“For me?” Rowan appeared beside me. God, he was so damn quiet.
“Mhm. I’ve been mulling over recipes for the past few days and had a spark of inspiration early this morning. I made a super-small batch of these in between our baking for the grand opening. William was my taste tester.”
William smiled. “It was difficult to stop at one.”
“I wanna be a taste tester.” Callum pouted.
The pout was deadly. Unable to resist, I handed him a muffin. “Here. Cranberry and banana.” A combination of Briar’s and Maddox’s favorite flavors. It was a way for me to feel closer to them while being so far away.
Callum beamed and ruffled my hair before tearing into it. Duke gave me a pitiful look and got one too. They were like overgrown children.
“Now, back to you,” I told Rowan, then continued my hunt for the treat I’d made especially for him.
He frowned. “I don’t like sweets.”
“I know, but you’ll like this one. I hope.” Finding the tray of spicy truffles, I grabbed one and faced him. “Dark chocolate with cayenne pepper and filled with rum-infused caramel. I added a sprinkle of crushed pistachios on top. Here. Try one.”
Rowan glanced at it. “That’s chocolate.”
“Yep.”
“And peppers.”
“Double yep.”
“Two things I said would be revolting together.”
“Uh-huh.” I moved the truffle closer to his lips and made my voice higher in pitch. “Eat me, Rowan. I was made with love.”
“Gross. I hate love.” Rowan made a face. But as Lake had pointed out… his eyes said something different than his lips. They radiated warmth, just like they had in my dream the night before.
Keeping my voice in that same pitch, I said, “But love lovesyou. Chocolate does too. Now, open up and eat me.”
“I’m only doing it to put an end to that voice.” Instead of taking the truffle, Rowan leaned forward and took a bite with it still in my hand, not taking his eyes off mine.
The eye contact, combined with his teeth sinking into the truffle, heated my blood and sent flutters through my belly. “Um. So? What do you think?”
His expression didn’t change as he chewed. “It’s just as I expected. Disgusting.”
“Oh.” I frowned at the truffles. “Damn. I thought I was onto something. I’ll keep working on it.”
He grabbed the tray off the counter that held the rest of the batch.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“I’m taking these to spare your customers the horror of having to eat one.” He plucked the half-eaten one from my hand. “Taking that too. No trace left behind.”
Rowan then used the patio door to leave the café, taking every truffle with him.
“Can’t just admit he likes it, can he?” Duke said with a rumbling laugh.
I grinned. “Nope. But that’s Rowan. Stubborn to his core.” And I loved it about him.
I lovedhim. Too soon, maybe, but I felt the truth of it in my heart.
After William and I added last-minute touches to a tray of cupcakes, Gertrude opened the doors and let in the waiting patrons.
“It’s showtime,” I told William.
