Page 21 of Sweet Possession
No wonder they were both the size of a house, although there wasn’tan ounce of fat on either of them.
Savannah and the two men made small talk about the news of thebaby before talk turned to Nash and Fox’s casino business, and how Savannah’s new fashion line was coming along.
They encouraged me to join in, andeventhough most of the time Ididn’t understand what they were talking about, it felt nice to be a part of something.
I couldn’t remember the last time someone asked me for my opinionand listened when I gave it.
“What about you, Cora?”Savannah said after she’d finishedtelling me about the fashion show in Paris she’djustgot home from.“What do you dream about doing?”
My cheeks began to burn as all three sets of eyes fell on me. Thetruth was, I did have a dream, butthatwas all it was; a dream. I didn’t have an education, and I certainly didn’t know the first thing aboutrunning a business. I always figured I’d end up working in a place where I didn’t need any qualifications.
Thatwas if I couldevenget a job to start with. I hadn’t managed tofind any work leading up to now, something which my dad took full advantage of, reminding me how useless I was whenever he could.
“Oh, I don’t know,”I said, shrugging and not able to meet any oftheir curious gazes.
“There must be something you always wanted to do, baby girl?”Foxsaid, his tone gentle as he sat forward in his chair opposite me.
I met his eyes across the table, an encouraging smile on his face, hisbeautiful orbs sucking me in. Inthatmoment, I wanted to tell him everything. Notjustmy hopes and dreams for the future, but my deepest darkest fears.
There was something about Foxthatmade me want to crawl into hislap and feel his arms around me as he held me tight, and promised he’d never let me go.
“I want to open my own bakery,”I whispered, neither of us tearing ourgazes away from the other.“I want to bake cupcakes and muffins, cookies and brownies. I want to make fancy wedding and novelty birthday cakes. And I want to own bakeries in every state across the whole country.”
As I spoke, I imagined the bakery I wanted to open, and before Icould stop myself, the words tumbled from my lips.“I’d want it to be a place where couples can go on dates and enjoy coffee and cakes, or a place where kids can hang out with their friends. A place where you could sit for hours on end and watch the world go by in complete peace. I’d have a huge glass counter where customers could see all the delicious cakes on offer while music played in the background, and the staff would wear aprons with the name of the bakery…Cora’s Cakes.”
I trailed off when I realized I’d rambled pure nonsense, and mycheeks burned until they were scorching. Unable to hold Fox’s blazing eyes anylonger, I looked away, remembering Nash and Savannah were also at the table. For the longest time, no one spoke.
“It’s a stupid dream,really,”I said, needing to fill the silence asmortification flooded me.
“No, it’s not,”Fox replied, reaching over the table to take myhand.“Baby girl, it’s not stupid at all. And there is absolutely no reason why you can’t achievethatdream.”
There were plenty of reasons why I would never be able to makethatdream a reality, but I didn’t want to ruin the moment. It was nice to believe it could happen,evenif it was only for tonight.
“Hey, Cora,”Nash said after a few heated seconds of Fox and mestaring at each other across the table. Itseemedevery time we got lost in each other’s gazes, the rest of the world fell away. Nash speaking my name broke the spell we’d fallen under.“Seeing as you have more experience with cooking than what we three have, tell me. Do you think pineapple should go on a pizza or do you agree with my weirdo wifethatpineapple should be barred from all pizza menus?”
Fox tutted as Savannah rolled her eyes at Nash’s smirk.Justlikethat, the charged atmospherethathad descended between me and Fox a few minutes ago vanished.
“It’s an ongoing argument, Cora. My husband can’t acceptthathe issowrong about pineapple being acceptable on a savory pizza.”
“I quite like pineapple on my pizza,”I said, doing my best to ignorethe way Fox was still watching me intently.
I didn’t want to acknowledge it, but I liked knowing his eyes were onme. It made my body clench in a way I’d never felt before.
Savannah’s face fell as Nash punched the air. Next to him, Foxchuckled, finally looking away.
“See, it’s just you who doesn’t have any taste, sweetheart,” Nash said, triumphantly.
Savannah’s features twisted into a scowl aimed solely at Nash.“You’re right, I obviously don’t have any taste. I married you, after all,”she replied, sarcasm lacing her tone.
“Ooh, burn,”Fox chimed in, earning the middle finger from Nash.Leaving Nash to glare at Savannah while she smirked at him, Fox stood.“While it’s always amusing to watch the Carsons get into a war of words, I think it’s time for Cora to open her presents.”
He waved a hand to the corner of the room where the presents werestacked. I’d forgotten about them during dinner, still not convinced they were for me, but as I glanced over at them, a thrill of excitement coursed through me.
No one had ever bought me presents before.
I followed Fox over to the couch, sitting where he indicated me to,and Savannah and Nash followed, taking their seats on the other end of the couch.
Nash wrapped an arm around Savannah’s shoulders, and pulled herinto his side before giving her a kiss on the head, their disagreement about pineapple long forgotten.
