18. Pecker
Chapter 18
Pecker
Hopping up on the stainless-steel counter, I watch the woman I love scurry around the kitchen with Sydney. She’s so happy and in her element. I don’t think her smile could get any larger. She’s talking with her hands and is so animated. I can't look away no matter how hard I try.
“Uncle Peck! Aren't you going to play with us?” Bree groans as she tugs on my shirt.
“Nope. I'm watching my girl,” I mumble, barely paying attention to her.
This is a rare thing. Normally if Bree and Danny are around, I'm right there with them. I’d do anything to make them happy, but right now, I'm too focused on Soph and making sure she’s ok.
“C’mon, Bree. I told you I wanted you to play with me.” Danny takes her hand in his and leads her over to Sydney’s office.
Sometimes when I can't watch the kids, Sydney will let them hang out in there while she’s working. She’s a great mom and tries to make sure it doesn’t happen often because she doesn’t want them to get bored and hate being at the shop. She’s hoping as they get older, they’ll want to work here and help. It would be a dream come true for her.
“Are you going to help or what, Peck?” Sydney plants her hands on her hips and smirks at me.
“I'm too busy watching this beauty.” I motion to my girl.
“I never thought I’d see the day a woman brought you to your knees,” she teases.
“I haven’t dropped to my knees yet.”
As soon as the words fall from my lips, Sophia’s gaze snaps to me and she watches me carefully.
That’s right, sweetheart, I said yet. I plan on dropping to them soon though.
“Oh! Do you know those DNA things you can do? And they can tell you if you have a long lost relative?”
“Yeah, what about it?”
“I did one of them! I was talking to my friend about how we could have a cousin or something out there and she bought the DNA test for my birthday. I’m just waiting on the results.”
“Syd, anyone you match with isn't going to want anything to do with us.” I roll my eyes. “We’re complete strangers to them.”
“I don’t know about that,” Sophia mumbles as she pipes some macaroons onto the baking sheet. She’s so focused I'm surprised she’s even paying attention to us.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, my brother-in-law would probably love it if he met someone he was related to. His parents died when he was little and he has no family that he knows of.”
“You mean other than Mulberry Lane?” I smirk.
“Yes.” She rolls her eyes. “He’ll always have Mulberry Lane… Though he didn’t really for a while, but that’s a different story.” She waves her hand in the air like she’s erasing the comment from existence. I make a mental note to ask her about it later.
“What do you need distant relatives for if you have Mulberry Lane?”
“You can never have too much family, Peck. You can never have too many people in your corner or too many people going to bat for you. It’s hard to explain, but when you grow up like that, it’s difficult to understand how anyone can go through life without a family like mine.”
“It’s only ever been us,” Syd says softly. “Our entire lives it’s been Pecker, our parents, and me. No one else.”
“And we’ve been fine. I'm not saying don’t reach out if you match with someone, I'm just saying don’t hold your breath. They might not want to talk to you, Syd.”
The phone rings in Sydney’s office and she rushes off to answer it, leaving me alone with Sophia.
Sophia pops her tray in the oven, then washes her hands. She flips her head over and gathers her long hair before securing it in a high ponytail. She looks adorable with the ends swishing around her shoulders as she moves around.
I hop off the counter and stalk over to her. She’s already working on something else. She’s been like a machine since she entered this kitchen. I know Sydney had a lot of orders, but I can't imagine there can be that many more to do with how quickly and seamlessly they’re working together.
I snake an arm around her waist and lean down to press a soft kiss to the side of her neck. I couldn’t wait a second longer. Just seeing her bare neck was making me crave kissing her there.
“Peck, I'm trying to work,” she groans.
“Yeah, but I'm trying to kiss you,” I murmur against her skin.
“Your sister is watching us.” She giggles.
“She’s in her office, plus I couldn’t care less. Will you at least stay over again tonight so I can spend some time alone with you?”
“I'm not sure you could keep me away,” she whimpers as I suck on the soft skin right behind her ear.
“Then I’ll sit on the counter like a good boy and watch you work.” I release my hold on her and hop back onto the cool metal.
“You could just help us.”
“I’ll box things up when they’re ready. That’s normally my specialty. I can cook, but I can't bake, sweetheart.” I wink at her.
“He’s not wrong! He nearly burnt down my shop last time he tried to help. He’s allowed to decorate, but that’s it. He’s surprisingly good at decorating.” Sydney rolls his eyes. “It drives me crazy. And he’s a master at making recipes taste better!”
“What’s this?” I ask as Sophia places a tiny box in front of me and Sydney.
“Open it and find out.” She grins and takes a step back.
Lifting the lid, I find a piece of baklava and a beautifully decorated cupcake. I peek up at Sophia through my lashes and grin.
“This looks delicious, babe.”
“Thank you, but let’s wait and see what you think after you eat it.”
“Oh my gosh!” Sydney groans, letting her head fall backwards. I stare at her with a grimace. “What are you staring at me for?”
“I never want to hear that noise come out of your mouth again.” I take a step away from her, making Sophia giggle. “Sisters shouldn’t make that noise. However, Sophia’s free to do it whenever she wants.”
“Sophia’s someone’s sister,” Sydney points out. “Three someone’s in fact.”
“First off, don’t remind me. Second, she’s not my sister, so it doesn’t count.”
“Should I call Jax, Cody, and Wyatt? I could ask for their opinions.” Sophia smiles up at me sweetly.
“Not unless you want my face bashed in. Something tells me they wouldn’t hesitate to drive here and beat me up.”
“Holy crap, this icing!” Sydney stares down at the cupcake like it’s the most delicious thing she’s ever eaten.
