them.”
“A half hour ago?”
He nodded. “Which means they’re almost done. You ready to see how good we were in the kitchen?”
“We were very good in the kitchen,” she said slyly.
He winked. “Yes, we were, but I meant are you ready to see how good we did making the cinnamon rolls in the kitchen.”
“I’m betting we were very good at that too.” She climbed out of bed and slipped into a T-shirt and shorts. She didn’t bother with underwear, since she suspected she’d be losing the clothing as soon as they’d eaten.
She entered the kitchen to find Jeff had already set the table with two glasses of orange juice and two plates filled with cinnamon rolls. And by filled, she meant filled. The rolls were enormous, at least three times the size of the ones she’d made earlier in the week with Rose and Hannah. The plates barely held them, and they were no tiny dessert plates; Jeff had used full dinner plates, and each of them was covered with cinnamon roll. “That’s huge,” she said, eyeing the one in front of her chair.
“You seem to be saying that a lot lately,” he said, with that sexy smile and his turquoise eyes smoldering.
“Very funny. I’m serious. These are the biggest cinnamon rolls I’ve ever seen. Do you really think I can eat all of this?”
“I say you give it your best shot. I know I am.” He picked up his fork and took a bite. “Man, that’s good.”
She couldn’t resist and broke off a piece, then popped it in her mouth. The mixture of warm butter and brown sugar and cinnamon met her tongue and melded together to taste like pure heaven. She moaned her contentment. “We shouldn’t have put all of that filling on the dough.”
“Why not?” he asked, still digging into his, while she continued on hers as well.
“Because I can so see me licking this off things.” She ran her finger through the warm center of the cinnamon roll, scooping out an excess of the filling, then popped it in her mouth and sucked it.
He stopped chewing and stared at her mouth, diligently licking and sucking the sugary mixture away. “We’re making more of that filling tonight. Or maybe right after we finish eating,” he announced.
“Okay.” She ate more, licked more, and truly enjoyed the way his face tensed and his eyes grew darker blue as she did. Talk about power. Right now, she had it, and she enjoyed it to the max.
“You’re cruel.”
She continued eating, doing her best job to lick and suck on something every time he looked her way. “I try.” She giggled, ate some more, then knew she’d had enough. “I’m done.” She hadn’t even eaten half.
“I could be, but it’s too good,” he said, still eating. “And we’ve got a pan full of them in the kitchen.”
“We can send them over to Rose. I know the seniors would enjoy them. And it’ll give them a chance to brag about my cooking too.”
“Our cooking,” he amended. “But before we take those over . . .”
“What?”
“I don’t think it’d take me long to mix another batch of that filling.”
She laughed. It’d been a long time since she’d spent the night with a man, a long time since she’d had breakfast the morning after too. And, have mercy, she was having fun. “I suppose I still have room for more . . . filling.”
Chapter 19
Gertrude pointed toward the White Sands entrance, and Paul turned his car into the parking lot. “I hope she doesn’t mind the surprise,” she said.
“I’m sure she’ll love it that you’ve come down to see her,” Paul said, reaching out to touch her hand on the seat.
That simple touch sent a frisson of desire skimming down her spine. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so right. And she could thank Paul . . . and Henry.
“Do you think I’m doing the right thing, though? I could be wrong about what I heard in her voice,” Gert said, questioning her impulsiveness. Maybe her gumption shouldn’t have been put into place, when it came to Babette and her relationships, or lack thereof. But Gertrude knew she had heard a hint of despair in Babette’s tone last night, and she simply couldn’t let that be without attempting to help.
“I know you’re doing the right thing,” Paul consoled. “Besides, from what you said about his little deal with Babette, there’s more going on than she realizes.”
“You think the same thing I do, don’t you?”