Page 7 of Rush

“I think she wants to finish the song because that’s what makes the cookies bake,” Nora volunteered, biting her lip while she waited to see if Linc would play along with her little white lie.

His next words eased her mind. “Well, I guess we better finish the song then because I want to eat some cookies.”

Sophie tugged at his hand, pulling him to the middle of the kitchen.

Nora clicked the music back on. Self-conscious now that she had someone who was older than a preschooler watching her, she shuffled her feet to the beat. Linc was all confidence. The man couldmove. In her time spent with her brother, Nora had soaked up a little about football and knew Linc played wide receiver. Watching him now, she had no problem picturing him racing down the field while dodging the defense then executing a midair spin to catch a football.

“Come on, I know you can move better than that.” Linc grabbed Nora’s hand, trying to coax her with some exaggerated hip movements.

That only flustered her more. Hell, with the heat of his palm warming hers, she wasn’t even sure she remembered her own name at that point.

He tugged her in so close, the light scent of his cologne overpowered the smell of the baking cookies. Distracted by the intoxicating aroma of spice, woods, and man, she lost her footing when he suddenly spun her around, her socked foot sliding out from under her. Linc caught her around the middle with a strong arm, keeping her upright. Flustered and breathless, she couldn’t have been happier than when the music stopped and silence filled the room.

Ducking out from Linc’s arm, she called, “Cookies are done,” maybe a little too loudly as she rushed toward the oven, grabbing the dish towel.

She threw open the door and reached in to remove the baking sheet. In her haste she brushed her knuckles against the upper rack. As if touched with a branding iron, instant pain had her yanking her hand back, the sheet pan making a loud clatter as it fell to the floor. “Son of a—” she stopped herself just short of cussing, her eyes flying to Sophie as she cradled her hand against her chest. “I’m okay,” she said at the concerned look on the little girl’s face.

“Let me see.” Linc pried her hand from her chest and unfurled her fingers. He whistled through his teeth. “We better run this under cold water. Your fingers are already turning red.”

Leading her to the sink, he turned on the tap and placed her fingers under the icy stream. Instant relief had her body sagging against the counter with a sigh slipping past her lips.

“Better?”

“Yeah.”

She stared transfixed as he lightly brushed the back of her hand with the pad of his thumb. “You really did a number on yourself.”

“I’m not usually so clumsy.” Nora didn’t dare tell him the truth. That having his arms wrapped around her had scrambled her brains, making her careless.

His eyes darted past her to the mess she’d made. “Sorry you dropped all your cookies.”

“That’s how the cookie crumbles, I guess.” Her face instantly heated and she quickly turned her head, her eyes landing on the cooled tray of cookies on the counter. She was quite certain even the little bunnies thought that joke was lame. Clearing her throat, she uttered thinly, “Thankfully, there’s backups.”

She peeked Linc’s direction and saw his eyes dart to the same tray and back to her, humor lighting his eyes. “I didn't realize bakers had their own brand ofdadjokes.”

“Oh, didn’t you know? We’re all the rage at the Chuckle Hut.” She snapped her mouth shut, internally groaning, and promised herself she was going to stay silent no matter what Linc said next.

He looked up from inspecting her injury, the smile on his lips contradicting the concern in his eyes. “I have some burn cream in the first-aid kit in the bathroom. Keep your fingers under the water while I go get it.”

The tension eased from her shoulders as soon as Linc left the room and she felt a tug on her shirt. Looking down, she took in Sophie’s concerned expression. “I’m okay. Promise. But this was a good lesson. Ovens are very hot and we all need to be extra careful when using them.”

Sophie buried her head in her thigh, hugging her, as Nora turned off the tap. That was the first hug she’d gotten from Linc’s niece and she took it as a good sign Sophie understood. Nora reached for a paper towel, then gingerly blotted her hands drywith it before picking the cookies up off the floor and using the damp paper towel to clean up the last of the crumbs. She was just closing the oven door and turning it off when Linc came back.

“I told you to keep your hand under the water.”

“I’m okay.” She looked down at her knuckles. They were reddened but no visible blisters were forming. “It doesn’t burn anymore. Only stings a little.”

“This should take the last of the pain away.” He took the cap off a small tube of ointment and started to squeeze some onto his finger.

She snatched the tube from his hand. “That’s okay, I can do it.” She’d reached her Linc-Touch-O-Meter limit. In fact, it was probably best if she left.

Handing the ointment back after slathering some on her burn, she announced, “Well, I think I’ve created enough drama for one day. I better get going.”

“Don’t you want a cookie?” He raised an eyebrow.

If she hadn’t been so anxious to get the hell out of there, she would have admitted to herself just how sexy that look was and lingered a tad longer. But that was an image for later, for now, she countered, “I’ll just grab one to go.”

He frowned a bit. “I understand if you need to go, but if you’ve got a few minutes, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”

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