The Billionaire’s Burden(12)

"You can't cook?" I asked, groaning as I rubbed my fingers against my forehead, "We're screwed, then."

"You don't know anyone who can work a kitchen?" He asked, moving closer to take a peek at the recipe book.

"Not anyone looking for a job." I sighed, "I guess we're just going to have to figure this out ourselves. Keep that front door locked, we're closed today." Maybe for much longer than a day, honestly.

"Aye, aye, captain." Lewis sighed begrudgingly, placing his coffee down as he clapped his hands together, rubbing his palms as he attempted not to look completely miserable, "Where do we start?"

"Muffins." I said firmly, "That should be easy enough, right?"

Harry made it look easy, anyway. The thought of his blueberry buttermilk muffins practically made my mouth water.

That man was definitely a magician in the kitchen.

"Sure." Lewis shrugged, eyes completely uncertain.

We stood, shoulder to shoulder, staring intently down at my mother's recipe, trying to make sense of the words and directions.

Neither of us knew how to decode what felt like an ancient language full of ‘cups’ and ‘sifting’ and ‘jelly roll pans.’

"Why do they mix the wet and the dry ingredients separately first?" Lewis asked, leaning over to whisper in my ear as though he were worried the ghostly spirits of my parents would leap out and strike him down for questioning them.

"I have no idea." I responded, grabbing two bowls and placing them in front of us, "But I’m sure that’s not important."

Lewis frowned at me, shaking his head as I handed him a large sack of flour.

"It won't be too bad." I said again, "Everything will be fine."





Chapter Seven





Everything was most certainly not fine in the bakery that afternoon.

By the time Lewis and I were finished burning dozens of brick like muffins, the kitchen counters were heavily coated in flour, batter was stuck to the roof, and we were exhausted.

We sat there, in the middle of the kitchen, leaning dejectedly against the back of the counters with a plate of rock-hard defeat between us.

"This has been a disaster." I moaned, turning to face him, "Why did I think I could really do this?"

I'd driven the bakery into the ground for the entirety of last year, how had I thought it would turn out any differently now?

I was a stupid, silly little girl.

"That’s not true." Lewis responded sternly, pointing a finger at me, "We discovered something today."

"What?" I asked, pushing away the plate of overly crispy muffins. I didn’t want to look at them anymore

"We discovered that neither of us is ever going to be a baker." He chuckled, wincing as I slapped playfully at his shoulder.

"This isn't the time for making jokes!" I exclaimed, laughing through a pout, "We're going to kill this bakery...again!"

He laughed, a deep belly laugh that rocked all the way through him. It was infectious, causing me to spiral into mirth as well. Sometimes ,when things look their worse, you need laughter more than anything.

When we finally stopped, he leaned closer, wiping a tear from his eye.

"We should clean up." He said quietly, "If Alissa saw this she'd lose her mind."

"You're right." I responded, suddenly all too aware of how close we were sitting.

Our knees brushed, feeling of his leg against mine sending sparkles of startled heat through my body.

Though we spoke of getting up, neither of us moved.

My eyes trailed up from where our legs touched, trekking over the hills of his flour stained pants and button up shirt. Below the fabric, I could see just a hint of strong muscled chest.

When my gaze reached his face, he was staring at me.

"You have something here..." He murmured, warm fingertips brushing against my cheek as crumbs fell.

His hand remained though, blossoms of heat blooming somewhere inside of me.

I swallowed thickly, only able to watch as Lewis’s striking face slowly descended towards mine, green eyes heady.

A sudden knocking against the front door sent both of launching apart. I hurriedly jumped to my feet, scrambling towards the locked front door.

Through the glass, I could see the dark eyes of my mother in law curiously staring inside.

Hurriedly, I opened the door for her, heart beating too fast and head too fuzzy to process the usual discontent I felt at seeing the woman unexpectedly.

"Good morning." Karina said primly, giving a curt nod at Lewis, who still hung behind the counter.

"Morning." I replied, trying not to voice the total confusion that swirled inside of me like a storm, "What are you doing here?"

"I heard that you were revamping this place...again." She added, with an arch of her eyebrow, "Was Alissa's work not up to par?"