Page 21 of His Determined Bear

That had me moving around the kitchen, collecting mixing bowls, spatulas, and spoons until I got everything into the sink. There wasn’t much out since I’d done the baking earlier, and all the pans had been washed and put away. It was just the icing and decorating stuff. I managed to get it all rinsed, loaded in the industrial dishwasher, and the tabletops wiped down just in time when my phone began to vibrate in my pocket.

I smiled and made my way out front. If there was one thing Aaron was, it was punctual. When I reached the front, my heart leaped in my chest when I saw three instead of two people. After seeing that our mate had decided to tag along, my bear did the equivalent of cartwheels and fist pumps.

I opened the door quickly and held it open for everyone. Aaron and I hugged when he entered, as did Kelly. Cooper nodded at me, our eyes meeting briefly, then he looked away. A beautiful hue of color stained his cheek while he nibbled on his bottom lip, doing his best to look everywhere but at me.

As I locked up again, I couldn’t take my eyes off him.

Fuck, did he know how much that drove me crazy? It was like catnip to my soul. That blush turned me on, and I couldn’t help wondering if his skin did that all over. My overactive imagination had gone crazy at the mere thought of it.

Making my way back to where they stood by the pastry case, I asked, “So, would you prefer to do this out here, or would you mind coming into the kitchen with me?”

“You don’t have to put yourself out on our behalf. You already won’t accept payment—” Kelly shook her head.

“I couldn’t,” I insisted because we’d had this conversation before, several times in fact.

Aaron snorted, “Trust me, he won’t budge once he makes up his mind.” My old friend smiled at me, “We really do appreciate it, Graham. I know how busy you are.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I said, “Come on back, let’s get this show on the road.” I should have gone first leading the way, but I let Aaron and Kelly go ahead of me until it was just Cooper and I left out front in the cafe.

When the silence between us stretched, I finally broke it, “Hi,” I said, then wanted to kick myself because I could have come up with something much better than that. Idiot.

Cooper shuffled his feet, then glanced up at me briefly. Our eyes met and held again, and he swallowed, “Hi.” The movement drew my eyes to his neck and Adam’s apple, and all I could think of was trailing kisses down his throat, to his chest, and way lower following his happy trail. At the thought of all that kissing, I swallowed and had to look away. The only way to control my wayward cock was to start reciting the exact recipe for my apple fritters, so I wasn’t spotting a hard-on when I walked in the room with the two people that were basically Great Urs that were going to be my in-laws.

“We should probably join them before they think something is going on out here.” Cooper’s eyes widened at the realization of his words, and he quickly shook his head, “Not that anything would be happening. I mean, not that there’s anything to happen.”He laughed nervously.

My smile widened the more he spoke until he caught me grinning at him. His arms went to his hips, and those stunning blue eyes narrowed. “What are you smiling at?”

I shrugged, “You. You’re beautiful. Especially when you get all worked up.”

Cooper’s eyes bugged out, and I realized that he hadn’t expected me to say something like that. Heck, I hadn’t planned on saying it, but the truth was the truth.

“I…Ooo… I mean,” Cooper nervously cleared his throat, “thank you. You too.” His mouth snapped shut, and he looked away like he, too, hadn’t meant to say that out loud. But damn, I was so glad he did.

“Thank you, Cooper.” I could swear he shivered at the sound of his name, or maybe I just wished he had. One thing was for sure. The timber of my deep voice did something to him that I knew he would never admit.

“We should go and join Mom and Aaron. I’m sure they’ve got other places to be.”

“Hmm,” I nodded, “of course.” I gestured, “After you.” My desire for him to enter first had nothing to do with being a gentleman. In fact, my thoughts were becoming more and more like those of a rogue.

As we entered the kitchen, I frowned when I noticed Cooper's clothing. While he looked devastatingly handsome in what was obviously designer wear, his clothes and coat were not heavy enough to be appropriate for winter, and most certainly not winter in Montana. I made a mental note to order some warmer things for him. That wasn’t too forward, was it?

* * *

I knew I should be paying attention to the couple tasting each cake, but the truth was my eyes had been on Cooper, watching for his reaction to every bite of cake he’d taken. And watching him lick the icing off his lips was its own kind of torture. At one point, I wasn’t sure if I was more jealous of the icing or his lips. I just wanted his tongue on me.

Focus Graham!

“Okay, so the favorites so far are the chocolate with white chocolate, the lemon—”

Cooper interrupted, “Lemon is for a summer wedding, though.”

Kelly waved him off, “I don’t care about all of that seasonal stuff, Coop. Aaron and I decided we’re just going to go with what we like, and the people celebrating with us will just have to be okay with our choice. It’s our day, after all.”

“Mom, are you serious about lemon cake for a November wedding? I was thinking the Chocolate or the Red Velvet, or maybe even the decadent Carrot Cake with the cream cheese icing.”

It was a small thing, but I was literally about to do a victory dance when my mate called one of my cakes decadent.

I couldn’t help myself, so I asked, “What did you think of the Coconut with the Irish Cream filling?” I held my breath as I waited for his reply.

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