chocolate chip cookies sat inside, and her heart warmed.
Her favorite cookies, from her favorite place. The sweet gesture brought a smile to her soul, and she looked up at Hunter, who’d tucked his hands in his front pockets. “Thank you.”
“You like those, right?”
“They’re my favorite.” She stepped into his personal space and pressed a kiss to his cheek. His hand landed lightly on her hip, but they separated quickly, a slight awkwardness between them.
“I saved you some cookie dough. Come see for yourself.” She stepped back out of the doorway to make room for Hunter. He entered her house, his eyes going straight to Gypsy on the bookcase.
“Does that cat ever get down from there?”
Gypsy meowed at him, which was better than her yowl, and Molly closed the front door. The weather in Ivory Peaks had been warming up, and there was no sense in cooling the outdoors.
“When she’s hungry,” Molly said. “Then she really lets me know what I’m doing all wrong.”
Hunter chuckled. “I bet she does.” He threw one more glance at the cat before he led the way to the sheet pan of frozen cookie dough. “May I?”
“Of course.” Molly set Saltine on the floor, and the dog immediately ran to Hunter and started sniffing. He jumped up on Hunter’s knees, and Molly worried that Hunter wouldn’t appreciate that.
He popped a whole cookie dough ball into his mouth and crouched down. He scrubbed Saltine’s face and back with his big hands, and Molly found herself a little bit jealous of her pup. She wanted to hold those hands in hers and feel them run down the side of her face. She wanted them to flow down her shoulders as Hunter kissed her, and she wanted one of them to knot in her hair as he held her in place and let her know what hid in his mind.
She cleared her throat, and Hunter straightened to a standing position. “That was amazing,” he said. “You Bensons always were good in the kitchen.” He reached for another bite of cookie dough. “I finished that bread this morning too. Amazing.” His dark eyes seemed to harbor a bright light in them, and Molly couldn’t look away as he put the cookie dough in his mouth.
“Already?” she asked, setting the cookies on the counter beside the tray of dough. “The whole loaf?”
He nodded while he chewed his treat. After he swallowed, he said, “I make sandwiches for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.”
Molly laughed, because that lined up so perfectly with what she knew and remembered about Hunter. “I can make you some more,” she said.
He shook his head though. “No, I don’t think you’ll have time.”
“I won’t?”
He edged closer to her, and Molly held her ground on the corner of the island. His hand reached for hers slowly, and Molly inhaled just as his skin touched hers. Pure fire ignited between them, and Molly had never felt anything so hot.
“I’ve got a contract for you to sign,” he said. “I’ve talked to my uncle again, and he knows someone who knows someone in Texas who started an equine therapy facility. He’s going to put us in touch with them. You’re going to be so busy with this, you’ll wish you never agreed to it.”
Molly could get lost in the rolling lilt of his voice. “Maybe I won’t sign your contract then.” She grinned at him, so pleased when he returned it.
He stood a head taller than her now, and he easily spanned twice her width. He possessed a charm and charisma that spoke directly to her spirit, and Molly found herself leaning toward him.
He leaned toward her too, and her pulse took flight, the beats so close together, it was almost like the hum of a hummingbird’s wings.
He paused, seeming to figure out what he was doing. He straightened. “We’ve got a schedule,” Hunter said, his voice a bit lower than normal. “Come on, sweetheart. We don’t want to be late, or the food will be cold.”
“It will?”
He glanced down the length of her body and said. “Shoot. I should’ve told you no skirts.”
“No skirts? Hunter.” She shook her head. “I know you want it to be a surprise, but the gig is up. Where are we going that won’t allow me to wear a skirt?” She held up one foot. “I wore the closed-toed shoes.”
“We have to ride a horse to get there,” he said, his eyes sliding down her legs. “I mean, I guess you could ride a horse in