“Will you stop shoving things in your mouth so fast? I haven’t gotten a chance to taste any of it yet.”
“It’s not my fault you won't stop yapping,” she mumbles around the massive bite of cupcake she’s chewing.
“And you wonder why your children chew like cows,” I mutter under my breath. “They learned it from you.”
I lift the baklava to my lips and take a big bite of it. It’s crispy and buttery, full of flavor, with the perfect amount of honey. I eye Sophia as I chew, wondering how she learned to bake like this. This is a gift she’s been given and she needs to share it with the world.
I don’t say a word as I swallow and place the other half of the baklava back in the box. I grab the cupcake and carefully peel off the wrapper. Lifting it to my mouth, I lick the icing like it’s an ice cream cone and my eyes widen, yet I still don’t say a word. Taking a large bite, I let the flavors wash over my tastebuds. There are so many ingredients working together to create the most amazing carrot cake I’ve ever had, but that cream cheese icing takes it to a whole other level.
“Oh my gosh! Can you just tell me what you think? I’m over here sweating bullets, wondering if my boyfriend likes my baking.”
“Is it a deal breaker if I don’t?” I arch a brow, watching her carefully. Her face falls and all of the excitement leaves her body. Her shoulders hunch as she wraps her arms around her waist and I instantly feel terrible for screwing with her.
“No,” she whispers softly.
“Well, it should be. Because that’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever eaten. I wanted to moan, but I figured since I yelled at Sydney for doing that, I’d get scolded if I do. I don’t know who taught you to bake like that, but you’re amazing, baby.” I sweep her into my arms and spin her in a circle.
“You don’t hate it?” She peers up at me with a smile wanting to break across her lips, but she isn't letting it.
“Soph, I love it. I'm wondering exactly how much I'll have to add to my workout schedule so I don’t gain fifty pounds from eating your desserts.” I slowly let her slide down my body until her feet are on the ground.
“You already eat a ton of desserts.” She rolls her eyes.
“Yeah, but yours are better than Sydney’s, so I’ll want to eat even more.”
“Pecker! That’s so mean!” She swats at my chest, a frown marring her perfect features.
“Um, no it’s not. I'm Sydney and even I say you’re a better baker than me. You need to open your own bakery, Soph.”
“You’ve only tried two things.”
“Peck, grab a couple glasses of milk. We need to try everything she made.” Sydney claps her hands like a queen handing out orders to a bunch of her servants, but I couldn’t care less. I want to see what else my girl made.
“It’s official. I should quit my job because I’ve never baked anything better than Sophia.” Sydney pushes her empty plate away and shakes her head in disappointment.
“Oh, they are not that good.” Sophia rolls her eyes and stops next to me.
I don’t waste a second, I tug her onto my lap and wrap my arms around her waist. Resting my chin on her shoulder, I close my eyes and take a deep breath. Even when she’s not in a bakery, she still always smells and tastes like sugar cookies.
“They are, baby. You can work here for a little bit, but you have to open your own bakery.” I press a sloppy kiss to her cheek, making her squeal.
“I'm sorry, but the two of you are adorable together.” Sydney places her hand over her heart and smiles at us. “You guys seem really happy together too.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever been happier,” I whisper.
“Me neither. I really want you to come home with me and meet my family,” Sophia says softly.
“As long as you bring him back to me.” Sydney points a finger in our direction, making us chuckle.
“Ok, let me box up all my things, then we can go.” Sophia climbs off my lap no matter how many times I try to tug her back down. She smiles at me over her shoulder, and sways her hips a little bit more when she walks away.
“Peck, can I show you something in the fridge? I think it needs to be fixed.” Sydney stares at Sophia for a moment before turning her attention back to me.
“Yeah, what’s going on?” I follow her into the fridge and frown when she lets the door shut. Sydney has an irrational fear of the door getting stuck and she won't be able to get out. She always leaves something in the way of blocking it from shutting all the way.
“Do you love her?” Sydney spins to face me with her hands on her hips. I feel like I'm about to get yelled at for something, but I'm not sure what I did.
“Yes,” I drag out the word, wondering if this is an issue.
“She loves her family, Peck. You can tell by the way she talks about them.”
“I know she does. Why do you seem so upset by that?” I run my fingers through my hair and try to understand her.
“If she moves home, and you really love her, I want you to move with her,” she says sternly.
“Syd, I'm not moving anywhere. I came here to help you and I'm going to stay here and continue helping you.” I roll my eyes.
“I'm not going to let you give up that perfect woman for me! You’ve been here for a few months and have helped me more than I’ll ever be able to thank you for, but you can't lose her.”
“Come here.” I hold my arms open and laugh when she falls into them. “I’m not losing anyone. She wants to stay here for another month, then she isn't sure what she wants. I'm going to be patient and see what happens.”
“You shouldn’t put your life on hold for me,” she murmurs against my chest.
“I'm not. I told Sophia if she moves home and you no longer need my help, I might be interested in moving with her. We just started dating though, Syd. What if she breaks up with me next week because she doesn’t like how you and the kids chew like cows? This conversation would be completely pointless and a waste of time then. OW!”
I push her out of my arms and run a hand over my nipple she just pinched. She couldn’t care less. She’s still glaring at me.
“I do not chew like a cow! Maybe she should break up with you, she could do so much better.”
“Well, hold on. Let’s not go putting any ideas in her head. Can't I have a few months to make her fall madly in love with me, then you can tell her she can do better?”
“Why would you want to spend months with her, then me tell her?” Sydney stares at me like I'm insane.
“Because by then she’ll realize you’re crazy and she shouldn’t listen to you. Plus, she’ll love me too much to walk away.”
“You’re impossible,” she groans.