Page 72 of Delicate Escape

Shep pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m sorry for what’s about to happen.”

I ripped the paper off, letting it fall to the floor, and took in the canvas covered in countless glittering gemstones. It was one of those diamond art painting things. The image Lolli had created was a field of different gourds. But as I stared at it longer, my jaw dropped.

Sutton clamped a hand over her mouth to try to hold in her laughter. “Penis pumpkins,” she choked out.

My face was on fire. The canvas was covered in dick gourds of every size, shape, and color, but all distinctly phallic.

Shep pinned Lolli with a glare. “Why can’t you be a normal grandmother and knit sweaters or something?”

Lolli drummed her fingers across her lips. “I could come up with an interesting snowball pattern…”

“For fuck’s sake,” Shep muttered.

A laugh bubbled out of me and quickly spiraled into a sound I had zero control over. A snort broke free, and I slapped a hand over my mouth.

Shep’s eyes were on me, and I saw such warmth in them, tenderness even.

“See?” Lolli challenged. “She likes it. But that isn’t the only reason I came in.”

“You came in to accept my marriage proposal,” Walter cut in.

Lolli just rolled her eyes. “Nora and I would love for you to come to dinner?—”

“Lolli,” Shep warned. “Don’t push her.”

“I’m not pushing,” Lolli snapped back.

My laughter quickly died away. A huge dinner would be a lot for me, but I wanted to get to know Shep’s family. Though maybe he didn’t feel the same.

Shep’s gaze cut to me the moment I stopped laughing. It shouldn’t have surprised me that he read my expression. He was so damn good at it.

In three long strides, he was in front of me. “Don’t think I don’t want you there, Thorn. I want you wherever I can get you. Why do you think I’ve been coming to the bakery every day for months? I don’t even like sweets.”

My mouth dropped open, and Sutton made a strangled sound.

“Now that’s a little better,” Lolli mumbled.

Shep shot her a warning look. “I think you’ve caused enough chaos for one day.”

“It’s not even noon,” Lolli argued.

Shep turned back to me. “See you at home.” And with a wink, he was gone.

28

THEA

I shifted on the chaise,the late-afternoon sun beating down on me. I was trying to focus on my book. It should’ve had me flipping the pages at a fevered pace because the Highlander hero had just realized that he’d fallen for his wife by arranged marriage, even though she was from an enemy clan. Things were about to get explosive.

Instead, I was replaying Shep’s words over and over in my head.“Don’t think I don’t want you there, Thorn. I want you wherever I can get you. Why do you think I’ve been coming to the bakery every day for months? I don’t even like sweets.”

He didn’t even like sweets? Shep had been in The Mix Up almost every day since we’d opened our doors. But now that I really thought about it, he rarely got anything with sugar.

I adjusted myself on the chaise. I couldn’t get comfortable. Felt like I was crawling out of my skin. I refocused on the page, but the words blurred together.

I was in such a distracted state that I didn’t even hear thefootsteps on the deck until the book was being tugged out of my hands. I shot up to find Shep scanning the pages, a smile stretching across his face. “Not much of a reader, but I can see that I’ve been missing out.”

Ice slid through my veins as memories slammed into me. Brendan’s voice twisted and cruel.“This is what you spend your time doing while I’m not around? Reading this trash? But I guess what else would a slut read?”

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