Page 38 of Tied Up In Tinsel
Her hands froze on the dough. “Excuse me?”
I held up a hand quickly. “Not like that. Ruby ran smack into him out in the ballroom. Mr. Hatchman? Big guy, beard, suit—looks like Santa if Santa was running for office.”
Relief softened her shoulders, and she let out a small laugh. “Ah. Yes. The mayor. Ruby adores him.”
“I figured. Still made my stomach hitch when he just picked her up and walked off.”
Something flickered across her face then—gratitude, maybe. She pressed her lips together, studying me for a moment before nodding. “Thank you for… noticing. For caring.”
“Can’t help it.” My voice was rougher than I meant, and I tried to soften it with a grin. “Kid’s fast as lightning, by the way. Nearly juked me out of my boots out there.”
Annie laughed, a soft, musical sound that made my chest ache. “Oh, she does that to me daily. Don’t feel too bad.”
“Still stings,” I admitted, sliding closer until I was standing across the table from her. I rested my hands on the edge of the counter, leaning in just enough that the flour dusted onto my knuckles. “Guess I’ll need a rematch.”
Her eyes darted to mine, then down to my hands, then back again. Her cheeks flushed, but she didn’t step away. Instead, she rolled the dough one more time and said lightly, “You don’t strike me as the type to lose.”
“Depends what I’m playing for.”
The air shifted between us then—thick, warm, charged. I watched her lips part, the tiniest hitch in her breath, and mystomach clenched with the urge to close the space, to see if her mouth tasted as sweet as I imagined.
She seemed to sense it too, because her hand lifted from the dough and brushed against mine, just a graze, light as snowfall, but it sent a jolt through me.
“Careful,” she murmured, her voice softer now. “You’ll get flour on those fancy jeans.”
“Guess you’ll have to clean me up then,” I shot back, the words rough with teasing and something heavier beneath it.
Her laugh was quiet but shaky, and I saw the way her throat bobbed when she swallowed. “You are trouble, Brooks Bennett.”
I leaned a little closer, my knuckles still grazing hers on the counter. “Maybe, but I’m your kind of trouble.”
For a moment, the world narrowed to just her—the hum of the kitchen fading, the reason I’d come here completely lost. It was just Annie, flour-dusted and flushed, her eyes locked on mine like she was weighing the risk of letting me in.
She stood there alone, vulnerable, and so tempting that every reckless part of me wanted to push until we found out just how far we could go before someone caught us.Ifwe got caught at all.
I closed the space between us, bracing my arms on either side of the counter until she was caged in. Leaning down, I let my breath skim the curve of her ear.
“You’re alone, right?” I whispered.
A shiver raced across her skin, tiny goosebumps rising along her bare arm. Slowly, I traced my hand over her shoulder, savoring the softness beneath my palm.
“Maybe,” she murmured, her voice teasing but threaded with something deeper. Then, with deliberate boldness, she pressed back into me, her body fitting perfectly against mine. “Did you have something in mind?”
The laugh that slipped out of me was low and rough. I pressed a soft kiss to her neck, inhaling the warm scent of flour and sugar that clung to her skin.
“I might,” I hummed against her, trailing kisses along the line of her throat until her head tipped, giving me more.
My hand slid over her hip, gripping gently, kneading her through the apron she wore. “I came here to surprise you with Ruby,” I admitted, my lips brushing her ear. “But since she’s not here right now… maybe I can surprise you in other ways.”
Annie spun in my arms so quickly it stole my breath. Her arms wrapped around my neck, pulling me closer until her chest pressed flush to mine.
“We could sneak away to the janitor’s closet,” she teased, her smile daring me.
I shook my head, smirking. “Tempting, but I had other plans.”
Her eyes darkened, searching mine.
The risk of someone walking in only sharpened the need thrumming between us. She bit her lip, and I nearly groaned at the sight.
