“Great game, kids,” he told them groggily, swinging his legs over the side of the couch and sitting up with a yawn.
The boys stopped and stared at him. He stared back. Tanner pretended to bark like a puppy. Timmy made a sound like a growling monster. He shook his head. They wanted him to respond. He could tell. And he couldn’t resist.
Just like the day before, he burst up off the couch, waving the covers to make himself look huge, and gave them a monster growl they wouldn’t soon forget.
They screamed with scared happiness and charged out of the room, pushing and shoving to both fit through the door at once.
Jill came in and glared at him. “They won’t be able to eat their breakfast if you rile them up too much,” she warned.
He waved his sheet-covered arms at her and growled. She shook her head and rolled her eyes.
“How come you’re not scared?” he complained.
“Because you look so ridiculous,” she told him. She laughed softly, letting her gaze slide over his beautiful body. What on earth did he do in Singapore that kept him so fit? His muscles were hard and rounded and tan and a lot of that was on display. His chest was all male and his pajama bottoms hung low on his hips. He took her breath away.
“But you do look cute as a scary monster,” she allowed, trying to avoid an overdose of his sexiness by looking away. “We might be able to use your skills at Halloween.”
“Hey, no fair,” he said as he looked her over sleepily. “You already changed out of your princess dress.”
“I’m going incognito for the day,” she told him. “They don’t let princesses bake Bundt cakes.”
“They should.”
“I know.” She smiled at him then asked with false cheerfulness, “What did Brad want last night?”
He shrugged. “I didn’t answer it.”
She stared at him for a moment, then looked away. “I just checked my email. There are already two more orders from people who had cake last night. That makes four who want their cakes today, and two more for the weekend.”
“I said you had star power. Didn’t I?”
She reached out to take the sheet from him and he leaned forward and dropped a quick kiss on her mouth before she could draw back. She looked up into his eyes and the room began to swim around her.
“They should let princesses do whatever they want,” he said softly, and then he reached out and pulled her closer and she slipped her arms around his neck and his mouth found hers.
Finally!
She’d been waiting for this kiss forever—or anyway, it seemed that way. She melted in his arms, taking in his taste and letting her body feel every hard part of him it could manage. His rounded muscles turned her on and his warm, musky smell sent her senses reeling.
And then the doorbell rang.
She collapsed against him, laughing and shaking her head. “Why does fate hate me?” she protested.
He held her close and buried his face in her hair, then let her go.
A timer went off.
“Oh, no, I’ve got to check that,” she said.
“I’ll go to the door,” he offered.
“Really?” She looked at him skeptically, wondering who was going to get a stunning view of that magnificent chest and hoping it wasn’t the church people. Then she rushed on into the kitchen to check her cake.
It definitely needed to come out. She set it on the cooling rack and looked around at the mess that still existed from yesterday. She usually made it a practice never to go to bed with a dirty pan left in the sink, but she’d broken that rule last night. Now she had a couple of counters full of pans that needed washing. She was working on that when Connor came into the kitchen.
“Who’s at the door?” she asked distractedly.
Connor made a face. “The Health Department Inspector.”
She turned to stare at him. “What? He just came last week.”
He shrugged. “I guess he’s back.”
And so he was, coming into the kitchen and looking around with massive disapproval all over his face. Tall and thin, he wore glasses and had a large, fluffy mustache, along with a pinched look, that made him look like a bureaucratic force to be reckoned with.
Connor made a face at her and left to put on some clothes. The inspector sniffed at him as he left, then looked back at the kitchen.
“What the hell is going on here?” he demanded, looking at the pot and pan strewn counters.
Jill had a smart-alecky answer right on the tip of her tongue, but she held it back. This was the health inspector. He could ruin her if he wanted to. Shut her down. She had to be nice to him, much as it stuck in her craw.
“Look, this is such a bad time for you to show up. Unannounced, I might add. Aren’t you supposed to make appointments?”
He glared at her. “Aren’t you supposed to be ready at all times for inspection?”
She gave him a fake smile. “Sorry about the mess. I’m in the middle of cleaning it up. We had a huge, huge day yesterday. Things will be back in order in no time.”
“That would be wise,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to have to write you up for kitchen contamination.”
She gaped at him in outrage. “There’s clutter, there’s mess, but there’s no contamination. Please!”
He shrugged, then turned as Connor reappeared, dressed in the same shirt and slacks he’d been wearing for three days now.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
“Moral support,” Connor responded simply. “I’m just a friend. I’m helping.”
His eyes narrowed. “Helping how?”
Connor shrugged, instinctively knowing this might be a time to be careful and wary. “Odd jobs. Deliveries.”
“Ah.” He appeared skeptical. “Let’s hope you aren’t doing any of the baking. Because if you are, you’re going to need to be screened for medical conditions. You’ll need a blood test. And more. We don’t want you touching the food if you’re not healthy. Your papers must be in order.”
Connor frowned at the man. “What papers?”
“The ones you need to qualify to do any cooking whatsoever.”
Connor sighed and looked away. “Ah, those papers.”
“Yes. Records of shots and tests, etc. Medical problems in the last ten years. You understand.”
Connor made a face, but he said as pleasantly as possible, “Of course.”
The man glared at him. “So? Where are your papers?”
“Really?” Connor said, beginning to get belligerent. “Hey, Mr. Health Inspector, let’s see your papers.”
The man produced a badge and a license and Connor stared at them, realizing he had no idea if they were authentic or not. But he was beginning to have his doubts about this guy.
Jill winced. Connor looked about ready to do something that would jeopardize her business and she had to stop him. Standing behind the inspector, she shook her head and put her finger to her lips, then jerked her thumb toward the other room. Connor hesitated, then followed her out into the hallway, leaving the inspector to poke around at will.
“Connor, don’t antagonize him, for heaven’s sake,” she whispered. “He’ll probably write me up for some little thing and