Page 66 of Hot for Hostage

There was enough to feed an entire football team and then some. It was like nothing I’d ever seen before, especially not in this kitchen.

The overwhelming scents of cinnamon and vanilla hit me like a truck.

But what really caught my eye was the cute little baker currently squeezing a tube of pink icing over a tray of cupcakes—while singing and dancing along to the song.

Sadie’s hips swayed in a way I could watch for the rest of the afternoon, and her voice—while not exactly on-key—made up for any lack of skill with its enthusiasm.

Even Antonio was bobbing his head to the beat as he moved cookies from one tray to another grid-like one, and I could swear my chef gave a brief shake of his hips.

That was enough to make me stare, but Sadie’s outfit took the cake. She’d traded in my undershirt for a new top and an intriguingly short skirt. White powder covered her clothes where I’d just had blood splattered on mine, and I wanted to lick off the dollop of pink icing smeared across her cheek.

For someone who’d narrowly escaped an attack last night, she seemed to be making the best of this whole ordeal instead of cowering in the corner.

That shouldn’t make my chest tighten as much as it did.

Antonio noticed my arrival first, and he dropped his spatula in surprise—making Sadie’s singing cut off. She glanced at him in concern before spotting me, and the grin that spread across her face was far too infectious.

I hadn’t anticipated how good it would feel to be greeted by a smile like that. It got my legs working again, and I stopped across the island from her.

“Hey, you’re back,” she called over the music, lowering the tube of icing as her grin doubled in size. “We’ve been baking!”

I raised a brow at the trays of cookies and cupcakes covering every inch of counter space. “I can see that.”

Antonio reached under the counter, and the music quieted.

“Are you hungry?” The look in Sadie’s eyes practically radiated hope. “I made cupcakes to thank you for all your help. You know, with Bear and everything.”

I paused, sure I’d misheard her. …She’d baked forme?

That damn warmth flared up in my chest again—foreign and wholly unwelcome—and I made a mental note to call my doctor. It must be a bad case of heartburn.

The crazier part was it didn’t even cross my mind to say no. I wasn’t a fan of baked goods, but she’d clearly worked hard on these.

It wouldn’t kill me to eat one.

“Sure.” I eyed the tray of cookies in front of me. Half already had icing, from detailed art to simple decorations. Not wanting anything excessive, I selected a smaller star that had squiggles of yellow icing and lifted it to my mouth.

That was a mistake.

“Dav, no!” Sadie cried just as I bit into it. Her eyes grew comically wide, making me freeze with half the cookie in my mouth.

Maybe she wanted to warn me it was too hot to eat, but the temperature was fine. It was the flavor that gave me pause.

What kind of cookie tasted likefeet?

I almost spat it out by reflex, but I didn’t want to hurt Sadie’s feelings after she’d spent hours baking in here. She was already staring at me in horror as I chewed and fought to muster a smile.

“It’s… good,” I forced out, trying not to choke on the bite I now fully regretted taking. For a cookie, there was nothing sweet about it. Instead, I could swear it was made with old cheese. I held back a grimace with every ounce of my resolve and managed to swallow. Pure willpower stopped me from gagging. I cleared my throat. “Very good.”

The lie hurt, but how was I supposed to tell her it tasted awful? Sadie only gaped at me while pink icing continued to stream out of her bag onto the counter.

Then, the biggest smile spread across her face before she doubled over in peals of laughter.

I frowned. It’d been a long time since someone had laughed at my expense.

Even Antonio watched on with stunned amusement.

“Something funny, sweetheart?” I asked Sadie evenly, setting the rest of the cookie back on the tray and wiping the crumbs off my hands. It wasn’t worth trying to choke down the rest. The aftertaste alone made me want to chug a bottle of scotch.

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