“The longest.”
“Yeah. Me, too.”
We kiss again and I tremble, fully submitting myself to his embrace as his arms curl around me. “Well, it’s over now and you’re just in time,” I say.
“For what?” he asks.
“For mini muffins.”
His eyes widen. “Mini muffins?”
I peck his cheek and step back. “I was about to make you a batch for date night.”
“Well, go!” He gives me a little shove toward the back. “Let’s get baking!”
I head toward the kitchen as Scott excitedly follows. Gathering the ingredients, I get to work, happy for his company. “So, what was long about your day?” I ask him.
“Oh, you know. People got hair. I chop it off.”
I laugh. “Don’t tell me you’re jaded already.”
“Nah,” Scott says, his voice a little closer behind me. “There’s just something far more interesting in front of me now.”
His arms snake around my waist, and he kisses my neck. I hum with delight as I place the liners in the muffin pan. “Careful,” I warn playfully. “You’re gonna make me make a mess.”
“That’s the idea,” he whispers, chuckling.
I turn my head to kiss him, hoping to soothe him, but he holds me closer, kisses me harder.
“Two minutes,” I say, inching him back. “And I’m all yours.”
“Or I can have you now,” he says.
“Two minutes,” I repeat, bobbing my head at the container by the door, “and you can have a leftover muffin while you wait.”
Scott sighs reluctantly, then releases me. “Blast,” he says. ”You know I can’t resist your baked goods.”
I laugh as he goes, grabbing my muffin mix and filling the cups while I still can.
“Mmm!” Scott hums deliciously.
I grin, always happy to hear that.
“Uh... Lottie?”
“Yeah?”
“You made these?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“Because there’s something metal in it.”
“What?”
I drop what I’m holding as I spin around, my stomach falling. Dread fills my chest; the end of my career as I know. The end of my dream, before it even really began. In the span of a second, I think over my day, wondering when it happened, trying to picture what I could have possibly dropped into the batter. How many others were contaminated? And how many of them did I sell?
“Let me see!” I ask, lurching toward him.