Page 17 of Fall for You (Flirting with Forever 4)

“If you have a few minutes, there’s no reason we can’t talk now.” Quinn steps over to the side of the counter and crooks her finger at me. She leads me past it and straight down a hallway, farther away from both the kitchen and the front of the bakery.

She stops and turns to me, so we are standing only about a foot apart. Her hand extends, and she reaches for mine. The gentle contact hits me hard as awareness moves quickly through me. I run my thumb over the back of her hand and wait because it looks like she’s about to burst with something she wants to say.

“Liam, here’s the thing—I’m just nervous. I saw the look on your face the other day when I said I didn’t know how to do this. I didn’t mean to brush you off or completely disregard everything we’ve shared together.” She shakes her head and lowers her gaze to our hands. “That didn’t come out right.”

I gently grasp her chin with my free hand and tilt her face up to mine. “We could proceed slowly if you think that’s best.” I chuckle and shrug one shoulder. “Maybe we could start with your phone number? It feels tremendously wrong that my ex-wife has a way of contacting you and I don’t.”

“That makes sense, anyway, since you’re the one who will be picking Olivia up.” She bites the corner of her lip. “And you seem to be the one paying me, too, which I know shouldn’t be weird, but still feels strange.”

I don’t want her to feel like anything we are doing is inappropriate. It’s not. There’s nothing wrong with two adults dating. Whether or not this is an issue lies in the hands of the people who surround us. “What if we just agree to take things one step at a time? See where it goes between us before we worry about easing the people in our lives into it.”

She draws in a breath, holds it for a moment, then blows it out carefully with a nod. “Okay.” She makes a little sound that sounds like she’s trying not to laugh. “My friends are already cool with it. My mom? When she understands what’s been going on … well, let’s just say she’ll be looking for ways to shove us together.”

“It’s really the people in my life we have to worry about.” I drop my gaze for a second before looking right back at her. “We’ll figure this out, okay? Together.”

Hope glimmers in her eyes, and damn, I want to be the man who can give her everything she needs, fulfill every last thing she’s looking for.

Standing this close to her, a familiar scent drifts toward me—some sort of coconut shampoo, maybe? And I think she must have been baking something in the back because I smell vanilla, too. And strawberries, but that’s probably just the splatter on her jeans. She steps closer, and my hand slides around to the nape of her neck, drawing her closer. I breathe in the air she’s just released. Our noses touch, then my mouth is on hers. I tug her into my arms, cradling her head with both hands. Her fingers clutch at the fabric of my shirt, pulling me to her. Shared breath, tongues twisting, we taste each other. It’s like a little slice of heaven right here in her mother’s bakery. I groan and angle her head better so I can explore every last inch of her mouth.

“Oh, man. They doing the kissy-face just like you and Daddy do, Fia.” A tiny, exasperated voice sounds behind us, followed by Sophia’s stifled laughter.

“Sorry, guys. Didn’t mean to interrupt.” Sophia herds the pint-sized saboteur into the bathroom.

Quinn drops her forehead to my chest. “I guess if we are going to get caught like that, Ava and Sophia aren’t the worst people to find us.”

“Nope. I can think of a few worse things that could have happened.” I kiss her cheek and ease away. “Speaking of, it’s Olivia’s birthday. I need to get home with this cake and cook dinner. Thank your mother for me, would you?” I reach for my phone and hand it to her. “Put yourself into my contacts, please, Ms. Lockmore.”

&nb

sp; She shakes her head, smiling. “I think we’re a bit beyond Ms. Lockmore at this point. I hope you both enjoy the cake.”

“I’m sure we will.”

“Dad, thank you for the cake. It’s so yummy. Where’d you buy it?” Olivia brushes a stray lock of hair behind her ear and picks up another forkful of cake.

I settle my gaze on her. “I was going to go to the grocery store, but when I parked in town, I found this little place called Meg’s Sweet Treats. It’s from there.”

For a second, I think I’m in the clear, but then Olivia’s brow furrows. “Isn’t that Ms. Lockmore’s mom’s bakery?”

I cough to cover my discomfort. “Yes, I believe that’s correct. The owner’s name is Meg, but I didn’t catch the last name.”

Olivia nods, chewing thoughtfully. “I thought it tasted familiar. Ms. Lockmore has brought cupcakes and cookies and a few other things to class this year.” She glances at me with a shrug. “I guess sometimes they have stuff leftover and they don’t want it to go stale.”

“Makes sense. No need to be wasteful.” I pause for a few seconds, then take another bite of cake. Once I’ve swallowed, I’m ready to bite the bullet and ask. “Speaking of Ms. Lockmore, are you looking forward to working with her again next week?”

“Yeah. She’s pretty nice. Smart, too.”

I nod, trying to act as if I don’t know her at all. Jesus, if my daughter knew the ways I know her teacher, she’d die of embarrassment. The knowledge that this may be more difficult with Olivia than I thought slams into me, full force. “Huh. Well, that’s good. And you haven’t had any problem catching up on what you were having trouble with?”

“Dad. Can’t I just enjoy my cake?” She rolls her eyes a little, her expression turning glum.

I press my lips together and nod. “Sure, baby girl. But you’d tell me if something were wrong, correct?”

“Sure.” She wipes her mouth on her napkin, her eyes flicking up to meet mine. “I’ve got homework to do. Can I go up to my room and get started?”

“On your birthday? It’s a Friday night.” I narrow my eyes, studying her.

“You don’t want me to need a tutor in other classes, do you?” Her brows raise.

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