Give Me Butterflies (Oaks Sisters #1)

Chapter 17

Finn

Standing at the entrance to the kitchen, I watch Millie as she helps the girls measure sugar into the bowl of her new mixer.

Ave and El sit on the counter on either side of the mixer, dancing and singing along with the Disney music that fills the

house.

No matter how hard I try, I can’t take my eyes off them. There’s nothing that can hold my attention like Millie and the girls.

They’ve put some sort of spell on me.

I went to three different stores looking for that mixer yesterday before game night, trying to find some way to thank her

for everything she’s done for us.

Maybe I wanted to be the one to put that beautiful smile on her face.

I think I’m addicted to it.

Add it to the ever-growing list of things about Millie that I’m addicted to.

The sound of her laugh, her teasing, her magnetic energy, the tilt of her lips when she’s feeling sassy, her lemony scent,

and the feeling of her lips on my neck from yesterday.

I’m starting to think the list will never end.

And I’m so fucking done trying to convince myself I want it to.

El drops an egg on the ground with a splat . “Oopsie,” Millie sings. “I wish Pepper was here to clean that up for us.”

“You should bring her next time,” Avery says, licking her finger and dipping it in a pile of spilled sugar on the counter.

Millie wipes the egg up with a towel and helps El crack the next one into the bowl. “That’s up to Uncle Finn. When I’m cooking

at home, I drop a lot, so Pepper’s always right by my feet.”

“Uncle Finn likes dogs. He’ll say you can bring her every day,” Eloise says as she watches Avery’s sugar method and mimics

it.

I wish Millie could be here in our house every day.

That thought crashes into my chest, and I can’t breathe around it.

Millie’s eyes catch mine in the doorway, and I force myself to say something before she realizes I’m standing here watching

them like a lovesick puppy.

“Let’s order some dinner. What sounds good?” I ask, approaching their spot at the counter.

Millie licks her finger, hips swaying to the beat, and dips it in the sugar on the counter. “We’re having cookies for dinner.”

She pops her finger into her mouth and smiles around it.

Fuck me. I want to be that finger.

My jaw clenches, and I have to school my face to remain neutral.

Eloise raises her arms in the air and chants, “Cookies for dinner, cookies for dinner!”

They’re conspiring against me, and I can’t even find it in myself to care as I narrow my eyes at the three of them. “Let’s

make a deal. I’ll order some fried rice, and you can each have one cookie before it gets here, then more after you eat your

dinner.”

Millie leans in toward Avery and Eloise, and they whisper behind their hands. I fight a battle with my eyes, willing them

not to wander over her mouthwatering curves.

But I lose.

The girls nod and make a few sounds of approval before Mil lie turns with a serious expression, acting as the ambassador for their trio.

“Deal.” She offers her hand, and I shake it, a few grains of sugar gritty on her fingertips. The girls giggle behind her.

“Thanks for doing business with us.” She nods and then winks at me conspiratorially.

***

“This is a great house. It seems perfect for you guys,” Millie says, sitting on the counter by the oven as she waits on the

timer for the first batch of cookies.

The girls have distracted themselves with coloring books and crayons in the living room while we wait for dinner to arrive.

I finish wiping down the counter and rinse the rag in the sink, trying to keep my hands occupied with cleanup. The busier

I stay, the less likely I am to give in and touch Millie. Lust has been running rampant through my veins since my fingers

grazed her collarbone, and I don’t know how much longer I can avoid doing it again.

“Has it always been just the three of you here?” she asks.

“Yes. I’d recently broken up with my girlfriend when I bought it. We’d been dating for a few months, and we were starting

to talk about buying a house together, but she didn’t like the direction my life was going. She didn’t want to sign on to

live with two little girls.” I turn to lean against the counter and take a deep breath, realizing it still makes me angry

to think about that conversation. “Blessing in disguise. I found this house a few days after she left. It all worked out the

way it was supposed to.”

She twists her lips before asking, “Have you dated anyone since then?”

“No.”

“Why? I mean, if you feel comfortable telling me.” A blush stains her cheeks, like she’s embarrassed to ask, and it’s so fucking

cute.

I rub my jaw and let my eyes trace her delicate freckles, emerald eyes, and those beautiful, full lips. “I haven’t wanted to.”

Until you.

“Oh.” She dips her fingers into the bowl of cookie dough, bringing a clump to her mouth, and her tongue darts out to catch

it. I’m completely riveted as her pink lips wrap around her fingertip before she glides it back out.

I clear my throat. “How’s the dough?”

She takes another chunk from the bowl and moans at the taste this time, and I go light-headed.

Fuck.

“It’s so good,” she says, completely oblivious to what she’s putting me through.

It’s torture, yet I can’t pull my gaze away from her mouth.

She picks up another chunk of dough, and all my restraint dissolves in an instant.

Fuck it.

I take two steps toward her, my hips bumping into her knees. My hand shoots out to grab her wrist, and her eyes dart to mine.

Holding her gaze, I pull her cookie-dough-covered thumb to my mouth and wrap my lips around it. Her eyes flare and her jaw

falls open. I slide my tongue down her finger, catching the sweet dough and letting it melt in my mouth.

“Mmm.” The sound is raspy, scraping out of my chest.

Millie stutters a breath, and I let my tongue swipe over her sweet skin one more time. Her pupils are blown wide, a thin ring

of forest green around them as I slip her finger out of my mouth with a pop . A scarlet blush floods her cheeks, and when I follow the color down her neck, I find her chest rising and falling quickly.

My focus narrows to her lips, and I drift closer, desperate to taste her—

Beep. Beep. Beep.