Kiss by Kiss (Riggins Brothers #3) - Kaylee Ryan Page 0,6

goes straight to her. He’s used to my two younger brothers and me doing what we can to rile him up when it comes to his wife.

He doesn’t stop until he reaches Sawyer. His hand slides behind her neck as he bends to press his lips to hers. “Love you,” he says, not bothering to lower his voice. My big brother is unapologetically in love with his wife. I can’t stop the smile that pulls at my lips, seeing him this happy. He went through hell to get here, but he’s finally found his other half. “What’s going on?” he asks, standing behind Sawyer with his hands on her shoulders.

“Nothing.” Sawyer is quick to reply, offering me a wink. “I just came to thank Grant for the magic bars.”

“Is that what those things were? I had two of them.”

“Yeah, I had to stop by and check it out after the muffins yesterday.” Sawyer gives me a look that tells me she knows I was checking out more than just the bakery. My phone vibrates on my desk, and I lurch to grab it and fumble to look at the screen. Finally, after hours of waiting, I see the name I’ve been waiting for.

Aurora.

Aurora: You too.

That’s it. You too, but I’ll take it. She replied, which tells me she’s interested. Glancing at the clock, I see it’s after three. I’ve been waiting all day for a tiny morsel from her, and I finally have it.

“What’s with the shit-eating grin? Who is that?” Royce inquires.

“Aurora.”

“Aurora? What did I miss?”

Lifting my head from my phone, I smile at my brother and his wife. “She was working at the bakery this morning.”

“Ah.” Royce nods as if those eight words explain it all. In a way, I guess they do. “Thank fuck I’m not in the dating scene anymore.”

“You weren’t in it when you found me,” Sawyer reminds him. Royce leans over her and presses his lips to hers to keep her quiet. I must admit his method works.

“I need to get back to work. Why don’t you two love birds take that”—I wave my hand at them—“somewhere else.”

“My pleasure,” Royce says, his voice growing deeper.

“Go.” I laugh. Sawyer waves before allowing Royce to lead her out of my office. I don’t even know why she was in here in the first place. I guess if it’s important, she’ll let me know. I wait a total of maybe fifteen seconds before unlocking my phone screen and firing off another message.

Me: How has your day been?

I wait, my eyes glued to the screen to see if she’s going to reply. It took her hours for the first response, so when I see the little bubbles pop up telling me that she’s typing, I’m pleasantly surprised.

Aurora: Good. Yours?

Me: Great, actually. I met someone I’d like to get to know better.

I see the bubbles pop up and then disappear. This happens three more times before they disappear altogether. I know that the bakery is closed. They’re open from six in the morning until noon. I’ve already familiarized myself with their website. I wasn’t able to gain any personal knowledge. There is nothing listed about the staff. The only thing I learned was there are so many more items I want to try, and the hours of which I can stop in to do just that. I can only hope that Aurora is there the next time I stop in.

For the second day in a row, I find myself entering the doors of Warm Delights. The name fits this place perfectly as the smells of sugary sweetness warm my senses. I take my time making my way to the counter, seeing that Aurora and her sister, Aspen, are both standing behind the counter. I hold back, waiting for them to finish with the customers they are with, before stepping up to the counter.

“Morning, ladies.” I make brief eye contact with Aspen, but then my eyes lock on Aurora, and I can’t look away. Today, her brown hair is braided, and her gorgeous hazel eyes show her surprise, but the smile never leaves her face.

“Good morning, Grant,” she replies.

The way my name rolls off of her tongue, it causes me to have to shift my stance. “Aurora,” I reply huskily.

“What brings you back today?” Aspen asks.

“Two things actually. One, I’m addicted to sweets, and two, I was checking on our girl here.” I nod toward Aurora.

“W-What?” she stutters.

“You didn’t text me back yesterday. I wanted to make sure you were