Page 34 of The Princess and the Pizza Man

Winter felt a smile grow on her lips, flattered that Will had found something here that helped him be himself, even if it was just the stocked, large kitchen.

She finally found a baby blue apron from the corner closet and wrapped it around her waist. When she looked up, she caught his eyes just before they darted back to the dough he was rolling and pounding with his very capable hands.

“So, do you do this a lot?” he asked.

Her brow scrunched, and she stood next to him. They weren’t touching, but she could feel the static between the fabric of his shirt and her bare shoulder, and it made the small hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

“Cook?” she snorted. “Never.”

His eyes met hers as he tossed the ball of dough back and forth between his two hands. “I meant make paying guests cook for you.”

She playfully scoffed. “Hey, I feed you every other night.”

“For a pretty penny.”

“And I provide entertainment.”

He cocked an eyebrow and started to fondle the dough with flair. Winter took a step to the side to avoid getting knocked by an elbow.

When he threw the thinned-out crust into the air, letting it spin like a ceiling fan before catching it behind his back, she covered a laugh, not wanting to let him know just how impressive that was. He obviously knew already.

“Okay, you’ve proved your point.” She stepped into him again, hip checking him for good measure. A rush of heat ran through her chest that she chose to ignore. “And no, I don’t do this a lot. You’re the first.”

“Cravin’ the good stuff, eh?” His half smile teased just as much as the glint in his eyes. “Spending so much time with a guy who permanently smells like pepperoni must get your pizza engine revving.”

“You caught me.” She dragged her finger through a patch of flour on the counter, spelling out her name before wiping it clean. She’d like to pass off the craving for pizza as that, but really, she’d been craving watching him make the pizza, more than the food itself—which was saying something. Food was probably Winter’s biggest passion, next to the mansion.

Will had started forming the crust, and a part of her had been hoping he’d help her make it. He’d stand behind her and help her toss, they’d bump and flirt and laugh when she royally screwed it up.

“You still think Garreth is a good match after what happened today?” he asked, and she shook her head free from the fantasy.

“Sorry?”

He laughed, and she loved that his laugh made her laugh. “He was wearing his swim trunks on backwards. Didn’t notice?”

“Ha! No. I was a little distracted.” Her heart thudded into her stomach as the words poured off her tongue, and she hoped he assumed she was talking about their water fight and not that she’d been checking him out the entire morning. That perfect pair of black and red swim trunks he’d been wearing had sat low on his hips, and she’d wished he hadn’t been covered with a t-shirt, but at the same time, she adored how he looked with it on. Every time his eyes had met hers she’d lost all cognitive function, and who knew what she’d said. Mel had given her quite the lecture afterward about staying in character in front of the guests.

Will clapped his hands, swiping the flour off now that there was a perfectly sized large pizza crust in front of them. He turned to face her, and being the completely silly girl she’d turned into since he’d arrived, she licked her lips, anticipating a kiss that had absolutely no prelude.

His eyes met hers, and he gulped.

“Butter…?” he said, and she laughed her entirely unladylike laugh and swiveled on her heel to the fridge. Seriously… she had to get her stuff together; he obviously thought this was just another get-together to help his sister out and not an excuse for a date. What had gotten into her?

“Well,” she said, relieved that her voice sounded playful and light, even though there was a deep well of disappointment in the pit of her stomach. “About Garreth… Maybe there is something Maybelle is seeing that we aren’t.”

“Pretty sure all she’s seein’ is his eyes. She keeps talkin’ about ‘em.”

“Are they as blue as yours?”

He paused, his gaze curious as she mentally slapped her hand over her mouth. Usually she wasn’t too concerned with saying her thoughts out loud, but then again, she hadn’t ever thought these sorts of things before. They were just as much of a surprise to her as they were to him.

She started handing him things from the fridge: butter, sauce—which he shook his head at—cheese, pepperoni, olives, pineapple, bacon, ham… Winter had asked Kasey to stock the thing with the works. Their fingers touched and sparked with every delivery, and when she was done, she laughed at the sight of his full arms and careful gait as he made his way back to their prep counter, and her embarrassment was erased.

“Bells needs someone to reel her in,” he said finally. “Someone she can bring out of their shell.”

Winterpffted.“Now you’re playing the opposites attract card?”

“Well, you may have had a point earlier.” His eyes met hers very briefly before returning to the pizza. “I can see how different people could find each other. Make each other happy.”

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