Page 25 of The Prettiest Outlaw

I glanced over at him with soft eyes. “It’s Friday night. I hope I’m not infringing on any plans.” I quickly added, “And if I am, feel free to leave me here. I’ll?—”

“Ain’t nobody leaving you here,” he assured me.

That made me exhale an invisible sigh of relief.

“But I am about to smash this food you brought,” he continued. “Run those Tupperware containers, lil bit. Let’s see what you got.”

I opened the containers one by one.

“I roasted a chicken last night and pulled the meat for sandwiches. So, there’s chicken, lettuce, and tomatoes.” I went back to the shopping bag. “Here’s bread, a jar of giardiniera, cheese, mayo, mustard, and barbecue sauce. I also brought chips, bottled water, and a small bottle of lemonade.”

“You brought a lot of food.”

I gave his body a slow once-over. “You’re a lot of man.”

He winked at me. “Remember that.”

* * *

Nico transferred the last of the cooling cookies from the wire racks, and placed them gently in the air-tight container. I grabbed the wire racks, wiped them down, and packed them back into my bag. They would get washed at my house as would all of my cookie sheets, the Tupperware containers, and everything else.

I made my way over to Nico, wrapped my arms around his waist, and gave him a hug. With my face buried in his chest, I inhaled his scent. It was cool, clean, and woodsy.

“Thank you,” I mumbled from where my face was still in his chest. “You smell good.”

The rumble of his chuckle caused a vibration. He wrapped his arms around me.

“You’re welcome. And thanks. Kinda felt like I owed you this since I’m the one who put you in front of Pastor Sharpe’s face.”

“Don’t feel like you did me dirty, Nico. I’m grateful that you put me in the pastor’s face. I’m grateful for this opportunity. Baking gives me joy. It’s like the more I do it, the more I love it.” I snuggled into him.

“What are you doing, girl?” He chuckled again.

“I don’t know. I didn’t know you gave hugs like this. This is the kind of hug I need. It’s firm but gentle. It’s soft, but at the same time, it’s hard. You smell good. You feel good. I might have to tell Langston that I found a contender for that arranged marriage he was offering me.”

That caused Nico to guffaw. He laughed so hard that I couldn’t help but laugh, too.

“What? You wouldn’t be willing to marry me if the two of us were arranged?” I joked.

He released me from the embrace, his gaze meeting mine. “I would definitely be willing to accept you. Have you seen yourself? I’d just want time to get to know you a little bit. Find out your likes, your dislikes.” He trailed his fingertips down the length of both my arms, causing prickly sensations and tingles throughout my body.

“Gianni spoiled you, so I’d need to pick up that mantle. I’d do it. I feel like I could have fun spoiling you, Julianna.”

I hadn’t heard him say my full name in a while. It sounded good on his lips.

“Go ‘head and call Langston up, and tell him to consider me. Or we can agree to become homies, and see what happens organically between us.”

He dropped a light kiss on my lips, and I was sure that my heart short-circuited. It had been so long since I had been held.

“Okay.” My whispered response came from trembling lips.

“Okay.” He repeated the word back to me, and then he kissed me again.

He didn’t insert his tongue in my mouth or anything, but the kiss, easy and oh so soft, still practically caused my knees to buckle. A quiet whimper escaped my lips because the way he handled me made me feel cared for, and I liked it.

* * *

I woke up early on Saturday morning to make what felt like was vats and vats of different colored royal icing for the kids to frost the cookies. Once that was done, I brushed my teeth, showered, and walked around in my closet wearing only my panties and bra.

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