Takes the Cake (8 page)

Last night, she’d slept beside him, and his arms ached to hold her lithe frame against his, though he and Liz hadn’t slept much. His cock hardened as he recalled the silky slide of her mouth over his skin. He groaned and kicked off the covers. This was getting him nowhere.

He sat up, swinging his legs off the bed and planting his feet on the floor. The smooth wood was cool beneath his toes. He leaned over and scooped the silk pajama bottoms from the foot of the bed, slipped his feet through the legs, and stood to pull them over his hips.

If she was still downstairs, he wanted a chance to speak to her and apologize one more time. He couldn’t leave things the way they were between them. In a short amount of time, she had become too important to him.

Keegan exited his room, leaving the door ajar. Muted light lit the wide corridor all the way to the stairs. He skimmed his fingers along the banister as he descended, composing in his head what he’d say. Once he reached the bottom, he paused. The clock in the great hall chimed the hour. Three bells. He should be sleeping, not worrying about the hiccup in his love life.

He strolled toward the kitchen. With the stillness of the house, faint scuffing of feet on tile and the occasional clang of metal on metal reverberated through the hall. Goodness. Someone was still up. A muffled curse hastened his steps. He peeked in the small round window of the double door. Liz appeared to be alone. Her tousled curls were secured at the nape of her neck. Several tendrils floated around her face, and she brushed them from her cheek with the back of her hand. Her wire-rimmed glasses perched on the tip of her nose, precariously close to falling. A dab of green food coloring remained on her cheek.

She huffed, her chest rising and falling with the quick exhale, and she stepped back. He shifted to get a better view of what grabbed her attention. Rows and rows of flowers covered the table in front of her. He glanced to his left. Five cakes of varying sizes adorned the counter behind her. The smooth, white icing forms appeared to be petal shaped. Intrigued, he pressed his nose to the glass. This was different. He’d expected her to go with the earlier design, but this was a little more dramatic.

A metallic bang caused him to jump, and he snapped his focus back to Liz. Her brows knitted together while she pursed her lips. She stared at the bowl and then swiped at her face with the back of her hand. When she lifted one shoulder and dragged her cheek across the material, he realized she was crying.

Guilt sliced through his gut. This was indeed his fault. With a deep breath, he pushed through the doors. Her eyes widened while her jaw went slack.

“What do you want?” She sounded weary.

“You should go to bed.” He held her gaze before she turned back to the flower-covered table.

“I’ve got to finish these,” she mumbled, pinching off a piece of dough. She rolled it between her palms until it formed a small cone. He watched as she worked, a perfect rose growing with each flattened petal she applied to the conical base.

“Wow.” He glanced around the kitchen. Another table was covered in round and square pieces of chocolate. “All of this is going on the cake?”

She nodded.

He spied the design taped to a white board, and he wandered to it. The cake had more detail and smaller pieces than the first. He cast a sidelong glance in her direction. Did she even realize what she was doing? Somehow, this drawing surpassed the first and was much more fitting to what he had in mind for his sister. He opened his mouth to point this out, but when he turned, he clamped his lips shut.

She was crying again. Tears trickled down her cheeks, and she swatted them away with a shoulder shrug.

“That’s it,” Keegan said.

“Go away.”

He stalked to her, grasped her shoulders, and forced her to face him. “You’re crying.”

She knocked his hands away. “You would too, if you had to finish a cake that should’ve been finished hours ago. Or replace food for two hundred guests.”

“Well, it’s time you get some sleep.”

Her nostrils flared as she glared at him. “Go. Away.”

He shook his head. She was going to be pissed, but he didn’t see any other alternative. He bent his knees, scooped her up, and tossed her on his shoulder.

“Put me down.” Her voice raised an octave.

He slapped her bottom, and she yelped. “Be quiet. People are sleeping.”

“I’m not sleeping with you again.”

“Well, you are.” He carried her through the double doors and into the corridor. “You can’t even focus on what you’re doing. You need rest.”

She wiggled against him, and he brought his hand on her bottom again. She retaliated by smacking him in return.

