Page 38 of Make Me Swoon

“Want some French toast?” I ask him and he perks up.

“Are you making it?”

“Only if you want it to be burned or for me to possibly start a fire in your kitchen,” I say with a laugh and he smiles.

“I’ll make us some in a minute. I have a feeling that we’ll be slow today since it’s supposed to start raining soon.”

I nod and he shuffles out of the kitchen and back toward his office. I’ve seen Stan make it enough to remember the ingredients, so I start to dig around in the cupboards, pulling out a bowl and frying pan. There are only a few pieces of bread left and I add bread to the grocery list on the fridge before I grab milk and eggs.

Stan comes back in as I pour the coffee into our cups and he gets to work on the French toast.

“Are you hungry?” Stan asks Sutton as she comes in to grab herself a cup of coffee.

“No, thanks. Teller and I ate breakfast before we got here,” she says and he nods.

“Can Bandit have some?” Stan asks and Sutton sighs.

“A little bit.Little,” she stresses. “At his last vet appointment, they mentioned that he was a little high on weight.”

Stan doesn’t look like he’s bothered by that, but he’s smart enough not to say anything to Sutton.

“I’m going to get started on the books,” she says as she grabs her coffee and heads back to the gift shop.

Bandit comes in a few seconds later, and I wonder if he heard us talking about him.

“Grab us some plates?” Stan asks and I grab two from the cabinet, holding them out as he puts some perfectly golden brown French toast on each one.

“I’m surprised that your fancy new man didn’t cook breakfast for you this morning. He’s a chef, right? Surely he could have made you something better than this,” Stan says and I pause with a piece of toast halfway to my mouth.

“He offered,” I admit. “I just woke up late and was running behind.”

Stan huffs and I smile sweetly at him, stuffing my piece of toast into my mouth. We eat in silence and when Stan stands, I tell him that I’ll clean up since he cooked.

He pats me on the shoulder as he passes and I smile.

My grandparents both died when I was young and I don’t really remember them all that much, so Stan is kind of like the grandpa that I never had. I know that he and Sutton got off to a slightly rocky start but they’re solid now. Even if they do argue a bit.

It starts to rain as I finish up the dishes, the drops splattering against the windowpane by the kitchen table. I lean against the counter, sipping the last of my coffee and listening to it. I used to love the rain in New York City. It was the only time that the city was even remotely quiet. I can remember turning off all the lights and sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of the window in my bedroom, watching the lightning strike across the sky and the raindrops slide off the roofs of buildings.

A car pulls into the lot outside the window and I sigh, pushing off the counter. I refill my coffee cup before I head into the gift shop to get to work. I pull out my phone, sending Hudson a quick message as I go.

Lyla:I just had a man make my French toast for breakfast and it was delicious. Probably better than anything that you could have made.

I slipmy phone back into my pocket as I get started stocking the new T-shirts and sweatshirts. The car that pulled in must have turned around because no one ever comes in. My phone buzzes a minute later and I grin as I pull it out to read Hudson’s message.

Hudson:Sounds like I need to up my game. Can’t have someone stealing you away from me. Let me cook for you tonight.

Lyla: I don’t know… I bet I could convince Stan to make me a roast or something.

Hudson: I bet you could. I promise that mine will be better though.

Lyla: I’ll be the judge of that.

Hudson: Six?

Lyla: Perfect.

Sutton isbent over the front counter busy balancing the books, so I try not to distract her as I get to work stocking.

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