Temptation Trails (The Haven Brothers #3)

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely. I’m in the mood for it.”

His smile grew. “Great.”

I was about to get up when he reached out and wrapped a hand around the back of my neck, gently pulling me in for a kiss. His mouth felt so good against mine—soft, warm, delicious.

And more than a little bit dangerous.

I needed to clear my head. He was getting under my skin, and as much as I loved it—craved his closeness—it was starting to freak me out.

Kitchen. That was what I needed.

I got up and, since we were staying in, put on a tank top and a pair of jeans instead of the dressier date attire he’d taken off me. I pulled my hair back into a ponytail and left him to get dressed while I headed for the kitchen.

Just standing in the space soothed my too-fast heartbeat. I looked through the fridge, mentally assessing what I could whip up on the fly. I wasn’t going to feed him cookies for dinner, but my kitchen talents didn’t stop at baked goods. And I enjoyed a challenge. Throw me in a kitchen with five ingredients and an oven, and I’d make your taste buds sing.

Fortunately, I had more than five ingredients.

I’d been experimenting with a recipe for cherry hand pies on my last day off and had made extra pie dough. A baker never knew when she’d need to whip up a flaky crust. And since I already had the dough in the refrigerator, I decided on a quiche.

Garrett came out, dressed in a short-sleeved shirt and jeans, while I was rolling out the dough for the crust on the island.

“You know Owen’s come to the bakery after school a few times, right?” I asked.

“Yeah. He told me.”

“He’s such a great kid. It’s hard to believe the first time I met him, he’d shoplifted from me. I guess even good kids make mistakes.”

“I sure did.”

I smiled. “It’s hard to imagine you doing something like shoplifting, though. Weren’t you always the cop chasing the bad guys?”

He glanced away. “Usually. Although, when we pulled pranks on the Baileys, we pushed the boundaries of the law a lot. And then there was this one time…”

I waited a moment for him to continue, but he didn’t. I gave him a quizzical look. “You can’t leave me hanging like that. I really need to hear this story.”

“We all knew how to pick locks. Us, the Baileys, it was just part of the feud. But one summer, Reese and I were being particularly idiotic and decided to see if we could break into the Sugar Shack.”

“The candy store?”

“That’s the one. We did it a few times. Took just enough stuff so if we got caught it would look legit, like we could have bought it. I felt so guilty, I broke in again and left some cash on the counter by the till.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s too adorable. What about Reese? He didn’t feel guilty?”

“Not that I know of. He kept trying to goad me into going back, but I wouldn’t do it.”

“I take it Owen doesn’t know that story?”

“No. He can hear about it when he’s older. I want him to keep thinking his dad is above suspicion for a while longer.”

“That’s fair. Did he ever tell you why he did it? Whether he maybe did it for attention? I’m not implying you don’t give him enough of it. I think you’re a great dad. I really mean that.” I paused. “But I think we both know what it’s like to be a kid with some big hurts.”

He nodded slowly. “Maybe I’ve been assuming he’s fine when he isn’t. It’s tough because he’s a Haven. We’re good at holding things in. He’s seemed a little different lately, though. Happier.”

That made me smile. “Yeah? That’s good to hear.”

“I think you might have something to do with that.”