Chapter 13
“When will you be here?I’m running out of time.” Pippa paced her kitchen and glanced at the clock.
“I’m turning down your street right now. Why do you need ten pounds of powdered sugar, anyway? Are you planning on making it look like you’ve had a blizzard in your apartment or something?”
She pulled the drapes away from her window and stared down the street as his truck pulled into view. Pippa hung up without giving him an answer. She hurried out the door and met him as he pulled up in front of her building.
He carried the sugar in two bags, and she pulled one from his hand. “Come with me.”
“You still haven’t told me why you wanted so much sugar,” he called after her.
“You’ll see,” she shouted over her shoulder. Thankfully, she’d had enough butter in her fridge. Pippa dumped the bag onto the counter just as Rob entered her kitchen.
His chuckle wasn’t as amusing as she would have thought it to be if she wasn’t stressing out.
Pippa motioned wildly to a knife on the counter nearby. “Hand that over.”
Rob picked up the paring knife and held it away from her, a smirk on his face. “Whatever’s going on, I assure you don’t have to resort to violence.”
She gave him a flat look. “I need to open the sugar.”
“Well, what did it ever do to you? It’s innocent in all of this.”
A groan escaped her lips and she spun around to grab a steak knife instead. “If you’re not going to be any help, then you might as well leave.”
“You haven’t told me what’s going on. How can I help if I don’t know what you need?”
“I needed that knife,” she said.
“Okay, okay,” he laughed, “I get it.” He glanced around and his eyes landed on the table, where she’d set out dozens of cookies on cooling racks. “Oh,” he drawled. “I get it now.”
Pippa wiped a stray strand of hair from her face with the back of her forearm. “Yeah. It’s a mess. I don’t know what I was thinking when I agreed to make the cookies for the Christmas party at Molly’s school.”
“You were probably thinking you wanted to help your niece. Besides, you’ve probably had this figured out all month long. You’re frazzled because you didn’t have the sugar.”
His voice was probably supposed to be calming, but it only confirmed that she’d made a mistake. Pippa shot him a look, and that was all it took for him to realize what had really happened. She didn’t even have to tell him that she’d offered to help on a whim.
“No,” he said with a chuckle. “You’re kidding.”
“I haven’t said anything,” she muttered under her breath.
“You didn’t have to. Please tell me that the woman who plans everything down to the tiniest detail didn’t actually sign up for something on short notice.”
She glowered at him. “I mean it, Rob. If you aren’t going to help, you might as well leave.”
“What do you need?”
Pippa glanced at him once more, surprised by his willingness to jump in though she was acting so unhinged he’d be smarter to pass. She pointed to the butter she hadn’t unwrapped yet.
“I need you to put three cubes of butter into the stainless-steel bowl over there and then we’ll add the sugar little by little. We’ll need a quarter cup of milk and some vanilla.”
“I’ll be honest with you, I’m not sure what vanilla is.”
She gaped at him.
“Kidding!” He laughed again, earning himself another dark look.
Pippa got all the ingredients mixed up and started adding the colors. She had Christmas trees, stars, candy canes, and Santa hats to decorate before tomorrow morning. It was going to be a long night.
During the next hour, Rob made himself useful by taking the trays of completed cookies and transferring them to the pastry boxes she’d had him assemble. They worked it out to where they became a well-oiled machine. There wasn’t a moment when she was left waiting for a spot to put her next cookie or when he didn’t have something to keep him busy.
Every so often, she’d catch herself staring at him from across the kitchen. If she wasn’t so worked up, she might have chuckled at the way the strong cowboy gently handled her cookies. Each one was placed with care and not a single one was ruined.
The more they got done, the less stressed she became. She was able to ease up on her pace. During a lull, she paused and glanced in his direction.
“Thank you.”
He looked up at her and she saw something familiar filter through his expression. “Any time.”
“Were you really at the grocery store when I called you?”
Rob placed a lid on the box he had just filled, walked around the counter, and leaned his hip against it. “Would it matter if I wasn’t?”
She attempted to hide her smile. “Please tell me you didn’t go out of your way to pick up powdered sugar from the store for a project I wasn’t prepared for.”
“Okay, I won’t.”
“Rob!”
“What? I promise not to tell you that I wasn’t anywhere near the grocery store.”
She dragged a hand down her face. “If I had known?—”
“I would have done it anyway.”
His whisper was so close she jumped. Pippa whirled to face him, unable to comprehend how he’d managed to get beside her so quickly without making a sound. He traced the back of his finger along her jaw. She shuddered at his touch, then leaned into it.
