Authors: Donna Kauffman
Babycakes (28 page)
Kit pointed a finger at him in warning, and immediately crouched down in front of the small antique set of drawers, distracting Lilly by opening the first one. “These were Miss Lani’s when she was a little girl. See if you can find one you like.”
She straightened as Lilly began going through the stack and turned to Morgan. “You are being a very bad influence,” she whispered so only he could hear.
“Well, if you really like pirates, just wait until later. I plan to be a very, very bad influence.” He glanced down to make sure Lilly was engrossed in her task, then leaned in and gave Kit a fast kiss. “Good morning.” He liked seeing the sparkle his kiss put in those green eyes.
“Good morning, yourself,” she said, making him wish they had an hour or two—or a week—somewhere private.
He’d settle for a few hours of pie making and collage painting, but was already plotting how they could spend more alone time together . . . the sooner the better.
He slipped his hand toward hers and hooked their little fingers together, tugging her a little bit closer, even as she turned back to watch Lilly.
“You can look through the other drawers, too,” Kit told her. Then, to Morgan, she said, “So, the shopping trip yesterday . . . it went really well it seems.”
“Ah-mazingly well,” Morgan said, making her laugh. “Lilly and Birdie are thick as thieves. I’m learning that Lilly might be shy with new people, and in some cases, she stays that way, but once she decides she likes someone, she’s all in.”
Kit glanced up. “Kind of like her uncle, then.”
Morgan’s lips curved. “Kind of like, yes.” God, he wanted to sweep her up in his arms, kiss her hello the way he really wanted to. Instead, he squeezed his finger around hers. “She’s going to go see Birdie’s house tomorrow. Apparently Birdie’s set up a little art studio in what used to be her potting shed. She does really beautiful watercolors. And now that the two of them have made
cottages
together, Lilly is all about learning art.”
cottages
together, Lilly is all about learning art.”
“That’s fantastic. It’s wonderful they have something like that to share with each other.”
“I was thinking, maybe over the Christmas holiday Dre will let us see where she works, and she can show Lilly that kind of art, how it can be a business, too.”
“Starting her on a career path so soon?” Kit teased. “You really are a Westlake, after all.”
It was a testament to how comfortable they were with one another, and how much he trusted her, that her comment made him laugh rather than wince. “No, but you know how she is when she gets on to something, like with the turtles. I just thought—”
Kit leaned into him, bumping elbows. “I know what you thought, and it’s a great idea. I love that Lilly’s making so many new friends here, people who are becoming important to her. I know nothing will fill the void of her losing her parents, but I think it’s great for her to make new connections before she has a chance to close herself off. She won’t even think about that now.”
Morgan knew Kit was truly thinking about Lilly as she spoke, but he also knew it was her own experiences that were coloring her concerns. He hadn’t thought as much about how losing her parents had affected her, as he had losing the family business. Even though she’d been an adult when they’d died, and it had happened over a half dozen years ago, he wondered just how much that event had caused her to pour herself into her job, her work, the company, and thereby remove any risks of a more personal nature.
And he understood, more and more, why she’d been so tentative with him. He thanked the stars and fate and whatever else had had a hand in it, that their coming together had been easy and natural. She’d have never considered a first step with him if it hadn’t been.
“This one!” Lilly said, scrambling back to her feet. The open drawers were littered with a toss of aprons. Before Morgan could say anything, Kit leaned down to take the apron from her, so they could see it.
“Land of the Lost,” Kit read out loud, holding up the apron, which had a scene from an old television show on the front.
“Dinosaurs!” Lilly exclaimed, her face all lit up.
“I know,” Kit replied. “Awesome. Here, turn around and we’ll get it tied on.” Once they had the deed done, she said, “Can you do me a favor and put all of Miss Lani’s very special aprons back in the drawers while we get out the stuff to make pies?”
