“That’s… um… great,” I replied as Alex pulled her hand away. I immediately missed her touch.
Leaning closer to her, I tried to not let the intoxicating smell of flowers that seemed to permeate the air around her distract me. “Next time, can you please let me know ahead of time if they’re going to be around a hot stove or using electric tools?”
Alex’s eyes grew as wide as saucers, and she leaned about an inch or two away from me at the notion that I didn’t approve of them helping her cook.
“I’m sorry,” she said, her hand pressed to her chest. “I had no idea it was going to be a problem. They asked me if I could help them make you breakfast.”
“I know, but I just…. I need to wrap my head around them doing that sort of stuff. I can’t let them get hurt.” I didn’t want to explain to Alex that I had a hard time trusting anyone with my girls. It was why I went through nannies like yesterday’s newspaper. Either someone didn’t follow my rules, or they did something careless, and one of the girls got hurt. The latter only happened once at a trampoline park, which resulted in a sprained ankle for Molly the year before she came to live with me.
Alex nodded but seemed to retreat into herself. She was quiet the rest of the meal and only ate two of the crepes she spent so much time making with my girls. Maybe I’d been a little too hard on her. The twins were growing up, and they needed to learn new things. Plus, I knew Alex had years of culinary experience. So, if anyone should teach them to cook, it should be her. I just wasn’t ready to let her into their lives when it was only temporary. After three weeks, Autumn would be back to run the B&B, and the girls would only see Alex on occasion.
My hand immediately rose to my chest as an ache spread within the cavity.
Alex peered over in my direction, her brows rising in concern as Eloise asked if I was okay.
“I’m fine. Just swallowed a bite that was too big.”
Alex rolled her eyes as she went back to eating her crepe. It was clear she didn’t believe a word I said, but she wasn’t going to press for more.
Beneath the table, I extended my legs, brushing against hers in the process. My cock instantly thickened at the touch, and Alex’s breath hitched, letting me know she wasn’t unaffected either. There was definitely some chemistry between us, elemental, but she was the type I needed to stay away from. I experimented with enough periodic elements in my time to know that some were safe and controlled, and some explode with contact. I wasn’t a chemist by any means, but I knew Alex was my antimony. She was my best friend’s younger sister, after all.
She jumped from her chair as if it were on fire, grabbing her plate in the process as she stood. “Can I take anyone else’s plate?”
“Nuh uh, I’m going to eat so much my belly explodes,” Molly claimed as she filled another crepe with bacon and eggs. Eloise usually picked at her food, so I was happy to see her going after her third.
“We’re okay,” I said to Alex as I reached forward to make myself another helping. I didn’t want her to know it disappointed me she was leaving the table. But I think the three of us instantly felt the difference. Conversation halted, and the only sounds were the girls chewing and the sink running in the kitchen.
When we all filled ourselves on the breakfast that tasted far more like a dessert, I asked the girls to carry the leftover fruit back to the fridge while I piled up the empty bowls that held the eggs and bacon.
By the time I made my way over to the sink, I overheard the twins telling Alex they had to finish unpacking their things and that they were excited to go to dinner at Grandma Marisol’s house. Something the girls always called her on the phone with Andrew.
“Will you be there tonight?” I asked Alex, startling her.
“Um, yes.”
“Cool, maybe we can all ride together?” I tried to keep the conversation light, but my heart pounded as I thought about her sitting next to me on the short drive over to her parents’ house. The girls begged and pleaded until Alex caved.
“I have a few things I need to do around here, and I usually get there early to help Mom cook.”
“That’s fine.”
Bored, the girls scurried away to play with the dollhouse in Eloise’s room while I helped Alex load the dishes into the dishwasher. This time, she took my help without argument.
“You’re worked up today,” I said as she rinsed the mixing bowl.
“No, I’m not.”
“I can hear your heart thumping over here.”
Not so gently, she dropped the bowl onto the rack and then turned to face me. Her brows were pinched, and she chewed on that plump lower lip that I desperately wanted to taste. I really needed to get my attraction to her handled before I did something I’d regret, ruining a friendship along the way.
“Look, I need to talk to you about something.”
Ah, it seemed we were on the same page.
My hand rubbed the damp skin at the back of my neck. “Okay,” I replied, hoping she’d take the leap and confess we couldn’t act on our magnetism.
“So, like a year ago…,” she began, only for screams to echo through the house, interrupting her.
