Chapter Twenty-One
Theo
Sidesgiving was an unprecedented success.
Since the meal included only our favorite items, there was no need to gorge on things we didn’t like just to be polite, leaving room for all the things we loved.
Esther’s sweet potato dish was to die for, the stuffing came out perfect, and the blissful look on her face when she bit into one of my homemade dinner rolls had my body clenching with desire.
It was the best Thanksgiving dinner I’d ever had. Sharing it with Esther was certainly the deciding factor.
Once we’d finished the meal, cleaned up, and finally enjoyed the apple pie that had been a joint effort when we came back to the guest house after the dog show, we collapsed onto Esther’s bed to recover from eating so much. We lay there, side by side, only our fingers entwined.
Long after the sun had set, Esther rolled toward me without saying a word.
I mirrored her movement, turning into her arms as they wrapped around me, finding her lips in the darkness.
A hint of cinnamon lingered on her tongue, and I spent what felt like centuries exploring that sweetness before her hands tugged at my tee.
We moved together in silence, like it was all part of a hazy fantasy instead of real life. Even my name on her lips when she came was barely more than a breath, a magic spell weaving its way around us both.
I drifted off there in her arms, my head on her breast as I slid into sleep, where soft swirls of vanilla and peppermint soaked deep into my soul, twining there like ivy.
For the first time I could remember, I wanted to stay right where I was instead of walking away, consequences be damned.
I awoke to the weak morning sunlight gilding Esther’s skin under my cheek. The only sign she was awake was the soft scrape of her nails along my scalp. Turning my head, I pressed a kiss to her golden skin and then met her gaze, warm and sleepy.
“Good morning, sweetness.”
“Morning.”
Her fingers stayed in my hair as I trailed my lips across her torso, pausing only for the briefest moment when she arched upward as I licked her nipples into tight peaks before moving down her ribs, trailing kisses over the soft swell of her stomach.
The dreamy haze persisted even when I settled my mouth between her legs, teasing until her breathless cries and tugging fingers pulled me up over her body.
Some amount of time later—an hour, a day, a lifetime—Esther declared it was time to get to work.
After a quick breakfast of coffee and leftover apple pie, during which her sated expression never faded, I ran back to the house to feed Toni. When I returned, Esther was already setting out everything we needed.
Fortunately for both of us, I was much better at sprinkling candy cane shards and placing mini vegan marshmallows than I was at actually frosting cupcakes.
I made Esther describe each flavor so I could recognize them on sight, but she went a step further and set aside one of each of the offerings for the tree lighting for me to sample throughout the day.
Delicious as everything was, I was grateful she chose limited menus for events like this. My blood sugar couldn’t handle the dozens of options she offered on custom orders.
Watching her work was fascinating. She got this look of intense concentration on her face as she added artistic touches and printed labels on decorative cardstock. When she pulled out a bright pink folder to hold a stack of printouts, I raised a brow.
“What’s that for?”
Esther’s teeth were caught on her lower lip as she sorted and paperclipped them into some kind of order.
“Ingredient lists and allergy protocols. Most of my customers have already spoken to me about that stuff in the past, so they trust that I know what I’m doing, but sometimes I get people visiting from out of town or who have newly diagnosed allergies and are still navigating.
It helps to have something they can look over so they can make a decision. ”
I paused in my garnishing to smile at her. “Have I told you that you’re amazing?”
With a snort, she said, “Only six or seven times this week.”
That feeling spilled through my veins again, the tender rush of affection for this woman who’d been through so much and still had so much to give to others. I thought back to the night I’d called her bait for my parents’ trap, but that wasn’t it at all.
She was a promise, a treasure at the end of a long quest. My heart clenched painfully in my chest.
This treasure is not for you.
I almost argued with that quiet voice in my head, but what was there to say? No attachments, no pain—that was how I lived. Esther had given no indication she wanted anything more than what we’d agreed to, but she’d made it clear her life was here in Spruce Hill.
Apparently, I’d been frozen in place long enough for her to notice. “You okay?” she asked. “I can finish those up if you have other things to do.”
“No, I’m good. I’m almost done,” I assured her, smiling until her concerned expression softened.
We made it through the remainder of the preparations, loaded them into the refrigerator in her back hall, and took a break to eat sandwiches on the loveseat. When we finished, Esther curled against my side and I toyed with a lock of hair that had slipped from her braid.
As my fingertips brushed over the back of her neck, she snuggled closer and sighed contentedly. “That feels good.”
“I could spend all day exploring your skin,” I murmured.
