The kitchen door swings open, and Peaches greets me with a smile. “Baylor Greene is back in town. Welcome home.”
“Thanks. It’s good to be back.” I ask, “How have you been?”
Her grin grows as she stops on the other side of the counter from me. “Fantastic actually.”
“I like to hear it. Fantastic looks fantastic on you, Mrs. Knot.”
She laughs. “Peaches works.” Waving me off, she says, “I’m not going to bore you with old lady stuff. Did I hear a request for shortcake?”
Shit.“Uh, yeah. I crave Lauralee’s more than I should when I’m back in New York.”
“Hers is the best.” She slides the door to the glass case open. “Do you want one or two?”
I haven’t heard anything or anyone in the back. No noise is heard at all other than the two of us. “One or two what?”
Her brows pinch together, and she laughs humorlessly. “Strawberry shortcake.”
“Oh.” I bend to look in the case. “I’ll take all eight for the family at the ranch.”
“Perfect.” She pulls the tray out and says, “I’ll box these up in the back.” Before the door swings closed behind her, she looks back. “Lauralee’s at the apartment waiting for a renter to show up if you want to stop by and say hi. This will take me a few minutes anyway.”
“Good idea.”
“Cut through the kitchen. It’s quicker.”
I come around and follow her through the door. She has her back to me when I push out the door under the staircase. With that earlier adrenaline rushing back, I take the steps by two and knock on the door.
When it swings open, her smile falters. Not the welcome I was hoping for, but the door hasn’t slammed closed yet. “Hi there,” I say, keeping my voice low for no other reason than it feels like the moment calls for it.
She blinks a few times, then smiles. It’s not as big as it was, but it’s sweet, matching the one I’ve been dreaming about for almost a month now. Leaning against the door, she tilts her head to touch the wood, and says, “I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yes, I’ve been wondering . . .” Her gaze drops down between us, a shyness coming over her as her cheeks pinken.
She’s better than any memory. Her brown hair shines in the sunlight, and a sparkle allows me to discover the gold flecks and a few greens dotting the comfort of her warm brown eyes. I’m given a teasing peek of her tan stomach when the top rises along her ribs, and her shorts hang lower. She’s summertime personified and so beautiful that I’m tempted to skip the pleasantries and kiss her. I don’t because she’s one of the reasons I was looking forward to this trip, and I’m not going to blow it on the first day back. I ask, “About?”
Straightening her spine, she squares her shoulders. “If you had any good stock tips for me, Mr. Finance Fancy Pants?”
The smirk comes naturally, but resisting those lips doesn’t. I do, though. “I have a tip for you.”
She tries hard to restrain her own smirk but fails as it tickles its way onto her mouth. “Is it considered insider trading if you share yourtipwith me?”
What is she doing to me?The tease.“It will be insideher,alright.” Rubbing my thumb over my bottom lip, I steady my gaze on her and lean in. “I could be taken to jail over such a risky proposition, though.”
Her eyebrows bounce once, and she leans in as well. “Sharing your tip with me might not be worth the risk then.”
I cup her face and scrape my lips against hers. Just as her eyes close and her hands hold tight to my biceps, I whisper, “You’re always worth the risk.”
CHAPTER 14
Lauralee
My body wantsto melt against him, and my mind still swirls in the swoon, but it’s that other part, the part of me that wants this man more than seems feasibly possible, that wins out.
I kiss him, holding his arms as he moves me inside the apartment. He lowers his hands to get a good grasp of my ass, and I squeal as he lifts me from the floor. The thrill of seeing Baylor again, those blue eyes telling me how much he misses and craves me without a word uttered, had me riled for more the moment I opened the door.
His pace is quicker as we get closer to the bedroom. Wrapping my legs around his middle, I shamelessly rub myself against him, needing the friction, which already has me tugging at this pesky shirt. “Take it off,” I say through jagged breaths.
