Page 60 of Cupcake of the Month
He opened the oven to retrieve the bacon. And shit. Hehadn’t turned the oven on. So there was no meat for breakfast and no grease to cook the eggs. He flipped on the temperature gauge. At least the latecomers would get some.
Butter would work for the eggs. He cut off a chunk from the stick on the counter, then plopped it into the cast iron skillet and flipped on the burner. The eggs soon joined the party, bringing a satisfied sizzle to his ears.
“How can I help?” Wendy came through the swinging doors and took an apron off the hook near the butler’s pantry.
Oh, no. He’d tasted her cooking. She’d make everything worse.
“I know I can’t concoct heaven out of flour and sugar, but I can mix or chop or pour.”
He nodded to the peaches that sat on the counter. “Halve those. And thanks.”
When that task was done, he put them on the electric grill and finished with the eggs. With Wendy’s help, the rest of breakfast was ready only fifteen minutes late.
Once the bacon was on the sideboard, Josh took a deep breath and glanced around the kitchen. Wendy came back in through the dining room.
“Hey.” Josh pushed his hat back on his head, but held her eyes. “Sorry.”
“No worries. Just let me know sooner next time if you need an extra hand.” She gave him a grin. “I’ll send Rob.”
“Appreciate it.”
“You need anything for the anniversary lunch? Hopefully we’ll have the new special events person soon who can help coordinate those things.”
Thank God the menu for that had been confirmed and everything had already been bought. He gave a quick glance to the food waiting in the fridge. “All set.”
“What about dinner?”
He didn’t even remember Duarte coming in with the vegetables that morning. Josh had picked turnips and beets. Arugula. Eggplant. What the hell had he been thinking?
“Beef stew.” He could hide an old leather shoe in that. “And crusty, homemade bread. I’ll make an extra loaf when I do the bread for lunch.”
Wendy’s nose had wrinkled at the mention of stew, but her eyes lit up for fresh-baked carbs. She picked up her tablet from the island. “Sounds good. I’ll updated the web page and get a menu posted.”
Josh went into the pantry to retrieve the flour and other dry ingredients, then laid them out on the counter. Maybe he should try a rosemary bread this time. With whole garlic cloves.
The back door opened, and Jordan’s presence filled the kitchen. His eyes locked on hers, and her lips curved into a smile. Thirst for her filled his body, coupled with a flow of contentment. He could never get enough of her. In the fantasy he was living, he didn’t have to ration his time or attention.
“You missed breakfast,” Wendy told her.
“I’m thinking that since I know the chef, I may be able to sweet talk him into some leftovers.” Her expression was perfectly serious, but amusement danced in her eyes. When Wendy turned her back to post the dinner menu, Jordan winked.
Winked. He huffed out a quick laugh and got himself a glass of water. “I can fix you up when I’m done with this.” He nodded to the ingredients.
“I’ll bet you can,” she murmured, her eyes going to his jeans.
“How’s your wrist?” Wendy inspected Jordan’s fingers. “The swelling’s down. You were okay last night, brushing your teeth and stuff? Getting out of your dress?”
“It took a feat of acrobatics, but it got removed to my satisfaction.”
Josh choked mid-sip.
“You okay?” Jordan asked.
“Yeah.” He busied his hands with measuring. Better that than a reenactment of getting her dress off in the middle of the kitchen.
“Take it easy today, Jordan. Especially after last night.” Wendy glanced at the clock and parked herself on one of the island stools. “Staff meeting soon, but we can postpone it if you need anything from me. Like pitching peaches at Blake.”
“No need for you to be caught up in a lawsuit, too. Your arm is as dangerous now as it was in college.”