“As much as I consider that foreplay, sleep is all I require tonight.” He mounted the stairs.

“Put me down. The blood is rushing to my head, and I already have a headache.”

He paused to set her on her feet. Indeed, her face was flushed. “You need to rest. A few hours to close your eyes won’t hurt either way.”

She folded her arms over her breasts. “I’m not sleeping with you.”

He planted a hand on the banister and the other on the wall. She’d have to go under him or knock him down the steps to get by. A flash of temper flickered through her irises before she firmed her lips, spun on her heel, and marched up the stairs.

He chuckled as he followed. “Turn right at the top and keep going to the last door on the left.”

She tossed a frosty glare over her shoulder but followed his directions. He closed the door behind them. “Do you have a bathroom so I can at least wash my hands?”

He pointed to a door on the far side of the room. Back straight and head held high, she crossed the room. A moment later, the door slammed shut. When she returned, she’d removed her chef’s coat to reveal another midriff-baring tank top.

“So now what?”

Keegan handed her a white tee. “You can have the bed. There’s a sofa in the other room. I’ll sleep there.”

She nodded.

“I’ll bring you something for your headache.” The door clicked.

When he returned a few moments later with a glass of water and two pain relievers, Liz was sprawled in the center of the bed. The thick fringe of her lashes rested on her cheeks. Lines of weariness etched deep in her face and, at the slow rise and fall of her chest, seemed to smooth. He placed the items on the bedside table and continued to watch her.

After a long while, he turned and went to bed down on the sofa. He could at least keep his promise about that.

* * * *

Dusty had woken Keegan with a cold bucket of water. Keegan had plans of retribution for his cousin. He could still hear the kid’s laugher fading thorough the halls as he sat up cleaning water from his eyes. When he looked around, the pain reliever, glass, and Liz were gone. Part of him had hoped that she’d have awakened him before she left, but no such luck.

Now Keegan was trying to steal a few minutes away from the prewedding festivities to check on Liz. Every time he tried to leave, someone would pull him back. Finally, he gave up. There would have to be a moment before the reception when he could find a minute or two to see her. He had to ask her how she was feeling.

No such luck, now that he was standing in the receiving line greeting a bunch of people he wouldn’t see until the next family function. All he wanted to do was rush to the kitchen and see Liz. His sister touched his sleeve. He looked down into her beaming face. Truly, he’d never seen her so happy.

“Have you seen the cake?” she asked.

“Not yet,”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything so beautiful. Liz truly outdid herself with that creation.”

“As soon as I get a chance, I’ll take a look.”

“You should slip away and check it out before we have to take pictures again.”

He nodded. Caroline was actually giving him permission to play hooky for a bit. “I’ll do that.”

“Ten minutes, Keegan. Don’t make me have to look for you.”

He laughed and threaded his way through the throng of guests. After dodging several small children and shaking hands with several adults, he burst through the double doors of the kitchen and stopped. The room was vacant. He continued through the room and out the back door. Two workers were carefully pushing a wheeled cart over the paved walkway. The cake seemed to fare well. He followed, admiring the way the two people maneuvered over the stones and managed to get the cake to the tent in one piece.

They stopped in front of a table, and he realized they still needed to transfer the cake from the cart to the purple linen-clad surface. He held his breath as the man and woman each grabbed a side and carefully moved the cake.

Keegan exhaled as the cake settled in place without a hitch. The man returned the cart while the woman stayed behind to adjust the cake just right on the table. She touched a couple of the flowers before glancing his way.

“She does beautiful work, doesn’t she?”

He nodded. “It’s breathtaking.”

“I can’t believe she created this in so little time, but when she gets an idea in her head, she just has to complete it.”

“This was what I expected to see on my sister’s wedding day,” he admitted.

She chuckled. “You must think those rumors are true.”

“Rumors?”

“Don’t play coy. You know exactly which rumors. You were arguing about it the other day.”

A slow smile creased his lips. “Okay. Yeah, the one where she predicts the longevity of the newlyweds,” Keegan admitted.

