Seduced by the Sheik (The Raminar Family #1)- Elizabeth Lennox Page 0,43
“The girls will love it, I’ll get to spend time with them, and there’s no way that Amit will find us in the kitchen!” With a grin of triumph, she nodded. “This is a good plan!”
Taking a deep breath, she pushed open the doors and beamed. The twins immediately looked up, their faces glowing with delight and their expressions warmed her heart.
“Good morning ladies,” she said.
The girls abandoned their coloring and threw themselves at her. Harper wrapped her arms around them and closed her eyes, absorbing their energy and youthful exuberance.
“Good morning,” the girls replied softly.
It was such a wonderful thing, hearing them speak. “Did you both sleep okay?” she asked, bending down, but keeping a hand on each pair of shoulders as she looked into their identical hazel eyes.
“Better,” Ellora whispered.
“I did,” Elsa announced proudly.
“No more nightmares?” she asked, glancing from one earnest little face to the other.
“Ellora started to cry,” Elsa inserted before her sister could deny it. “But I snuck out of bed and got in with her. She didn’t cry after that.”
Harper nodded, mimicking Elsa’s serious tone. “That was very kind of you.” Turning to the other twin, she looked at her carefully. “Do you remember the nightmare?”
Ellora shook her head. “Not really. I might have been crying for my momma.”
“That’s definitely a possibility,” she agreed solemnly. “Dreams are our way of working out our concerns when our brains are more relaxed. Sometimes, they are scary and sometimes, they are wonderful.” Harper squished up her nose. “Sometimes, mine are pretty weird.”
The girls giggled and it was such a beautiful sound after their silence.
Harper shifted. “You ladies don’t have lessons today, right?” she asked.
Both girls shrugged. “I don’t think so,” Elsa finally replied.
“Perfect,” exclaimed Harper with a twinkle in her eyes. “I was hoping you ladies might help me make a cake.”
The girls straightened, their faces brightening with excitement. “A cake?” Elsa whispered. “We don’t know how to make a cake! What if…?”
“I do,” she replied as if conveying a mystery and nodding her head for emphasis. “I’m not very good at it, but I’ll tell you a secret.”
“What?”
“A cake doesn’t have to look pretty to taste good!”
The girls didn’t understand and simply stared at Harper for a moment until she continued. “Want to try it?”
“Yes!” both girls yelped.
Harper stood up. “Okay, then let’s do it! I went to the grocery store recently and bought a box mix and lots of chocolate icing.” She took their hands and they headed for the kitchen.
If her cake-baking plan also helped her to hide from Amit for a few hours, then that was a bonus, right? It wasn’t like she was actually hiding, she told herself. She was, but that wasn’t her intention. She was here to help the twins, so making a cake with the twins was a good thing. A good idea! She wasn’t being a coward, she was being a good…therapist!
Okay, so her excuse was weak, but if anyone asked, her plans might sound legitimate, she told herself. In reality, she genuinely enjoyed spending time with these two young girls.
The three chatted as they walked down the long hallways, turning right, then left. But after several minutes, Harper realized she had no clue where the kitchen was.
“Okay, I think we’re lost,” Harper said to the girls. She turned to the bodyguards that had trailed them from the nursery. “Do either of you have a clue where the kitchen is?” she asked.
One of the men smirked, but the other pointed down another hallway. “That way, ma’am.”
Harper smiled her appreciation. “Lead the way,” she told him.
A few minutes later, the guard pushed open a door that revealed a huge kitchen. Since it was the middle of the morning, the kitchen was fairly quiet. She approached one of the workers. “Excuse me, but we’d like to make a cake. Is there a place we could do that where we would be out of the way?”
Another man approached, this one obviously having more authority than the others. “How can I help you, ma’am and ladies?” he asked, then winked at the girls, both of whom smiled, and shyly leaned against Harper’s legs.
“We’d like to make a cake,” she explained, pointing to Elsa who held the box of cake mix. Ellora shifted her arms, balancing the two plastic containers of frosting.
“Ah! A cake!” The man rubbed his hands together. “I am Chef Abril. What kind of cake would you like? I will make anything your heart desires!”