I briefly imagined how soft and warm she’d feel under my hands. I tried to purge that line of thought from my brain as soon as I caught it and only partially succeeded.
“Oh, there you are,” Harper said cheerily. She lifted a pan of baked goods like a peace offering.
6
HARPER
Greyson Ashford was standing in the hallway with Zack Ashford. I knew Zack, just like every woman in town with a pair of eyes did. He was a sweetheart, even if he’d left a trail of broken hearts in his wake. He just never seemed to care more about a relationship than the animals he worked with. Sooner or later, he always chose the work. And yes, this was all common knowledge because there were almost no secrets in Fairhope.
Greyson had on the same white t-shirt and jeans from when I’d seen him earlier, but he’d put on a beat-up blue baseball cap that made him look boyish and athletic. For thirty-six, the man was fighting off Father Time impressively. Or maybe it was more like he’d bribed Father Time and he was getting more attractive every year.
I smiled at both of them, holding up the tray of cookies. “We saw you guys working hard and decided to bring over a little tease of what you can expect tomorrow night. This was a test batch. There were supposed to be a dozen, but Lin ate two of them.”
Greyson looked at the cookie tray. “There are eight cookies.”
I blushed. “The chef should always taste her work. Twice,” I added a little less confidently.
Zack took one and popped it in his mouth, smiling and nodding. “Fucking delicious.”
Greyson approached me and paused. Our eyes met for an instant and I swore I could feel an electric spark shoot straight from my head all the way down my spine. I sucked in my lower lip, biting hard to stop from saying something stupid.
He cleared his throat. “I’ll go get the kids.”
I was only able to let out the breath I’d been holding once he walked away. God. The man was so intense.
Zack was watching me while he licked the sweetness from his fingers.
“What?” I demanded.
He pursed his lips. “Nothing. Just wondering if you know my brother is thirty-seven.”
“He’s thirty-six,” I corrected, then immediately blushed and regretted it. “Billy told me,” I added in a quiet voice.
Zack’s grin widened. I hated how knowing it looked. He didn’t know anything. Hell, I didn’t know anything. I’d just come over here because we had extra cookies and I knew there were kids right across the street. The fresh air wasn’t bad either after being around the hot ovens for the last two hours. That was all.
Molly came stumbling and scrambling toward me like a dog who heard food being poured in its bowl. She knocked over a box, somersaulted into another, and then got to her feet and popped up perfectly straight in front of me. Her blue eyes went wide as full moons. “Can I have one?” she asked.
“Of course you can,” I said.
Billy followed close behind her, but with a little more restraint than his sister. He lagged back, apparently too embarrassed to ask so I plucked one from the tray and handed it to him.
Greyson gave him a gentle pat on the back of the head and made a noise.
Billy muttered “thank you.”
“You’re both very welcome. Are you going to have some, Daddy?” I looked straight at Greyson, then replayed what I’d just said and suddenly wished there was a black hole nearby to jump into.
Zack put his fist to his mouth and choked on laughter.
Greyson was staring with a completely blank expression.
“I meant like–” I stammered. “I was thinking of you as their dad. Like does your daddy want some?” I set down the tray with a metallic click that seemed louder than it should’ve been. “I’m not one of those weirdos with a daddy kin–” I trailed off, remembering Billy and Molly were watching me with wide eyes full of curiosity. “Okay,” I said. “Bye!” I did an about-face, and marched straight out of the inn.
Dear God, I thought. If you’ve ever wanted to smite me for something I’ve done, please feel free to do it now. If you’re struggling to think of my most smitable moments, there was that time I sucked all the chocolate off peanut M&M’s and left just the nuts in a bowl by the couch. And then my Uncle Curtis had apologized later for eating all the peanuts I left out.
I squeezed my eyes shut and waited for the thunderbolt. I looked up at the pure blue sky and sighed. “No?” I asked.
I guess I was just going to have to live with that moment for the rest of my life.
“How’d it go?” Lin asked.
I tightened the strap on my apron and checked my short ponytail. I’d just recently cut it after years of it being nearly to my ass. I still felt a momentary surprise every time I reached back and felt how little hair there was now. “I think we will use a little less sugar in the next batch,” I said.