Page 60 of Sunkissed Colorado
Then Callum instructed me on the biscuit dough. “Not that bad, right?” he asked as we scooped and mixed.
“Just wait. Even my nana couldn’t teach me to cook. Something usually goes wrong with me involved. Salt will get switched with sugar, or the oven will break.”
“Don’t jinx it.” He knocked on the butcher-block counter. “We’ve got this. I believe in us.”
“You cook for people a lot?” I dropped big spoonfuls of the dough onto the top of the pot-pie filling.
“For my family, mostly. We try to get together every week or two, if possible. At least once a month. I don’t like going too long without seeing them.”
He sounded much closer to his family than I was to mine.
“This is my first time giving a cooking lesson, though,” he added. “It’s fun,right?”
“It is.”
A warm, achy feeling spread through me. Like with just a soft look and some kind words, Callum had opened me up and all the things I kept hidden were about to spill out.
I had to get myself together. I was tougher than this.
Once the pot pie was baking in the hot oven, we started on the brownies.
“The usual key to good brownies,” he said seriously, “is not to over mix. I don’t know if it’s the same for gluten free. But usually, you want to fold in the flour gently, like you’re tucking a baby into bed.”
“You’ve had practice with babies?”
“Notexactly. I didn’t see my niece much when she was a baby. But I figure it’s the same. A delicate process, Zandra. You gotta respect the batter. I’m not kidding around.”
I laughed. “Sir, yes sir.”
Once we had the dry and wet ingredients assembled, it was time for folding. “Like this?”
Callum cringed. “If you want the baby to never sleep again, sure. And to have nightmares for the rest of its life.”
“But I’m folding!”
“Looked more like stabbing. Here.” Callum suddenly shifted so he was behind me. Close.Reallyclose. His hand covered mine, both of us now holding the spatula.
“What are you doing?” My voice was tight.
“Just trying to show you. Don’t fight it, okay? Twist your wrist. Feel that?”
“Uh, yes. I feel it.”
I could hardly breathe as he guided my hand, slowly turning the ingredients over to gently mix them. But I was hardly concentrating on the batter. His scent was everywhere. That woodsy cologne and the herbs from the pot pie, mixing with the sweetness of chocolate and sugar. It shouldn’t have worked together, but it did.
I wanted to eat him up.
If I scooted back just a little, we’d be touching. Would I fit right into him, his shoulders creating a perfect curve for my smaller ones? His arms would close around me. He could lay his cheek on top of my head, and I’d be surrounded.
I was getting dizzy.
When he stepped back, I had to reach for the counter with my free hand to brace myself. Wow. No wonder he’d always had so many women passing through his bed. How could anyone resist?
I was just annoyed at myself for being that predictable.
My phone rang, and I pulled it from my pocket, eager to get my mind on something else. Not on Callum’s endless charms. But I groaned when I saw the screen.
“Who is it?” Callum asked.
