An image of our rendezvous in the kitchen popped into my mind. Neither of us considered any protection.
Nash chimed in and gestured for his daughter to continue.
“So, now that I’m about to finish up my business degree, I’ve started exploring potential locations for a cake shop.”
Collectively, the group started bombarding her with questions and shared in her excitement. I didn’t miss the confused way Andrew asked if opening a cake shop was what she truly wanted to do. He must’ve had no clue how talented she was.
Under the table, I felt her hand land on my thigh. Reaching down, I grasped it in mine and intertwined our fingers. With a subtle squeeze of her hand, I pulled her attention for just a moment. Her smile was infectious, and I mirrored it immediately.
“Tell me more,” Marisol asked.
Alex went into detail about the location being the old sandwich shop in town and how she envisioned the space. She was hoping for something bright and retro inspired. A place where people could order a piece of cake and sit down to enjoy it.
“Every day, I will have a specialty cake customers can order. Think, like, miniature versions of a larger cake.”
Chiming in, I went into detail about the cake she made with the twins yesterday. “It was one of the best things I’ve ever tasted. Who knew pistachio and raspberry went together?”
“Well, hopefully the place is up to your liking.” Leave it to Nash to be the voice of reason, but he was right. “Don’t let the excitement overshadow the practicality.”
“You’re right,” I said. “I’m joining her at the walkthrough tomorrow.”
“Really?” everyone, including Alex, asked at the same time.
“Sure. I mean, I can at least make sure everything is in working order. The girls can stay in the shop's front.”
“I can watch them.” I expected Marisol to offer, but it was Rory instead. “Franny and I were just starting our lesson plans for next year, so we can cover it.”
“Are you sure?” I asked after Alex explained Franny was Rory’s lifelong friend and was a kindergarten teacher at the school.
“Yep. It’s no problem.” I didn’t miss the cunning twinkle in Rory’s eyes as she agreed. I felt like she had something up her sleeve.
Dinner gave way to dessert, a peach cobbler made by Marisol, and the conversation flowed toward my ongoing project. Nash hoped to venture out to the field to see my robot in action. If the changes I implemented this afternoon worked, I had a feeling the robot was ready for a larger scale model, and Nash would be the first one to get his hands on it.
While on dish duty, Andrew pulled me aside.
“Man, you missed out on that date last night.”
“Sorry. We had an incident with Eloise, and I was just not up for it. Plus, I feel bad every time I ask your mom to watch the girls.”
“Eh, she loves it.”
“Probably, but they’re my responsibility. And you know relationships aren’t in the cards for me. I’ve got too much on my plate.”
He nodded, but I sensed there was something else on his mind.
As he started walking toward the living room, I called out, “Andrew?”
“What if I asked Alex to watch the girls for me tonight and we went out?”
“Yeah? All right.” Then he proceeded to call out Alex’s full name to get her attention. When she joined us in the kitchen, he asked if she would watch the girls so I could have a night out with the boys.
Her brows furrowed as she looked back and forth between me and Andrew. There was a hesitancy in her agreement, and as she walked off, I knew I was going to regret my decision to go out with Andrew. My cock was going to be angry with me for the rest of the night.
As we were leaving, Andrew offered to let me ride with him and he’d bring me back to the B&B, but I needed another minute alone with Alex. It would also be the first night in a long time I wouldn’t be there to tuck the girls into bed.
As I said goodnight to them in the family room, they seemed unaffected by my going out late. Alex queued up a bunch of shows that were popular when I was a kid, and they were going to have a marathon. She made no promises that any of them would end up in their bedrooms that night. This was a girl’s night in.
While the twins hurried into their pajamas, I cornered Alex in the hallway. I thanked her for staying with the twins while I hung out with her brother.