Lilly was still admiring her apron, smoothing her hands over the front of it, squinting as she looked at the dinosaurs, which were upside down from her viewpoint. “Okay,” she said, and after another long moment admiring herself, she knelt back down and got to work.
Kit tousled the top of her head, then took Morgan’s hand and crossed the kitchen to the storage cupboards where Lani kept the bins of flour, sugar, and the like. “Good thing they’re extinct,” she teased Morgan, “or, given that rapt look on her face, you might be making a trip to the dinosaur zoo and research center.”
Morgan chuckled. “The turtle fixation is looking better and better all the time.” He held on to Kit’s hand when she went to reach for the cupboard door, and gently tugged her back a step. He leaned down and kissed the side of her neck, his back blocking the view from Lilly.
“What was that for?” she asked, smiling up at him over her shoulder.
“For being just what Lilly needs. For being what I need.”
The moment he’d said it, he wondered if he shouldn’t keep those thoughts to himself, at least for a while longer. But when his comment didn’t give her pause, he was glad he’d said what was on his mind.
Her smile was sweet, as was the color blooming in her cheeks. “I’m just being me. And you both make that very, very easy.” She tipped up on her toes, gave him a quick kiss. “So, thank you for being what I need, too.”
Then it was all about the pie business as Lilly came scampering over, practically tripping over her apron, which was still a bit on the large size for her tinier-than-average frame. Kit solved that problem by flipping the bottom of the apron front up and clipping it on each side with bag clips. Lilly wiggled, making the bag clips rattle, and they laughed.
“You know, Miss Lani likes to have music on while she bakes. What do you say we play some music while I show you how to make piecrust?”
“What’s a crust?” Lilly asked.
At that question, Kit positioned Lilly on a step stool, so she could see over the worktable, and Morgan took on the job of errand boy, fetching whatever the two of them needed as Kit asked for it, directing him where to look. She showed Lilly how to sprinkle the flour and powder the work surface with it.
As soon as she realized she got to put her hands in things, Lilly’s entire attitude about the project changed. Then it was laughter and a few squeals—when his little color-inside-the-lines, neat and tidy fanatic got flour on herself for the first time—mixing, rolling, along with dancing, and even a little singing.
When Alva popped into the back an hour later, she smiled at the messy trio. “My, my, it sure smells like heaven back here. You all look like you’ve been pretty busy.”
“We made peanut pie,” Lilly said, beaming proudly, with flour on her face, her apron, her hands, and a good bit of the area surrounding her.
Alva beamed right back, clearly charmed. “Well, if you’re willing to share a bite, I’d love to try some.”
Lilly looked at Kit, who nodded. “We’ll have plenty to share.”
“I was thinking since it’s slowed down up front, maybe you want to clean up a little and come out and see about choosing which of those cupcakes you want to take home for later.” Alva winked at Morgan and Kit. “I think these will be even better, though, if you wait until tomorrow to try them.”
Between the pies and cupcakes, Morgan prayed the rain let up soon, so he could run the sugar energy out of his little five-year-old, up and down the beach if necessary. Lilly had asked a ton of questions about the turtle babies, and wanted to go back and see the nest, make sure they were all out and okay. Morgan wanted to wait until Gabe and Anne had had time to excavate the mound and remove anything Lilly didn’t need to see, and also to check the beach, make sure none of the babies had washed back up for good.
With the rain, all of that would be delayed a little longer, making him doubly grateful Birdie had gotten Lilly interested in painting and drawing. Something to keep her distracted until they could get back to the beach.
Alva had Lilly over at the sink, getting her washed up, so he went over to help Kit clean up the work surface. “I don’t want to rummage through Lani’s office with her gone. My copy of the plans for the shop is upstairs,” Kit told him.
Morgan wiggled his eyebrows. “Are you asking me upstairs to see your etchings?”
