Page 97 of Forbidden King (Magnolia Falls)

Convincing her brother I was worthy… that would be tricky.

twenty-five

Saylor

“Saylor?You here? It smells damn good.” Kingston’s voice called from the entryway of his house.

I chuckled. “Yep. I told you I was cooking you dinner.”

He walked into the kitchen as I finished slicing the bread.

Damn.

He was wearing a white tee and a pair of jeans, and he looked so damn sexy that sometimes just being around him took my breath away.

“I like seeing you in my kitchen, Dandelion.”

I like being in your kitchen.

In his home.

In his life.

“What are you making?” He wrapped his arms around me and tipped my head back to kiss me.

Nothing about this was a fling anymore.

This was not only a full-fledged relationship, but it was the best one I’d ever had.

Tonight, I wanted to talk about it.

“You know I love themes, right?” My words were all breathy when I pulled back from his kiss.

“Yes. I still don’t fully know what it means, but I’m getting there.”

“Well, tonight’s theme is fondue. We’re having dairy-free cheese fondue with all sorts of things to dip, from bread to steak to vegetables. And then we have chocolate fondue, where we can dip pound cake and bananas and marshmallows into the chocolaty goodness.”

“Damn, baby. You had me at dairy-free cheese.” He laughed before moving to the sink to wash his hands.

I finished carrying the last tray of bread to the table, where the fondue pot held the cheese in the middle. The chocolate fondue was on the kitchen island, and I’d move that one over when we were ready.

“How was work?” I asked as he came over to sit beside me. I handed him his little fork, and I dipped a piece of bread into the cheese and let it cool before popping it into my mouth. Kingston looked completely enamored with the whole thing. “Have you never done this?”

“No, and you make it look so sexy the way you keep smirking and blowing on the bread. Fuck. I love fondue.” He dipped a piece of steak into the cheese and did not wait before biting down with his teeth and groaning at how good it was. “Work was fine. Busy. How about you?”

“It was good. I got to sneak off and pick up Cutler from school, and he came to the store to do his homework and hang out with me. It was really nice. We got some lemon bars from Demi, and he told me all about his day until Nash got there to pick him up.”

“Why do you look so sly, like you know something I don’t?” He popped a piece of bread into his mouth and leaned forward and tickled me, before tugging me onto his lap.

“Let’s just say that Beefcake has a lady. You better not tell anyone because it’s a secret.”

“Beefcake has another girl? My God, how many ladies can that little dude have?” He held up his fork with the filet mignon on it, covered in the delicious cheese. “Try this.”

I placed my mouth over it and bit down. “Wow. That is really good.”

I pulled my chair closer and sat back down so our legs were literally touching as we took turns feeding one another. Laughing about our day. Talking about the upcoming bachelor and bachelorette parties for Demi and Romeo. About Cutler’s playoff game and the elephant in the room… my brother, who was coming home in a few days.

I was relieved that he was finally done, and the fire was almost completely contained.

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