She flashed him a conspiratorial wink. “Between you, me, and this cake, I think the rumors are true. She’s put so much more detail into this one than the other.” The woman shrugged. “But then again, different groom, different cake. She even managed to change the menu around to suit their needs.”

Keegan scanned the area, now filling with guests. White-jacketed servers milled around bribing the guests with finger foods, but he didn’t see a caramel-skinned woman in a pink chef’s coat. “Where is your fearless leader?”

“She’s around somewhere. Probably at the grill or something searing the rest of the appetizers.”

He wanted to go find her, but a quick glance at his watch showed his ten minutes were up. Since he didn’t want to annoy his sister when she was so obviously happy, finding Liz would have to wait. He smiled at the petite woman. “Thanks. Would you let her know I need to speak with her?”

“Sure.”

With regret, he turned and went in search of the wedding party to take pictures.

Chapter Six

Everything since the Murphy wedding had been a blur, and that’s the way Liz wanted to keep it. She’d left as soon as the last pan of leftovers was covered and didn’t bother to find Keegan to say good-bye. Not that it mattered anyway. When she was too tired to ward off the memories of their lovemaking, an ache twisted her heart, and she longed to be in his arms again. It didn’t help that every time she arrived at work there was a new bouquet of flowers waiting for her. The man was persistent.

She slammed the heavy butcher knife across the wide brick of dark chocolate on the cutting board. The dull clang reverberated through the kitchen, and several workers turned in her direction.

“What did that chocolate ever do to you?” George asked, a teasing note in his voice.

“She’s upset over her boyfriend,” Dee chimed in.

Embarrassment crept into Liz’s cheeks. “I don’t have a boyfriend,” she mumbled and hacked off another chunk of chocolate.

“Then who keeps sending you all those pretty flowers?” Dee asked.

Liz bit her lip against the answer, and another chunk of chocolate joined the first few pieces.

“You know we have another party at that estate,” George said.

Liz snapped her head up and stared at the man in disbelief. “What? Why?”

“It’s on the schedule. There’s some sort of dinner party up there this weekend to welcome the newlyweds back.”

She didn’t bother to stifle her groan. “It’s not too late for them to get another caterer for that event. We’ll just accept a loss on this job. Darling will understand.”

“Well, they specifically asked for you, and you know how it is during this season. All other companies are booked solid.”

Liz lifted a brow.

“After all the friction the first time, I anticipated your reaction about going back to the Murphy estate.” George grinned.

Dee perched on a stool. “You know that the bride’s brother was rather sad when he couldn’t find you. Maybe there’s something more to that friction.”

Liz bowed her head as heat once again seared her cheeks. “That man was a royal pain in my backside.” She walked to the schedule. The weight of their combined stares was heavy on her back. Indeed they were scheduled for another fun-filled weekend, but this time only fifty people would be in attendance. As long as Keegan wasn’t around, she could get through the weekend. She didn’t think she was strong enough to walk away without saying good-bye again.

Somehow, he’d moved from being just a mild fling to her dreaming about his body. That last night, the way he forced her to stop working and made her sleep; the old Keegan wouldn’t have done that. A faint smile creased her lips. She had been a little hasty and angry when he and the groom destroyed the kitchen.

This time there would be no wedding, but there would be Keegan. The question was, could she resist his charms when all she wanted to do was sit back and enjoy the moment?

* * * *

Keegan sat on the porch swing nursing a beer. For a week, he couldn’t stop thinking about Liz. At any time, he could’ve gone to her job, but he’d sent flowers. He wanted to see if maybe she’d contact him first. When she didn’t, he couldn’t quite disregard the disappointment rolling around in his gut. Now she would be at the estate again.

Tires crunched over the freshly graded gravel driveway, and he lowered the bottle to watch the progress of the pale-blue-paneled van as it ambled up the drive. His heart thumped a little harder against his rib cage. The van stopped, completed a half circle, and then backed up to the kitchen door before it cut off. Silence reigned while the slow tick of an engine could be heard.