She laughed. “I meant that I needed to go up and get them. It’s a mess up there, so I wasn’t planning on having Lilly up. I’m thinking maybe we can do our painting on one of the worktables, just put down some paper—”
“We’re going to get cupcakes!” Lilly announced, freshly washed up and hand in hand with Alva by the door to the front of the shop.
“You two finish cleaning up,” Alva said, not even bothering to hide her knowing look. “I’m sure it will take us a little time to choose. Plus, I want to show Miss Lilly the antique cash register, maybe show her how it works.”
“What’s a regsist—” She broke off. “What is it called?”
“A cash register. When a customer buys a cupcake, it’s where we ring up the sale and tell them how much money it will cost. Then we put the money in the register drawer,” Alva told her, already opening the swinging door. “Come on. I’ll show you.” She shot another wink at Kit and Morgan as she hustled Lilly back up front.
“I think I’m going to be conspicuously absent from the next Cupcake Club Bitch ’n’ Bake,” Kit said, laughing. “If I thought they took an overactive interest in my sex life before—”
Morgan spun her neatly around and kissed her flour-covered lips. “I have an overactive interest in your sex life,” he said as she slid her arms around his neck. “Although I’m not much for talking about it. I’m more of a show and tell guy.”
“Are you?” She grinned against his mouth as he kissed her again. “So, wanna come see my shop plans?”
“I thought you’d never ask.”
Laughing, Kit directed him to a different door off the kitchen, which led up a very narrow staircase to the second floor, and provided him with a very delightful view as she climbed up ahead of him.
“Fair warning,” she said as she opened the door, “it’s a disaster. And not just the storage side. I haven’t had any time—”
Morgan cut her off by taking her hips in his hands and turning her around and into his arms. His mouth was on hers a moment later, and he backed them into the room, gently kicking the door shut behind him. “Funny,” he said, still kissing her, “I don’t notice the mess at all.”
She smiled, then sighed and tipped her head back as he trailed kisses along her jaw to just below her ear.
“I’ve been dying to do this since we walked into the shop,” he said, continuing his delicious journey as he slid his hands down her back, over the curve of her backside, and pulled her to him. “Dying.”
“I know,” she managed. “I’ve been dying for you to do this since you dropped me off the other night.”
He grinned, loving her honesty and that she felt comfortable telling him what she was thinking. “I really wanted to see you yesterday.”
“I know, and I wish we could have made that work.” She nudged his face back to hers and looked into his eyes. “But, you’re here now.”
His eyes widened. She couldn’t possibly mean—but then she was tugging at his apron ties and, well, no one had to tell him twice. They all but ripped the clothes from each other. No teasing, no toying.
“You know,” he said, scooping her up so she wrapped her legs around his hips. “We don’t always have to—”
“We don’t,” she agreed, breathless. “Except, right now we do,” she countered, then took his mouth in a kiss that went straight through him and sent any thought of stopping flying right out of his head. If he’d thought about carnal desires before, she was shedding a whole new light on her most carnal desire right at that moment.
He didn’t even ask where the bed was, instead turning and backing them up against the nearest wall. He hiked her up, still kissing her, as she wrapped herself more tightly around him.
“Hold on,” he said, and slid her slowly down, pushing inside her. They growled, already moving with each other even before he was fully sheathed.
“Have I told you,” he ground out, as he took her . . . and she took him right back . . . “how much I love . . . that you’re really . . . really . . . safe?”
She gasped as he pinned her against the wall and drove deeply into her, but she was moving right along with him. Then there was no more talk. She dug her fingers into his shoulders, her heels into his back as she found his mouth again and slid her tongue inside, matching the rhythm of him sliding into her.
It was fast, furious, and over far, far too soon. He had to forcibly swallow a shout when he came, shaking with the intensity of it. His knees threatened to buckle, but he braced against the wall, waiting as she continued to shudder, both of them breathing as if they’d run a marathon. He kissed the side of her neck, then nipped her ear lobe. “You’re . . . that was . . .”
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