Page 11 of Baked

“Yeah, well, not all of us have been playing solo for ten fucking years.” The bastard winked and walked away.

Ouch.

***

Night two in the girliestapartment Hunter had ever stepped foot in, and instead of getting takeout again, he was cooking. Picking up the cupcake-themed oven gloves, he smiled to himself as he slid them on.

Goddamn, this woman is cute as hell.

Standing in the open-plan kitchen, he was surrounded by her cuteness. And despite all the pink, it still managed to look elegant.Just like her.From the brushed copper handles fitted to white cabinets and pink potted succulents along the white marble bar. To the delicate rose gold detailing on sleek, modern appliances.

Even with pink gloves on, he couldn’t help but grin. Something had clicked when he’d picked her up at the bakery tonight. He wasn’t sure how or why, but suddenly, everything just felt right. Like he was where he was supposed to be. With Rachel. Picking her up. Driving her home. Hearing all about her day and him attempting to contribute to the conversation. Although, admittedly, he was still working on the “talking and not grunting” thing.

Even so, now here he was, cooking her dinner. And it was right. It was perfect.Shewas perfect.

But that wasn’t the only reason he was happy. It had also been a productive day. Not only had he managed to swap his shifts around, but he’d also driven over to Goldacre to pick up cameras and alarm systems for Rachel’s apartment and Fairy Baked. The system even hooked up to his phone, which meant he could check up on her while he was at work.

Not in a creepy way, of course.

Yeah, right. You sure about that?

“So, tell me again why you need to watch me at all hours like some kind of creeper?” Rachel chirped as she swiveled from side to side on the kitchen stool.

“Safety,” he ground out while placing the steaming rack of lamb on the counter.

“You really think these guys are gonna come at me in the middle of the day? In public?”

He turned to her then and found himself temporarily distracted. Her usual ponytail was untied, and her long red hair was sweeping over her shoulders, not stopping until it reached her chest. She’d swapped her jeans for sweats as soon as she’d arrived home, but her tight black tank top was still going strong, forcing his gaze to dip every now and again to admire the miles of cream on display.

Fuck. What was I gonna say?

“Well?” Rachel prompted, unaware the sight of her had caused his brain to malfunction. “You think they’ll show up at the bakery?”

Right. The cameras.

“I don’t know, honeybun. Maybe. Maybe not. What matters is that we’re prepared if they do.”

Gone was her smile. Back were the wrinkles in her brow. He wanted to run his finger over every single crease until all the worry had been taken from her. But he couldn’t. So, he needed to change the subject. Quick. But his brain hadn’t switched back on yet.

Luckily for him, a moment later, Rachel changed it for him.

“Luke came in today.” Her eyes were averted now as she drew circles on the countertop. “I guess you told him what was going on.”

“What did he want? He didn’t upset you, did he?”

He better not have.

“No.” Her eyes met his again, making his chest constrict. “Not at all. He was actually really nice.”Good.“Which was kinda surprising, ’cause I wasn’t sure if he even liked me.”

“What? Why wouldn’t he like you?” Hunter felt himself frown.

Her attention went back to the circles. “I don’t know, he’s just ... quiet around me. I mean, I know you’re not exactly Mr. Conversation, but with Luke, I don’t know ... whenever I’ve seen him at any sort of group gathering, he just kind of shuts down. It’s hard to tell what he’s thinking.”

Yeah. Sadly, he knew exactly what she was talking about. That was the way Luke was. Hunter was used to it. He’d never really thought on it too long or put himself in the place of someone who hadn’t known Luke for over a decade.

“That’s just Luke, honeybun. He may not be much of a sharer, but he’s got a good heart. He cares about all of us a lot, and that includes you.”

“Why? He hardly knows me.” Bright blue was back in his vision.

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