Page 63 of Sin With Me

“Thanks. The Crew did most of thework.”

Which I knew was a soft lie, or maybe a stretch of the truth, because the kids told me how much Father Cameron had been hands-on this week, preparing everything for the occasion.

“Where did you learn how to cook so well?” he asked.

“My mother.”

“This is amazing, Kate. The kids will loveit.”

“Thank you. I wish my mother were here. I wish I didn’t haveto…”

“I’m sorry, Kate. I cannot even begin to imagine what you’re feeling.”

“She could have told me about Pace. She could have mentioned it, at least; but she didn’t.”

“Which means she had a reason to doso.”

“I know, I know. And I wish I could askher.”

“Did you talk to FatherJohn?”

I reached for a crooked fork and aligned it with the plate before looking back up. “Not yet. Soon.”

“Tomorrow?”

I nodded. “Look, can we not talk about my mother or all the other stuff anymore? All I want tonight is to… breathe. I just want one night when I can pretend that my problems don’t exist.”

He leaned in closer and I saw that spark of something naughty in his eyes. “All right. Would you rather we revisit the topic of you kissingme?”

Yeah, that definitely worked. “Look, I know I kissed you back, but… but you startedit.”

He chuckled. “Is it working Kate? Does thinking about kissing me take your mind off reallife?”

“Shh, Cam… I mean, Father Cameron, what are you doing?”

And to answer his question, which I wouldn’t – of course it did. All I could picture in my mind right now was the heat of his lips on mine, spreading through my body like a flash of lightning on a brightday.

“I’m curious – what did you think?” he asked.

The way his question rolled out on his tongue made me want to head for the Vatican so that I could appeal this rule of celibacy for priests. I shook the lust off, my shoulders physically moving back and forth, but it didn’t help. Nothing had helped lately, and he was making a great job at ensuring that nothing would.

“Why are you doing this?” I asked in a whisper.

“Doing what, Kate?”

“Provoking me. You make me think things and feel things I shouldn’t be thinking.”

“Likewhat?”

“I… what are you holding behind your back?” I stepped up on my toes as if that would give me the extra height to see behind him. It didn’t.

He brought his hand forward, holding a cookie. “It’s Mrs. Duarte’s secret recipe. I snagged the last one from the kitchen.”

“They’re gone already?”

“It’s a secret recipe,” he echoed. “Would you like to share it, Kate?”

Shareit?

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