Page 12 of A Different Kind of Hooker

Heron winked at me again. “We.”

“I’m not sure how I feel about a strange man coming to my apartment late at night,” I said, watching for his reaction.

“If I were a strange man, I could see your concern. However, I’m not,” he replied smoothly.

Yeah, I was in trouble.

Chapter 6

Is It Warm in Here?

Heron~

Iknocked on the door, willing my heart to slow down before I expired from a goddamn heart attack. When Eliza had agreed to let me be on her show, I’d almost fist pumped the fucking air. It’d felt like scoring a goal, and I was officially a pussy. Whatever it was about the refreshing creature, I was done for. I was man enough to be able to admit that.

When the door swung open, Eliza stood on the other side, smiling up at me, and I wanted to forget the reason that I was here and just haul her off to her bedroom. However, I had promised her that I wasn’t a creep, so that was off the table for now.

“Hello,” she greeted as she stepped back to let me into her apartment. “If you don’t mind, I won’t be turning off the camera until you’re out of my house.” I stopped mid-step to look down at her. “This way, if you do end up being some deranged killer here for my internal organs, then one of my four viewers can call the police.”

“Are you going to let them know that?” I asked, doing everything that I could not to laugh at the beautiful woman.

Eliza nodded. “Of course.”

“Well, I guess a girl can never be too careful,” I chuckled, realizing that I was nowhere near offended, though I really ought to be.

Neither agreeing nor disagreeing, Eliza shut her front door, then led me towards the kitchen. “Since this might be my last attempt at baking, I decided we should try cupcakes again, but they’ll be a cupcake cake.”

I slid her a look. “What in the hell is a cupcake cake?”

“It’s when you make cupcakes, but then arrange them to look like one big cake,” she explained.

“Why would someone do that?”

“It’s less messy than cutting a cake into slices,” she went on. “When it’s time to eat, everyone just grabs a cupcake.” She shrugged. “Yeah, it ruins the design, but cake decorating was never meant to last.”

I was so in love with this quirky chick.

Walking into the kitchen, which took all about three seconds since her apartment was small, I asked, “So, what’s the design we’re making tonight?”

Eliza grinned up at me, and my heart actually stopped. “A rugby football.”

“A rugby football?” I echoed.

She nodded. “I thought it’d be a good way to honor my first guest on the show.”

The caveman in me wanted to forbid her from inviting anyone else on the show. I didn’t want Eliza smiling up at other men like she was doing now. I didn’t want her making other men feel special. I also didn’t want other men in her apartment with her late at night. Fuck, who was I kidding? I didn’t want any other motherfuckers here when the sun was out. Eliza’s awful baked goods should belong to me only, and what the fuck was it about women that drove us fucking crazy? No sane man should want to eat anything that she had whipped up on her show so far.

Finally finding my voice, I said, “Well, I’m honored.”

“I hoped that you’d be,” she said. “Granted, you might not be feeling gracious once the final product is finished, but for now, we’ll stay positive.”

“Baby, it’s the thought that counts, right?”

She started gnawing on her lower lip. “Do you know that’s like the third time that you’ve called me baby?”

I stilled. “Uhm…is that a problem?”

Eliza eyed me as we both stood near her kitchen bar. “Is that your thing? Like when guys call women darling or sweetheart? I think doll is another endearment that’s common.”

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