‘Would you like to try a bite?’ Elijah broke off a morsel of brownie.
Nora snatched it out of his hand and stuffed it in her mouth. The burst of nutty chocolate sweetness made her groan in delight. ‘This is so good,’ she mumbled.
His face broke into a wide grin.
‘Can I have the rest of it?’
‘Don’t you want to try any of the others?’
Of course she did. And when he explained that the chocolate chip cookies were made with a small amount of eighty-five per cent dark chocolate and a nominal amount of artificial sweetener, and that the fudge was made with a decent portion of cream cheese, she was sold.
By the end of the tasting session, she was elated. ‘I can still have a treat now and again,’ she said, tears in her eyes. ‘Thank yousomuch.’
‘My pleasure. I mean it. I’ve had the best time this evening making these.’
‘Have you found your baking mojo again?’
‘I think I have.’
She beamed at him, and he beamed back. And suddenly she was in his arms and tastinghim– and she wasn’t surprised to discover he tasted even better than anything that had come out of the little white box.
Nora’s eyes drifted shut as she lost herself in his embrace. His tongue found hers and her pulse pounded in her ears, herheart hammering so loudly that it drowned out the voice in her head advising caution as she lost herself to the kiss.
Elijah was the first to draw back. He was breathing hard and his eyes glittered. He dropped his gaze. ‘I didn’t mean for that to happen.’
‘Neither did I.’
‘I don’t want you to think—’
‘Don’t worry, I don’t,’ she interjected. To stop the tremble in her legs, she leant against the table and wrapped her arms around herself.
He swallowed, and she noticed that his jaw was tense as he rubbed a hand across his chin. She wanted to take that hand and put it on her breast. She wanted to kiss his neck, to run her fingers up underneath his tee shirt. She wanted to take him to bed and make love to him.
She did none of those things. ‘Thanks again for the cookies,’ she said, her voice stilted and formal.
‘You’re welcome.’ He sounded cold, a shock of chilled water dousing the heat of her desire. It was a clear rejection.
‘See you tomorrow at the kennels,’ she said. She needed him out of her housenow,before she did something she’d regret.
Elijah gave her a long, steady stare. ‘No, I don’t think you will,’ he said.
Then he was gone, leaving her to spend the rest of the night and long into the morning wondering what he meant – when she wasn’t reliving the feel of his lips on hers.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
To say that Nora was in shock was an understatement, but when she woke the following morning, her thoughts immediately went to Elijah, and she pressed a finger to her lips. Had she really kissed him?
It wasn’t the kiss that floored her – it was how she’d felt when it happened. She’d enjoyed it, but it was more than that. It had felt right in a way that no other kiss ever had. It had been new and exciting, yet familiar and comforting, as though she had slipped into a warm, soft bed.
But there had been nothing soft about Elijah, her wicked mind pointed out. He’d been very happy about the kiss.Veryhappy indeed.
Reining in her naughty thoughts, she wondered why he’d ended it if he’d been as into it as he’d appeared to be. Even though it probably wouldn’t have been a good idea and would have complicated matters enormously when it came to Biscuit,she would have loved to have seen where it might have led (yeah, as if she didn’t know!) but he’d pulled away and told her he hadn’t meant for it to happen. Then he’d got all weird and stilted on her.
When she arrived at the salon, Nora decided to keep the kiss to herself; however, she did tell Kendra about Elijah’s surprise visit with the diabetic-friendly cakes.
‘Ooh, that’s so romantic!’ Kendra cried.
‘Shh, keep your voice down.’ Nora peered around the door of the back room, making sure Lori hadn’t heard. The salon wouldn’t open for another five minutes, and they were busy making coffee (black for Nora – yuck), while Lori was fluffing and folding the towels and putting them on the shelf near the basins.
