Sarah laughs. “Maybe not. What’s Colton’s favorite color? I could make him a cap easily enough.”
“He loves orange. The brighter the orange, the better.”
She chuckles. “I’m pretty sure I saw some fluorescent orange at the store the last time I stocked up on yarn. I’ll grab some next time and make him one.”
And just like that, Sarah’s burrowed herself in a little deeper. Not that she needed to, I’m already so gone for this woman. When she didn’t respond to my texts this afternoon, I grew worried. I know how much this means to her and she must be disappointed. This is her third attempt and still no baby. I was going to camp overnight and climb again tomorrow, but as it grew later and I hadn’t heard from her, I couldn’t stay away. Having her phone number made it easy enough to reverse search for her address. I’ve put measures in place to ensure others can’t find the information so easily. If people knew how much information someone like me can access from only having a phone number, they would be shocked.
“Thanks. He’ll love that. Let me know how much everything costs and I’ll reimburse you.”
“You will not. I’ll happily make him one. After everything you’re doing for me, it’s the least I can do.”
I sit forward. “I want to make one thing very clear. You don’t owe me anything. Nothing at all. I’m happy to help you.”
Her stunning smile falls from her face and her eyes drop to her lap. “Idoowe you. I owe you so much for your time and your”—she waves her hand around the general area of my cock—“your generosity.”
I chuckle. “I’m happy to help.” I drop my voice. “I’m sorry it didn’t happen this month. We’ll start fresh next month. You let me know when we need to start again, and I’ll be there.”
“Thank you, AJ. I’m not sure what I did to get so lucky.” She glances away. “Would you like a cup of hot chocolate? I’m craving chocolate today.” She points toward an empty chocolate wrapper on the table.
“Sure.”
Sarah makes our drinks and I turn on the television. She pops her head out of the kitchen. “Would you mind leaving it on that channel? It’s the finale and I want to see what they bake.”
I drop the remote to the couch and Sarah returns with our drinks, her eyes locked on the television screen. “I love baking cupcakes. I bake them for everyone in the office on Thursday nights and take them in on Friday. Sort of a celebration that we’ve made it through the week.”
Is there anything this woman does for herself? She seems to give a lot of time and resources to those around her.
“Oh yeah. I don’t mind a cupcake every now and then. What’s your favorite to bake?”
She ponders my question for a moment. “I love making lemon curd cupcakes if I had to choose one. The smooth lemon center is to die for, especially when they’re freshly baked.” She smiles. “Though, I try to limit myself to only one cupcake a week.”
We get caught up watching the show. The level of comfort and ease between us makes me wonder what it would be like to share every Saturday night with Sarah. What would it be like to watch her make cupcakes every Thursday evening, cleaning up the mess for her while she decorates the tasty treats? The fantasy of living with her plays on a reel in my mind and the idea is wholly appealing. I can’t see a downside to sharing a place with her, which is a concept I never imagined I would find attractive. Watching her while she watches the final minutes of the show, riveted to her seat as she waits for the winner to be announced, I decide I want to make it happen. I want to have Sarah living with me. Probably in my space. As nice as her apartment is, it would be too small for a family.
The show ends and Sarah turns to me. “I think I’m addicted to baking shows.”
I shrug. “There are worse things you could be addicted to.”
“That’s what I tell myself.”
I peek at my watch. It’s getting late but I’m not ready to give up my time with Sarah yet. “Did you want to watch another episode?”
“You don’t mind?”
“Not at all.”
We spend the next hour watching the first episode of the next season and as fascinating as it is to watch, I would rather watch Sarah’s interest in the program. She yawns for what must be the fifth time, letting me know that my time with her is coming to an end tonight.
As the credits roll, Sarah turns to me. “Thanks for indulging me.”
“You’re welcome. I’ve never seen the show before. I had no idea there were cupcake-making competitions.” I chuckle as I stand, collecting our empty cups and heading toward the kitchen to clean up. Once I’ve rinsed the cups and placed them on the dish rack to dry, I step back into the living room as Sarah stands. She’s rubbing across her stomach with a grimace. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Just cramps. They’re always worse the first night. I’ll take some more Midol and heat up the heat pack before I climb into bed.” She moves closer to me. “Thanks for coming over and keeping me company.”
“No problem. Are you doing anything for the Fourth?” Maybe I can see her at some point.
“I’ll be spending tomorrow with my sister and her family to help set up for a party on Monday with friends and family. You?”
Damn. I tuck my hands in my pockets to stop myself from tucking the loose strands of hair that have fallen out of her ponytail behind her ear. “I’ll be catching up with the family on Monday, too.”