Page 45 of Walkoff Wedding

When he pulls his thumb back and I see the smudge of powdered sugar on the tip, my cheeks flush.

Of course I’d end up with powdered sugar all over my face.

Blinking slowly, I shake my head in humiliation, hoping he doesn’t see my blush. “Thanks. I… That is embarrassing.”

“Nah,” he replies, his eyes never leaving mine as he brings his thumb to his lips and sucks the sugar off the tip in a way that is entirely too hot. “Guess you’re not the only one with a sweet tooth, ArtGirl.”

chapter fourteen

Grant

The saccharine taste of powdered sugar lingered on my tongue for the remainder of the day, long after we left the bakery.

I told myself it was because I fucking love sweets, but that’s a lie. It’s because I wanted to taste Addie instead.

We both had class early this morning, so after work at the bakery, we headed to campus, and I haven’t seen her since.

I had classes, weight training, and then a meeting with Jeremy that went surprisingly better than I anticipated.

He’s not entirely happy that I got married without any warning when he had no idea I was even in a relationship, but he is happy that this could help turn my image around with potential sponsors and help close the deal we’ve been working on. He agreed that, at minimum, me being in a seemingly long-term relationship couldn’t hurt.

Works for me.

“Addie?” I call out as I walk into the apartment, shutting the front door with my foot while attempting to balance a stack of pizza boxes in my hands.

“In here,” I hear quietly from the living room. When I walk through the door, I see her cuddled up in the armchair in the corner of the room. She’s wrapped up in a thick, oversized, dark pink cardigan with her sketchbook open on her lap. Auggie is snoring steadily in the plush dog bed next to the chair.

Her gaze lifts to mine, and those blue eyes widen as they drop to the pizza boxes in my hands. “Hi. Um… Are you having people over?”

Laughing, I shake my head as I set the boxes down on the coffee table. “Nope. I just wanted to bring home dinner because I figured you’d be hungry, and I remembered you liked veggie, but didn’t know if that included supreme, and other kinds? So, I just got… a lot of them.”

“You could have just texted me.” She laughs. “Instead of… bringing home five pizzas?”

Admittedly, that would’ve been the smarter thing to do, but I didn’t know if she was studying or sketching, and I didn’t want to bother her after she’s had such a long day.

Plus, Jack’s Pizza never lasts long around here. It’ll get eaten, eventually.

I shrug, a grin tilting on my lips. Leaving her with the pizza, I walk into the kitchen and grab two plates, bottles of water, and a few napkins, carrying them back to the living room.

“Thank you,” she says, closing her sketchbook and putting it on the small end table. “For being thoughtful and bringing dinner. I was starving but was also too tired to cook or go anywhere, so I was honestly just planning on skipping dinner tonight.” She wrinkles her nose in that adorable way that makes me want to kiss it.

“Sorry, ArtGirl, no skipping dinners in the Bergeron household. I’m a growing boy. And since you are a Bergeron now, that includes you.”

Her cheeks flame, but that sweet smile appears on her lush lips, causing my own grin to widen. “Okay. Got it. No skipping meals for Bergerons.”

After she chooses her pizza, the veggie one, I load four slices of pepperoni onto my plate and flop down onto the couch.

“I’m surprised you didn’t get pineapple,” she muses. I glance over at her, my brow raised in surprise, and see the grin she’s trying to hide behind her hand.

She remembered how much I fucking hate pineapple pizza, and she’s teasing me.

I don’t know why the fact that she remembered surprises me, in a good way, because it’s not like I’ve forgotten a single conversation we shared back then. I can’t help but like that she remembers these details about me. Like the conversations were as important to her as they were to me.

“No blasphemy in this house, please,” I groan gruffly before taking a bite of my pizza to hide my grin. “But ordering dinner made me think. If we’re going to be living together, ArtGirl, we’ve gotta learn the basics. You know? Things that make coexisting easier, things a husband would know about his wife… Like your favorite kind of pizza so I don’t get five next time.”

“Veggie, always.” She giggles and shrugs. “But honestly, I’ll eat most types of pizza. Besides pineapple, that is.”

My lips curve into a grin when I hear the light, teasing tone in her velvety voice. After another bite, I mumble, “Good to know.”

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