Page 11 of Bragg's Christmas

Oh right. Measuring cups. I search through the cupboards but don’t find any measuring cups. Shoot. Someone who can bake can probably guesstimate how much three-quarters of a cup is.

“Why don’t you pour some sugar into the bowl?” I tell Skye.

I help her lift the bag of sugar. I bite my lip as the sugar piles higher and higher in the bowl. How much is three-quarters of a cup? Why didn’t I think to buy measuring cups?

“I think you have enough sugar,” Damon says.

Oops. The bowl is half full. Has he figured out I have no idea what I’m doing? I straighten my shoulders. This isn’t about me. This is about showing Skye some Thanksgiving traditions. I soldier on.

“Now we add the spice.”

“What is spice?” Skye asks.

“Spice is what makes everything taste good.” Sounds vaguely correct, I hope. “We need the pumpkin pie spice.”

Skye grabs the tin. “Pour it in?”

Even I know better than to add a whole jar of pumpkin pie spice to a pie. I hand her a spoon. “Use this to measure.”

She tips the jar over the spoon and a mound flies out. I grab the tin from her. “I think we have enough.”

“Now, let’s add the pumpkin.”

I help Skye to scoop the pumpkin out of the can and into the bowl. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice her lifting her hand to her mouth. I catch her before she can stick her finger in her mouth. “No licking while you’re baking.”

“But licking the bowl is the best part of baking,” Damon says and I glare at him. He chuckles as he shrugs. “It’s true.”

I wouldn’t know. Dad didn’t teach me to bake and my step-witch didn’t bake. Priscilla barely ate healthy food. No way was she baking an unhealthy pie.

“Now the eggs and evaporated milk. We’re nearly finished.” Thank goodness.

I pick up an egg. This I know how to do. At least there’s something I can do. I break the eggs and add them to the bowl.

I open the evaporated milk and hand it to Skye. “Add this.”

The milk splashes over the sides of the bowl as she pours. “Oops!”

More than half the milk ended up in the bowl, so it’ll be fine. I hope. “Time to stir.”

I stick a big spoon in the bowl. I begin to stir, and milk and eggs fly into the air and onto my face. “Shit.”

Damon bursts into laughter. “Here. Let me. You’ve obviously never baked a thing in your life.”

“Is it that obvious?”

“Not knowing how to measure sugar kind of gave you away,” he says as he begins to mix.

I start to respond but forget how to form words when his biceps flex beneath his sweater. I want to jump him and discover if those biceps can hold me up as he pushes me against the wall.

Too bad Damon normally avoids being in the same room as me. Although, I’ve never let a man’s resistance stop me before. I usually dial up the charm until his resistance disappears.

“Can I taste it?” Skye dives for the bowl but I manage to grab her before she lands.

Being Skye’s nanny and living with them makes sleeping with Damon complicated but this situation isn’t forever. Soon enough we’ll move to Winter Falls and then it’s game on.

Chapter 5

Surprise! ~ Message from Damon to the Bragg brothers

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