“Mmm. I’ll write you in for tomorrow, then,” she replied, peering up to grin at me. “We do have most of the day before the event.”
I laughed and kissed the tip of her nose. “I can think of a few activities to kill time.”
She rose to her feet and held out a hand, saying, “Then by all means, let’s get some practice in before tomorrow.”
I caught her fingers in mine, kissed the inside of her wrist, and followed her to the bedroom.
Saturday passed in much the same fashion, a mixture of preparations for the evening’s event and abandoning our duties to explore one another—and it seemed like every exploration led to some new discovery, whether it was a position Esther didn’t even realize she enjoyed or a quiet moment that burrowed deep under my skin, settling dangerously close to my heart.
We crawled out of bed for a shower and a makeshift dinner, changed into our matching Nutless Wonder tees, and loaded the food truck with all of the night’s offerings. Once we were back inside, I kept my boots on and gestured toward the house.
“I’ll feed the queen before we go. Anything else I need to bring tonight?”
Esther moved to the kitchen to take a peek at her checklist. “Just a coat for when we go watch the lighting, I think.”
Before I left, I came up behind her, wrapped my arms around her middle, and kissed the side of her neck. She hummed and leaned back against me, folding her arms over mine. We stayed that way until she finally glanced over her shoulder with a smirk.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m going,” I muttered. “Tomorrow, though, you’re mine. No interruptions, no baking, no work intruding.”
The radiance of her smile warmed me to my core as she turned in my arms and rested her chin against my chest to beam up at me. “That’s the best offer I’ve had all year,” she teased, then shooed me out the door.
Toni ignored me completely as I prepared her dinner, though she allowed me to give her a few quick pets before swishing her tail in my face.
For a moment, guilt tugged at me for leaving her alone so much these last few days, but whenever we came to the house, she stayed several yards away from wherever we were sitting.
Still, I decided to see if Esther was open to spending some nights in my bed, even if hers had become my new favorite hideaway.
I grabbed my coat and made my way back to the guest house, waiting in the clear, cold night while Esther locked the door behind us. We hopped up into the food truck and headed toward town.
Though the event didn’t officially start for another hour, there were already people milling about in Town Park when we arrived.
Esther carefully maneuvered the truck along the service road, following the orange-vested volunteer’s directions to our assigned spot.
The sight of kids chasing each other around the playground at the edge of the grass threw me straight back to my childhood.
I jerked myself from the memories when Esther turned off the engine and followed my line of sight.
Together, we watched for another minute, then she quietly asked, “Do you want kids?” At my startled look, she flushed. “Not with me. I meant in general. Someday.”
“Maybe someday,” I hedged. “You?”
For a long moment, she was silent. I started to think she wasn’t going to answer when she gave a tiny shrug and unbuckled her seatbelt. “Maybe.”
The way she said it made me think there was a lot more to her feelings on the subject, but she hopped out of the driver’s seat to open the back of the truck and started sorting through the carefully organized desserts on tonight’s menu.
I followed more slowly, giving her a few extra seconds of privacy, if that was what she needed.
The temptation to simply fold her back into my arms was strong, but I forced myself to resist.
We got everything set up, including a cash box and Esther’s iPad for credit card purchases. The evening was chilly, and though it hadn’t snowed yet, the promise of it hung in the air. When Esther paused to inhale deeply, I offered a fond smile instead of teasing her about it.
She wrinkled her nose at me and busied herself with making sure the chalkboard menu on the outside of the truck’s serving window was updated and smudge-free.
The residents of Spruce Hill took their townwide festivities very seriously; before long, the park was teeming with people.
Strings of lights delineated the row of food trucks and vendors before opening wide to the green in front of a huge eastern white pine.
There were a few carnival-type games set up down the lane and Christmas music played from speakers dotting the area.
“This is much cooler than I remember from when I was a kid,” I said after she handed a small box of cupcakes to a family of four.
She batted her lashes at me. “Does that mean you’re going to win me a teddy bear before the night is through?”
I glanced over at the games, then flexed my biceps dramatically for her. “Hell yes it does,” I vowed, winking when she laughed.
“Purple is an excellent color on you, by the way.”
“Not as good as it is on you. In fact, after careful consideration, I know what dessert I’m going to choose at the end of the night,” I murmured into her ear.
“Oh, do you?” she asked. Her eyes shone like discs of pure moonlight as she blinked up at me with wide-eyed innocence.
Behind the counter, hidden from view, I cupped my hand over the curve of her ass and kneaded lightly. “Oh, yes, Esther, I do.”