Playing with Words (Boggy Creek Valley #2) - Kelly Elliott Page 0,72
while Hudson drew in a long, slow breath and flexed his fingers over the last two remaining sticks.
“Who are you rooting for, Mom?” Kyle asked.
With a wave of her hands, my mother dismissed my brother and silently urged Hudson on.
His dark brown eyes lifted to meet my gaze, and he gave me a lazy, dimpled smile that nearly melted me on the spot. I just wanted this damn game finished, so we could go back to my place.
I gave Hudson an encouraging head bob, and he focused back on the two remaining sticks. One black. One blue.
“You’ve got this, dude,” Bishop said softly as Kyle shot him a dirty look.
Hudson used one of his sticks to gently lift the black stick off the blue. Loud cheers erupted when he held it up in triumph.
Kyle scowled at him, leaned back in his chair, and folded his arms over his chest. “You won this time, Higgins, but just wait. Next week, it’s slapjack.”
“Oh, fuck yeah, I love slapjack!” Bishop said.
Mom gave him a look. “Language, Bishop Harris.”
With a slight blush to his cheeks, Bishop nodded. “Sorry, Mrs. Larson.”
I stood, nearly knocking my chair over. “Great, the game is done. And now we have to be leaving.”
All eyes swung over and looked at me.
“Why the rush, sis?” Kyle asked with a smug look on his face.
“Hudson needs to be up early to work on his book, and I’m exhausted. It’s been a long weekend.”
“But we haven’t even sung happy birthday to you and Kyle yet or eaten cupcakes!” my mother complained.
“Leave the girl be, Karen,” Dad said. “You heard her—Hudson needs to work, and she’s tired.”
I wasn’t sure if my father was on my side because he merely wanted to get back to football—or if he really believed my lame excuses.
“Let me at least pack up some cupcakes for you, sweetheart,” my mom said. “I got your favorite from Boggy Creek Bakery.”
My mouth instantly started to water. “The chocolate ganache ones?”
She beamed with happiness. “Yes!”
“Wait, chocolate ganache cupcakes…?” Hudson asked, following my mother out of the dining room.
I started to follow, as well, but stopped when Kyle took my arm.
“I like him, Greer.”
“Yeah, so do I. Can we keep him?” Bishop asked.
I rolled my eyes and laughed. “I like him too. And to answer your question, Bishop, I hope so.”
Kyle frowned. “How is that going to work, sis? He lives in New York City.”
Trying to appear as if I wasn’t the least bit worried about the logistics, I shrugged. “We’ll figure it all out. For right now, we’re just enjoying the time we’re spending together.” Kyle’s frown deepened. I placed a hand on his chest and gave it a pat. “Don’t worry, Kyle, I’m very capable of taking care of myself.”
“I know that. It’s just that I don’t want to see you get hurt, Greer.”
Lifting up on my toes, I kissed my brother on the cheek. “I love you, and thank you for looking out for me.”
He smiled and slung his arm over my shoulder. “I’ll always look out for you. And no matter what, you can always come to me. You know that, right?”
Nodding, I replied, “I know that. I’ll talk to you guys later.”
“See ya around, Greer,” Bishop said as my brother winked at me.
I made my way to the kitchen and stopped in the doorway to watch the scene before me. My mother and Hudson stood in the middle of the kitchen, chatting while she placed cupcakes back into the box they’d arrived in.
“No, I’m not kidding at all,” Mom said. “She only uses two ingredients. Chocolate and cream. But you have to use the Ghirardelli dark chocolate. That’s the key.”
“So it thickens as it cools, then?” Hudson asked.
“Yes. You’ll be in Heaven when you taste these.”
Why was it so hot to hear this man talk about baking? I needed to get him to my place before I pulled him back up to my childhood bedroom and made a whole bunch of new memories.
“Ready?” I asked, walking into the kitchen as my mother shut the box and handed it to Hudson.
“I’ve got cupcakes and my winnings,” he said. “I’m ready.”
Laughing, I kissed my mother goodbye. Then we headed to the library where my father stood, shook Hudson’s hand, kissed me on the cheek, and promptly sat back down to watch the end of some game.
By the time we got back to my place, my body felt overheated and the pulsing between my legs had grown tenfold.