Page 51 of Stirring Up Love
The waffle iron beeped three times, and Finn took out the waffle with his bare fingers.
“Ouch!” He danced back, dropping the steaming waffle onto his plate.
“Ever heard of tongs?” Simone materialized beside him, curls hidden under a scarf, pajama pants draped on her long legs, knotted with a silk ribbon under the rolled hem of her belly-baring sweatshirt. How would that ribbon feel between his fingers? Slippery and smooth as he pulled the knot loose ...
He scrubbed a palm down his face. At this rate he’d need a second shower. A cold one.
She reached around him for a jelly packet, her arm brushing his chest, and he took a step back.
“You’re up early, sunshine,” he said, voice rough with more than sleep.
“If you call this early, you’ll be dodging a bullet if I back out of the deal.” She ripped the packet open with her canines, and Finn dodged his eyes away.
Upending a bottle of syrup over his waffle, he lifted his chin toward the windows. “Sun’s not even up.”
“Yup. Best part of the day.”
He wanted to tell her that technically it wasn’t even “day” yet, but that wouldn’t have helped his case. She spooned some dried cranberries into her bowl of oatmeal and added a scoop of pecans. Swept her gaze down. “Would you like some waffle with your syrup?”
“Now who’s judgy?” But he looked down, and shoot, he’d been so busy thinking of a comeback he’d all but emptied out the bottle. Defiant, he jabbed in his fork and brought the whole waffle to his mouth, biting off a giant chunk.
“Taking the high ground, as always.” But she sucked her lower lip into her teeth to cover up a grin. He loved that she thought he was funny. Well, he didn’tloveit. Found their shared sense of humor cool, in a detached, platonic way.
He added a few slices of bacon to the calamity on his plate, then trailed her to a table, chewing. “So what’s on the agenda for today, boss?”
Sinking into a chair, she tucked both legs up under her, settling in like a cat on a sunny windowsill, cup of coffee cradled in both hands. “Uh, driving?” She bent forward and blew across the surface, lips puckered. Gosh, her mouth was pretty. “Oh, and after that, more driving.”
“Seriously? We’re in this beautiful desert and you have zero interest in taking in the scenery?” He picked up a piece of bacon—candied bacon, at this point—and held it out, brows raised. She shook her head, so he chomped into it. Not bad, actually.
“What part of ‘my sister’s wedding is in five days’ do you not understand?”
“Yeah, no, I get that. I mean, that’s why we’re driving,” he lied. “But you’re not even the least bit curious about checking out what Arizona has to offer?” Time to execute the high-concept, in-depth planhe’d come up with while waiting for his waffle to cook. “The Desert Botanical Garden, perhaps?”
He rose up and pulled a brochure out of his back pocket, the one he’d found in a stack by the coffee cups, and slid it across the table. As expected, she shoved it right back.
“Hard pass.”
He put another brochure on top of it. “Butterfly Wonderland?”
“Do I look like the type of girl who likes butterflies?”
“There’s a type of girl whodoesn’tlike butterflies?”
In answer, she dug out a scoop of marmalade with her spoon, plopped it on the oatmeal. Swirled it in. Even her hands were beautiful. Thin fingers tapering into nails painted a soft peach. At odds with her fiery temperament, and the contrast left him a little breathless.
He really wished she’d take a bite already. Not because he was watching her mouth or anything. Her luscious, plump—
“What?”
He sat up straight. “What, what?”
“Finn.”
“Simone.”
She blinked at him. He stared back. Sighed. He’d really been a complete idiot to ruin his chances of ever kissing her again. But if he couldn’t kiss her, he could at least keep his composure long enough to seal the deal. Thebusinessdeal, he reminded his libido.
Tipping onto the back legs of his chair, Finn used his fingertips to slide another brochure out of the rack. When he leaned forward again, her gaze shot away. Like she’d been checking him out.Interesting.
