Page 51 of After All

“What if I slip getting out of here and get hurt?”

There was no response for a moment. Then he heard what sounded like her kicking the wall right outside of the bathroom. “Dammit, Scott!”

He grinned. “I’ll just…finish up in here and let you know when I’m done.”

“If you jack off in there while I’m standing right outside, I’m going to go home and use my vibrator in my shower. Think about that.”

“That’s gonna help me finish a little quicker in here, thanks.”

She might have kicked the wall again, but Scott wasn’t kidding. He was totally thinking about her and her vibrator in her shower and, thankfully, his much-needed release after sharing a house with Peyton for not quite twenty-four hours came quickly.

“Okay, ready to dry off,” he called out a few minutes later.

She stomped back in, dried him off way harder than was necessary, helped him into the bedroom, and then left him to go home and shower before heading to the bakery.

But she did call out, “I’ll be back to get you lunch!” before she slammed the door behind her.

Chapter Eight

Peyton was nearlyto the bakery when her phone dinged with a text message. She swiped her thumb over the screen. It was a photo of Scott’s abs. The first even semi-dirty text Scott had ever sent her. She smiled in spite of the fact that Scott was now trying to seduce her, and she was never going to survive.

This normal-relationship-versus-seduction thing was confusing. The normal stuff seemed sexy, the sexy stuff seemed normal—or at least really natural—and she wasn’t sure which side she was on. Or he was on.

She was a little early to be getting to work, thanks to rushing out of his house after “helping” him shower, so she headed in the direction of the gazebo at the center of the town square. She took a few shots of the notes and drawings from the kids in Sapphire Falls that decorated the white wooden structure that many called the heart of the town. They were all get-well wishes for Scott. She sent them to him with a simple “aww, how sweet”.

There. Little kid artwork. That had to be the opposite of sexy.

Peyton started for the bakery again, still smiling in spite of herself. She took a deep, contented breath at the sound of the little bell tinkling overhead as she pulled the door to Scott’s Sweets open and stepped inside. Her eyes immediately went to the bakery case full of new, brightly frosted sugar cookies.

The plate of six she’d taken to Scott but hadn’t really taken to Scott was still on the seat of her truck. Because the question remained—did she want to keep him? Or more accurately,shouldshe keep him?

She’d decided somewhere between brushing her teeth last night and mixing pancake batter that morning, that she was going to at least meet him partway while they were playing house. He wanted more than sex. She could give him more. Or try.

She just did not want to be her mother. Scott was already Dan, more or less, so Peyton had to put some effort into being better, being a more equal partner than Jo had ever been, even if it was for only two weeks and was more of a flirtatious game between her and Scott than an honest-to-goodness commitment. She might not want to turn into her mother, but she still got itchy at the “C” word. Still, she could do better than naughty nurse costumes and going sans underwear around the house.

Like pancakes. And nice texts. And not getting him off in the shower…

“Morning!”

Peyton jerked her thoughts away from Scott’s bathroom and back to the bakery. Where she was just standing and staring at the cookies she’d made last night. She looked up at Adrianne and pasted on a smile. “Hi.”

“I see you were busy last night,” Adrianne said, gesturing toward the bakery case.

“Yeah, I came in to get prepped for today and then had some time on my hands,” Peyton said, moving around the front counter toward the back room.

“Well, they look amazing and the place smells divine,” Adrianne said. “Thank you.”

Peyton’s smile was completely genuine as she took in the details of her boss’s appearance. Adrianne’s long blonde hair was pulled up into a ponytail, and tendrils were already escaping the elastic band. She had on light blue capris and a white T-shirt, but the shirt had a purple smudge on the hem that looked like a fingerprint made of grape jelly. The brown streak across the top of her right sandal was definitely dirt and she was wearing only one earring.

“You okay?” Peyton asked.

Adrianne nodded. “Sure.”

“You, um, lost an earring.”

Adrianne’s hand flew up to her ear, then she laughed. “No. I just didn’t put it in. I was in the middle of getting ready when Carver and Jefferson suddenly shouted “Eureka!”

Peyton grimaced then grinned. Carver and Jefferson, Adrianne and Mason’s sons, had inherited their father’s penchant for science and nearly uncontainable curiosity for how things worked and for actions and reactions. They were constantly mixing things together, taking things apart, putting things in the microwave, and throwing things out of windows to see what would happen. Even at their young ages. And, of course, there were the many living things they brought into the house. Peyton figured Adrianne had a lot of years of yelling things like “no, your brother can’t fly!” and “whose three-headed-grasshopper is this?” and keeping a fire extinguisher very close by.

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