Page 123 of Knot Baked Out For This
"I'll think about?—"
"Morning, sunshine."
The voice comes from directly behind me, followed by arms sliding around my waist and lips pressing against my temple in akiss that's so casual, so domestic, sopublicthat my brain short-circuits.
Luca. That's Luca. Kissing me. In front of people. Like it's normal. Like we're?—
"Morning," I squeak, my face immediately going nuclear.
He's dressed for ranch work—worn jeans that fit unfairly well, a Henley that stretches across his shoulders, smelling like gingerbread and coffee, and that dark undertone that makes my knees weak. His arms are still around me, like this is how we greet each other now, like the whole world should know I'm his.
Theirs. I'm theirs.
The silence in the bakery is deafening for exactly three seconds before?—
"OH MY GOD!" Mila shrieks.
"FINALLY!" Rosemarie claps.
"I KNEW IT!" Reverie is actually bouncing.
"THE BOSS HAS A BOYFRIEND!"
"THREE boyfriends, technically," Reverie corrects gleefully.
"THREE?!" Mila and Rosemarie shriek in unison.
I try to hide my face in my hands, but Luca's still holding me, and he's chuckling against my hair, the bastard.
"Everyone back to work!" I try to sound authoritative, but it comes out more like a squeak. "We have customers!"
"We don't open for an hour," Mila points out.
"Then go...prep things!"
"I'm fully prepped," Rosemarie says. "I prepped so hard I invented a new drink. Want to hear about it? It's called the Alpha's Knot?—"
"NOPE. No. Absolutely not."
"It has cinnamon," she continues, undeterred. "And cream?—"
"I will fire you."
"You can't fire me, I'm basically a volunteer."
"I can ban you."
"You won't. I make your coffee perfect every time."
She's not wrong, which is infuriating.
Luca finally releases me, but not before pressing another kiss to my temple, and I can feel him smirking against my skin.
"I just came to check the books," he says innocently. "Very important number things."
"You came to cause chaos," I accuse.
"That too."
