Page 3 of Contracting with the Mountain Man
His energy, his presence, all of it had my head spinning.
Ugh, another reason not to focus on love. It was too damn distracting.
“Okay, focus. You need to get your cookies done or you’ll be here all night.” I took a deep breath and walked out, the heat from the kitchen hitting me in the face, the cooler having done nothing in regard to cooling off.
As I walked over and grabbed my recipe book and scale, I saw him from the corner of my eye, bending over the display case closest to the back. There wasn’t a door separating the back kitchen from the front, but a small open space. We discussed putting double doors in, but I kind of like seeing the front while working in the back. Marlowe disagreed at first, but it was growing on her.
His back side faced me, and I took a moment to appreciate his male form. Defined muscles buried underneath his tight t-shirt, my mind imagining him shirtless. He was a tall drink of water, and had light blonde hair, trimmed short with more on the top. And his eyes…they were a striking grayish blue color, a color I’d never seen before.
Ugh.I rolled my eyes at myself and yanked myself away, setting up my work area on the other side of the table so I couldn’t see him.
Time passed quickly as I mixed up my different cookie doughs, including oatmeal raisin, chocolate chunk, peanut butter, a sugar cookie with candy pieces, and my take on a red velvet cookie with a cream cheese swirl. Maverick interruptedonce to let me know he needed to install new lighting, the other ones completely burned out. Thankfully, he brought a set with him, having planned ahead in case he couldn’t fix them.
After popping the cookies in the oven, I cleaned up and washed the dishes. I checked my cookies, dropping the heat of the oven slightly. Then I peaked at Maverick, his full attention consumed with installing the new lights. I leaned on the counter and watched him work, his muscles flexing, his tight body bending and twisting.
I froze in place, mesmerized by the hunk of a man. This was better than any sweet treat I baked. Maverick was straight up hunkalicious.
His head popped up, and he turned around, as if he could feel me looking at him. A smirk played on his lips, and I jumped up, my cheeks flushed. I moved backwards, suddenly forgetting the table behind me. My back bumped against it, and I tried to play it cool, but Maverick chuckled before moving to the next display case.
He seemed to enjoy me watching him. And I enjoyed watching him.
Until the distinct smell of burning assaulted my nose.
“Shit!”I pulled the oven open, and bellows of smoke poured out, my cookies burned to a crisp.
“Whoa, are you okay?” Maverick ran into the kitchen, his eyes wide at the clouds of smoke filling the area. He quickly opened the back door, letting fresh air in as I took out tray after tray of cookies, all unsalvageable.
Damn him and his muscles.
If he wasn’t so distracting, maybe I could focus.
Now I’d be here all night trying to catch up. We can’t open on a Saturday and not have any cookies for sale.
Marlowe is going to hear my mouth about this!
Next time, send over a sweet old man or something. Not the sexiest piece of eye candy in town that sent my heart racing and my blood pumping.
“Yeah, but my cookies aren’t.” I grumbled.
“Did you forget to set a timer?”
I shot him a dirty look. “No. I don’tneeda timer. I got a little distracted, is all.” My defenses were up, and my voice was sharp, almost biting. This was embarrassing. But it wasn’t his fault. “Sorry, I sound like a bitch. I’m just upset. It’s a waste of products; like throwing money in the trash. And now I’ll be here all night.”
“I can help you.”
I smiled. “That’s nice of you, but it’s okay. I’ll figure something out.”
“Really, I don’t mind. I’m almost done out front.”
“But then I’d have to tell you my secret recipe and I don’t want to.” I grinned, unable to look away from the sexy beast of a man. He must be pushing at least six foot four and I wanted to climb him like a damn tree.
Maverick threw his head back in laughter. “Okay, that’s fair. How about I just scoop while you make the dough?”
“You really want to help me that much?”
He shrugged, but a grin tugged at his lips, his eyes crinkling like they do whenever he smiles or laughs.Jeez, you really were distracted by him…
“I enjoy baking. Believe it or not, I have a sourdough starter. She’s my baby.”
