Page 108 of Knot a Good Idea

If I don’t find something productive to do, I’m going to lose my mind.

When I enter the kitchen, I eye the sleek double ovens.

Then I open the pantry, looking for the one ingredient that would make my idea possible.

And there, sitting on the middle shelf, I see it.

Bags of almond flour.

Baking is methodical.

If you don’t follow the exact measurements, the product is ruined.

With the incorrect temperature, an otherwise perfect cookie turns to sludge or a burnt mess.

Precision is necessary.

I don’t even realize how much time has passed in the kitchen until I hear the front door open, and two different voices laugh.

Hunter and Liam are back.

I smile to myself as I finish piping buttercream between two almond flour discs, a warmth spreading through my veins.

“Hey, gorgeous,” Hunter purr, stepping into the kitchen. His eyes widen when he sees what I’m doing. “Oh, shit!”

“You want some?” I ask him, nodding toward a plate on the island. “They’re macarons.”

“Hell yeah I do,” he heads over to me and presses a kiss to my head. “I want you more, though,” he murmurs in my ear.

The buttercream spurts out of the piping bag I’m holding and onto the counter.

He laughs.

“Just shut up and try the cookies,” I mutter, my face flaming.

Liam enters the kitchen next, greeting me with a warm smile. “Hi, April,” he says. “You look lovely today.”

Almond flour stains my shirt, and my fingers are dyed with food coloring, but it’s still sweet to hear.

Hunter snorts, and Liam glares at him.

“She does,” he argues.

“You’re just a sap. That’s all,” Hunter says, before picking up a pink macaron. “I’ve never had this flavor before.”

“That one is strawberry. It’s one of our most popular ones at the café,” I explain.

Hunter takes a bite as Liam stands next to me, watching me form the macarons.

“Can I help?” he asks softly. I nod as Hunter lets out a literalgrowlat tasting the macaron.

“Youmadethis?” Hunter asks, his golden eyes wide in disbelief.

I can’t help but laugh at him. “Yes,” I say. “You guys hadallthe ingredients in your kitchen. Most people don’t have almond flour on hand.”

“Oh,” Liam says. “That’s because Donovan made sure to have everything stocked for you before you came. He researched everything you might need.”

My heart flutters. “Hedid?”

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