Page 56 of Count Your Lucky Stars
Margot’s face was dusted in a fine layer of pale brown powder, and there was a streak of gooey dough along her jawline.She stood, frozen, staring at the KitchenAid as if it had gone rogue and personally wronged her. “What the . . .”
Olivia’s stomach ached, her knees wobbling, finally folding under her as she slid down to the floor. The tile was cool under her thighs as she lied back, laughing up at the ceiling. Theceiling. Her eyes watered. There was batter on the ceiling, a starburst splatter of brown and yellow, the butter not quite mixed with the cocoa powder. An ominous stalactite of dough oozed down, not yet dripping.
Her head thunked back against the tile, her chest burning and her eyes streaming as she chortled.
She could barely make out the sound of Margot’s approaching footsteps over her laughter.
“Rude.”
Olivia cracked open an eye, laughing harder at the batter that dripped down Margot’s forehead.
Margot crossed her arms. “You’re just going to lie there and laugh?”
Olivia covered her face and nodded, struggling to breathe.
The batter fell from the ceiling, splattering wetly against the floor, startling Cat, whose fur fluffed up, standing on end. She darted out of the kitchen, abandoning what little remained of the food on her plate, and took cover under the living room coffee table. Probably not a bad idea to steer clear of the kitchen for the foreseeable future.
Margot surveyed what was left in the bowl with a frown. “Break-and-bakes?”
Olivia pressed her palms against the floor, heaving herselfup onto her knees before using the counter for leverage. “We’ll just start over.”
“Start over? Do you really think that’s a—” A blob of batter splattered against the top of Margot’s head, dripping down from that oozing stalactite as she reached for a rag. It ran down the center of her forehead, between her eyes, sliding down her nose. Her tongue darted out, swiping batter off her upper lip. “Sure. We’ll start over.What’s the worst that could happen?”
Olivia pressed her fingers to her mouth, stifling a laugh. “Second time’s the charm?”
By the time Margot had scrubbed the ceiling and scraped what was left of the dough into a separate bowl and Olivia had finished wiping down the counters and floor, the new sticks of butter had reached room temp and were ready for creaming.
Olivia gestured to the KitchenAid. “Do you want me to—”
“No, no.” Margot waved her off, glaring at the mixer through narrowed eyes. “I started this. I’m going to finish it.”
This time, Margot managed to start the KitchenAid on a much more sedate speed setting, slowly creaming the butter and sugar together before adding in the eggs and vanilla. When it was time to add in the dry ingredients, Margot lowered the speed further, stirring everything together slowly and without splatter.
Olivia dusted her hands off over the sink and leaned her hip against the counter. Hands braced on her hips like she was ready for battle, Margot stared intently at the mixing bowl, narrowed eyes locked on the paddle attachment as it churned and whirred, incorporating the chocolate chunks into the batter. She was so focused, so—
Margot raised her head, eyes meeting Olivia’s. One of her brows rose, a smudge of batter bisecting it. Olivia’s lips twitched.
“What?” Margot demanded. “Is there something on my face?”
Her lips twitched as if even she couldn’t keep a straight face at her own question.
Olivia laughed. “What would give youthatidea?”
Margot reached up, wincing as she swiped a glob of batter from the shell of her ear. “Bets on how long I’ll be finding batter in places it doesn’t belong?”
“Hold still.” Olivia reached out and thumbed the smudge of batter from Margot’s forehead. “Look on the bright side. You’re wearing clothes, which limits the exposure zone.”
“Naked baking?” Margot frowned. “Don’t get me wrong—I like to live dangerously, but that sounds like a recipe for disaster.”
“Ba-dum-tss.”Olivia drummed her fingers against the counter. “Punny. At least it would be bakingand not bacon.”
Margot recoiled, hands rising to cover her chest. “I’ve never once, in all my life, been tempted to fry anything in the nude. Never.”
Two cocoa powder handprints outlined Margot’s breasts through her white shirt when she dropped her hands.
Olivia laughed and took a peek inside the mixing bowl. All done. She flipped the power switch and disengaged the locking mechanism on the bowl, pulling it free from the base. “Brad fried bacon shirtless once. Never did it again.”
“Yuck.” Margot stuck out her tongue. “Like I said,idiot.”
