Page 69 of Darlin'

"I'm going to pretend that the last ten minutes didn't happen." I close my eyes, taking a deep breath as I loop my bag around my shoulder. "There. Erased from memory." I look over at Pippa. "Thanks for having me over, Pip. Dinner was lovely. The company, on the other hand"—I glare at Pip and Mar—"could use a little work."

"Oh, shut up." Marlow snorts. "You love us."

"Of course she does," Pippa says, blowing me a kiss as I head to the front door and slip on my boots. "Get home safe, Sav! I liked your bake sale and auction idea. I'll text you about it tomorrow!"

"Goodnight," I call out, exiting Pippa's house. I need adang Advil. I wave at Jesse, who's parked on the street, the window of his truck rolled down.

Through the door, I hear both my annoying friends shout in unison, "Goodnight, daddy!"

Assholes!

I bolt down the driveway and jump into the truck, praying my cheeks aren’t crimson.

"Rough night?" Jesse asks, pulling onto the street. I twist my neck in his direction, and he grins. "What happened?"

"Pralines and cream," I mutter, mentally running through Marlow's unsolicited advice. "Pralines and damn cream."

Jesse blinks. "What?"

"Just drive."

CHAPTER 21

Ginger-Oh-Snaps

"This way,"I holler, shopping list in hand as I read the aisle categories at Whole Heart Foods. The faster this takes, the better. Jesse sticks out like a sore thumb among the hemp-wearing hippies and CrossFit Chads. "Jesse!"

"This place is ridiculous." Jesse picks up a bag of kale chips, scowling at the green packaging. His face twists up with disgust. Predictable as ever. "Who eats this sort of crap?"

"It's not crap," I huff, yanking the bag out of his hand and placing it back on the shelf. I should've asked Marlow for a ride, but I have a feeling she'd be busting my balls just as hard, if not more. "It's a healthy alternative that many,manypeople find enjoyable." I grab the corner of his leather vest, dragging him down to the baking aisle. "You might even like some of the things in here."

"Doubtful," Jesse says, holding out the shopping basket as I peruse the shelves for chocolate chips, hemp hearts, and other goodies to put into the cookies. Hereleases a violently vocal yawn. "I'm getting hungry, princess. Just pick something already."

"Maybe if you snacked on healthy things like nuts and veggies instead of chips, you wouldn't be hungry," I mutter under my breath as I toss five bags of chocolate chips, hemp hearts, and chia seeds into the basket. I glance up at him. "We literally just had burgers. How are you hungry again?"

"I don't know," Jesse says, cocking his head. "Maybe I burned all my reserved calories listening to you belt out the entire Chicago soundtrack on the drive up to this fucking hellhole." He lifts a bag of chocolate chips from the basket and looks at the price tag on the shelf. "We drove over an hour to spendfortydollars on chocolate chips?" He flips the bag over and reads the ingredients. "What's this made out of? Cocaine?!"

"It's made withstevia," I state. "It's a sugar substitute naturally derived from the stevia plant. My momma used to buy these all the time. They're actually quite tasty when you bake 'em in something."

Jesse blinks, picking up another bag. "And these? What the fuck are hemp hearts?"

"Oh my gosh, they're good for you, okay?" I groan, throwing my head back. "They'll taste delicious, trust me. I'm sure they'll be a hit at the Toy Drive."

Jesse snorts. "You're making these for theToy Drive?"

"Yeah! Jo approved my idea of a bake sale," I beam. "I'm gonna make cookies and sell 'em at the fundraiser. She also loved my idea of an auction."

"I think your heart is in a good place, princess." Jesse gives me a warm smile. "But no one's gonna wanna spendseven dollars on a cookie." He nods at the prince tags. "And that's what you're gonna have to charge if you want to make any profit."

"Sure they will," I insist. "It's homemade with organic ingredients. People are willing to pay for quality these days, Jesse."

"Somepeople, sure," Jesse says, slowly placing the items from the basket back on the shelf. My pride withers as he continues, "But you gotta remember who your target market is." He puts two fingers under my chin, lifting my now grumpy head. "Do you really see Tiny or Rocco buyinghemp heartandsteviacookies?"

"Not really," I mutter, pouting. "This sucks; I really wanted to help out in some way."

"You can still makenormal cookies," Jesse says in a gentle tone like he's talking to a child on the brink of a meltdown. "I'll even find my mom's old recipe for you. She made these bomb gingersnaps for the boys on Thanksgiving one year. They were a hit."

"Gingersnaps?" I ask, nibbling on my bottom lip. His momma's recipe?! Anewrecipe?! My pulse skitters, tummy coiling at the idea. I’m going to mess it up. I'm going to ruin it. I can barely makethisrecipe, and I've done it dozens of times. My fingers tingle. "Those umm...those sound complicated. I'm not the best baker on the block, Jesse. I'll surely fudge 'em up or,worse, burn your house down."

---