Rob grasped her chin with his finger and thumb, and she closed her eyes in anticipation of his kiss. But it didn’t come. When she opened her eyes, she found him watching her with a gaze that had her body flushing with heat.
“I”d do anything for you,” he said and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “How about we finish up these cookies and then we watch that movie you mentioned the other night.”
She nodded, unable to find the words to respond. Her eyes followed him as he picked up a tray of freshly frosted cookies and took it to his boxing station. He gave her a smile and she returned it with one of her own.
Their relationship felt so real. Though they were treating it like it might be temporary, Pippa couldn’t deny that what she had with Rob was more than anything she’d had with any other guy.
The smile refused to leave her face as they finished up the cookies. Rob placed the final box on the stack while she got to work washing the bowls and the knives she’d used to frost them.
As planned, they settled in front of the television with a bowl of popcorn and mugs of peppermint hot chocolate. Pippa only got halfway into the movie before she snuggled into the crook of his arm and allowed herself to give in to the welcoming warmth he offered. She rested her cheek against his chest, her mind wandering.
“Why did you decide to move here?” She asked the question before she thought too hard about it. But the second he stiffened, she wondered if she had asked about another thing he wasn’t comfortable discussing.
“That’s a weird question,” Rob drawled.
“Not really. I don’t think you’ve ever really explained it. You could have gone anywhere. Why here?” She craned her head around to get a better look at his face. His thoughtful expression was adorable, and she had to bite her tongue to prevent herself from telling him so.
Rob’s fingers trailed up and down her arm, sending fresh waves of goosebumps through her body. “I suppose it was a good first step.”
Pippa didn’t know what that was supposed to mean. Was he planning on leaving—moving on to something else? They hadn’t cleared up what his plans were for the future.
“A first step?” she asked in a small voice.
“Sure. I worked with my dad for the people who not only hired him but me as well. That was the only job I had ever had until I got that job on campus when I was going to school. Everyone knew me, but they also knew my dad. I guess I got tired of always being Mr. Clifford’s son.” Rob made a face and smiled down at her. “In Sweet Bloom, I have the chance to carve out my own path, but I’m not completely alone.”
She waited, holding her breath in anticipation of him telling her that he didn’t feel alone because he had her. There would be no misinterpreting something like that. If he told her he came here for her, or that he had strong feelings for her, maybe she would finally find the courage to tell him the same.
Unfortunately, Rob didn’t do that. He continued caressing her arm as he turned his attention back to the television.
It was fine. He hadn’t been here a full month. How could she expect him to bare his soul to her so soon? Rob had been a ladies’ man when they were younger. He hadn’t wanted to settle down. If someone had asked her for the name of a man who didn’t have a plan for the future—who was perfectly content to play his entire life by ear, she would have said Rob’s name.
Now, things had changed. He had appeared to look at the world a little differently. The man who had preferred to remain under the supervision and protection of his family was now venturing out on his own.
It was a nice change of pace. It meant he was growing up.
And it made her like him more.
Rob gazed down at her again and gave her a crooked smile. “I bet you weren’t expecting that answer, were you?”
She scooted closer to him even though she hadn’t thought it was possible. “I’ve long since given up trying to predict what you’re going to do next. You always surprise me.”
He grimaced. “I hope that’s a good thing.”
Pippa placed a hand to his cheek. “While it’s true I like to plan ahead, I know when it’s a good thing to be surprised. It’s like the food at the restaurant. When a chef plans a new dish and I get to try it for the first time, it can be a wonderful experience.”
Rob snorted.
“What?” She laughed, pulling away to get a good look at him. “Trying new foods is one of the best parts.”
He shook his head. “It’s not that. I get it, you like to try new stuff. But tell me this, have you ever had to spit something out because it wasn’t quite right? Maybe they put too much salt in it or something?”
“Sure, but that’s part of the process. Not everything can be a winner. Sometimes you have to close your eyes, plug your nose, and hope for the best.”
Rob laughed. It was one of the best sounds she’d heard all night. He pulled her back into his arms and rested his cheek on the top of her head.
“I’m glad I don’t have to deal with those sorts of surprises. I’d much rather go to work knowing exactly what to expect.”
This time, it was her turn to laugh. When he gave her a strange look, she shook her head. “What have you done with Rob? Because the Rob I knew would have never said that.”
“Can’t I appreciate knowing what’s coming next? I’m just saying what you were saying. Maybe you’ve rubbed off on me.”
She rested her cheek against his chest once more. “Maybe we’ve rubbed off on each other.”