Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 75968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
I grabbed her ass with both hands and pulled her into me as I kissed her, not caring that Gerard was right there. When she pulled away, I repeated the question. “What are you making?”
“Chocolate cake. I found this recipe online, and I haven’t stopped thinking about it.”
“Would you like breakfast, sir?” Gerard asked.
“Dinner is fine,” I said without looking at him. “Chef’s choice.”
“Of course.” Gerard left to speak with the chef in the other kitchen, which was for the chef’s exclusive use. This one was for entertaining, not that I ever did that.
Fleur mixed the batter before pouring the contents into a round pan. Then she placed it in the oven and set a timer on her phone. “Fingers crossed.”
I was glad she spent her time baking and reading instead of working for a stiff suit in a stale office. It was nice to wake up and know she would be there. If she went to work every day, we would be back to our previous arrangement, where we only had the weekends together. “I’m sure it’ll be great.”
She came back around and took a seat on the other stool. “Not that it matters to you…since you don’t really eat sweets.”
“Oh, you know I eat sweets.” I stared at her as I leaned my elbow on the counter.
Right on cue, her cheeks flushed because she understood my meaning perfectly. “How’d you sleep?”
“Like a rock.”
“Good.” Her eyes drifted away, and slowly, her blush did as well.
Now that I was face-to-face with her in the light of day, the guilt started to simmer underneath the surface. I’d assumed I could keep Adrien’s plight to myself, but Luca was right. The second I was with her, I felt the burden on my shoulders. Felt like I betrayed her when I hadn’t committed any treason.
She tapped the screen of her phone to see the time left for the cake. “Are you working tonight?”
“Yes.”
She didn’t complain or look disappointed. “Amelia was nice. You think we’ll see her again?”
My eyebrows furrowed in complete bewilderment. “Who?”
“Luca’s date.”
“Oh.” I didn’t even remember her name. “No.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because I’ve never seen him with the same girl more than a handful of times.”
She gave a slow nod. “You think that will ever change? Or is he the lifetime bachelor-type?”
“Well, I thought I was the lifetime bachelor-type, and then I met you.”
The smile was instant. It took a second to grow, for the affection to reach her eyes.
“Don’t make plans, because life will change those plans.”
“So, your plan was to be single forever?”
I gave a shrug. “I was always open to the idea of monogamy if I ever found someone worth the commitment. But I didn’t ever expect to find anyone, not when all women were the same, at least it seemed that way to me.”
“Maybe Luca is the same as you.”
“He’s a bit more stubborn than I am.”
“Why is that?” she asked.
“I don’t know. He’d never tell me if I asked.”
“Why not? You’re best friends.”
“Because men don’t ask each other that—and we aren’t best friends.”
“You have a closer friend than him?” she asked incredulously.
“No. But a grown-ass man doesn’t go around saying that.”
“Why?” she asked. “It’s cute.”
I gave her a hard look. “I’m not cute, sweetheart.”
She held my gaze for a while before she tapped her phone again. “I just want some cake.”
“You could ask Gerard to grab some for you.”
“I wanted to make it. But you should never bake on an empty stomach.”
“Is this a new hobby of yours, or have you always been into baking?”
“It’s new,” she said. “I used to cook all the time, so I was never in the mood to make something fun.”
She referred to her time being Adrien’s wife, and the mention of him added more weight to my shoulders. If I kept this information to myself, my implication in the matter would never come back to haunt me, but I felt deceitful, nonetheless. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
She turned away from her phone, her eyes guarded like she already knew it was bad news.
“I made peace with the Aristocrats, but they’re coming for Adrien.” Perhaps she had already realized that. Perhaps she’d been worried about it the entire time but didn’t want to mention her ex-husband to me. “They said they would make peace with me if I didn’t intervene.”
Her stare didn’t change, like she needed more time to let the situation sink in.
I waited for her to say something, but nothing seemed to be forthcoming. “I debated telling you.”
“I knew the problem hadn’t been solved.”
So, she had thought about it. “Is there something you would like me to do?”
“Like what?” she asked.
“Like stop it.”
Her elbow rested on the counter, and her chin was propped on her closed fist. She busied herself with a vase of flowers that sat on the corner of the kitchen island along with a grouping of white candles, like she hadn’t noticed them until now. “They warned you not to intervene, right?”