the boxes of cupcakes.
“This is so perfect!” Callie exclaims.
I look at the dessert table and am completely amazed. April had me bring in some stands out of the truck, and she has everything displayed perfectly. The three-year-old is so excited as he stands next to his mom, jumping up and down.