Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
“ P lease don’t have fallen over, please don’t have fallen over.” Estelle hoped that if she chanted the words enough, it would really have come true. She wasn’t sure what had happened, but when turning a corner, she’d had to hit the brakes for a pedestrian and something had shifted in the back of her vehicle.
By the time she’d pulled to the side of the street by Harper and Mason’s house, Estelle’s heart was in her throat. The kitty cat had turned out so darling and Estelle was eager to share with her little buddy, but if the face had been smashed or the frosting smeared, all her hard work would have been for nought.
Carefully stopping, she pulled on the parking brake and turned off the car. Walking around to the back, she opened it and peered at her supplies. “No, no, no…”
“What happened?”
“Ah!” Estelle spun, her hand flying to her chest. “Crew Turley!” She smacked his impressive pectoral muscle. “Stop sneaking up on me like that!”
He smirked and stepped a little closer. “Funny. Harper yelled at me like that the other night too. ”
“She’s pregnant! What are you doing scaring her?” Estelle put her hands on her hips to hide her much she was enjoying being near him. The last couple days since their kissing in the kitchen had been the best days she’d had in months. Even her father seemed to be doing better, and Antony, though still grumpy, hadn’t yelled or thrown a tantrum all week.
Crew put his hands in the air and chuckled. “It was innocent, I swear! How was I to know I was such a ninja? I never took any form of martial arts!”
Estelle huffed. “Must be all the sneakiness you use when fixing kids’ teeth.”
“That’s my hands, not my feet.”
She shrugged. “Whatever. Let’s put those muscles to use. You can help me carry everything inside.”
Crew stepped forward, caging her into the car before she could turn. “You like my muscles?” He raised an eyebrow. “Why, Stelle…I didn’t know you were paying attention.”
Dang it. Why did his nearness always cause her heart to race and her breathing to become erratic? It was impossible to appear in control when all he had to do was whisper a few words and she was ready to melt at his feet.
“It’s hard not to pay attention when you’re flaunting them all the time,” she shot back, though the breathlessness in her tone made the barb less effective.
“Me? Flaunting?” One hand was at the top of the door and the other snaked around her waist, pulling her closer. “I’ve never flaunted anything.”
His lips landed just under her ear causing the most delicious shivers to run down Estelle’s spine. Good heavens, turning into a puddle was a real thing. Who knew?
“But I might have to change that as we hang out at the party today…I’d flaunt you all day long.”
Another kiss on her jaw stole the very air from her lungs.
“You look stunning,” he murmured against her cheek.
She didn’t really want to admit it, but Estelle had been selfish enough this morning to put extra care into her looks. Crew had seen her in pajama pants and smeared makeup, but today, she wanted to be something…more.
Her hair was curled, her dress was bouncy and fit just right over her curves, and her makeup was carefully applied to highlight the few good features she found on her face, mainly large eyes and high cheekbones.
With her mother at home and a couple of neighbors on call to help, Estelle had set off to simply be…Estelle. A woman, cake decorator and the person quickly becoming infatuated with a man from California.
“That’s nice of you to say,” she managed to whisper.
“It’s not being nice when it’s the truth,” Crew continued. His hand flexed at her back, and his lips brushed back and forth against her cheek.
Estelle’s skin was so warm that she was beginning to wonder if instead of a puddle she would go up in flames. How many of those ridiculous romantic cliches were real?
A throat cleared, followed by laughter, and Crew straightened but didn’t move away. “We have an audience, don’t we?”
If her skin had been hot before, it was positively steaming now. Lifting up on tiptoe, Estelle looked over Crew’s shoulder to see Aspen and Maeve cracking up while Ethan and Austin watched with raised eyebrows. “Yes,” she squeaked.
“Remember,” Aspen offered. “This is a child’s birthday party.”
“Kill me now,” Estelle groaned, letting her head fall against Crew’s chest. She bounced slightly as he laughed.
Spinning them both, Estelle was nestled into his side as they faced their crowd. “Hello,” Crew offered cheerily. “Layla’s so happy you could make it today.”
Aspen snorted and rolled her eyes. “Move aside, lover boy. We need to take the cake in.” Aspen frowned. “What kind did you end up making? I told you you should have let me experiment.”
“It’s for a seven-year-old,” Estelle argued. “It’s not the time to experiment. And I made white cake with raspberry filling. Harper said it’s her favorite.”
Aspen made a face. “Kinda boring, but okay. Next time I’m adding mascarpone and poppy seeds though.”
“It’s not for you,” Maeve pointed out. “Layla’s getting what she wanted, and that’s all that matters.” She turned to Estelle. “Are we putting the muscle to work or what?”
Ethan wrapped his arms around her from behind. “Did you just say I’m strong?” he murmured against her ear.
“Oh, please,” Aspen groaned. “Save me from another peep show. Every kid here is gonna run to their mom and tattle if you don’t knock it off.”
“You’re slipping, Austin,” Ethan called out. “Your wife doesn’t even know what romance is anymore.”
Aspen took a threatening step, her hand on her belly. “Watch it, Eeks. I’m twice as big at the moment, and that means if I decide to sit on you and smash cake in your face, you can’t fight back.”
“Are they always like this?” Crew whispered, but his lips were quirked into an amused grin.
Estelle sighed and leaned her head against him. “Unfortunately, yes. Aspen’s always been feisty. Ethan’s been our neighbor since we were tiny, so we know each other a little too well. And Austin has a tendency to stand back and let Aspen do whatever she wants.”
Austin must have caught their conversation because he raised his hands and eyebrows. “You had over twenty years to teach her manners. Don’t get mad at me for not cleaning up your messes-oof!” He laughed and jerked back when his wife gut-punched him. “But they’re such lovely messes,” he wheezed dramatically.
“Okay, you guys,” Harper called as she walked across the lawn. “You’re holding things up. ”
“My bad!” Estelle automatically called out. She spun. “Let me grab the cake.”
“I’ll grab it,” Crew offered, leaving a sweet kiss on her cheek. “And then I’ll begin showing you off, okay?”
Estelle laughed softly and shook her head. “I don’t think that’s how this works.”
Crew shrugged. “It does now. Better get used to it.”
“Here?”
Estelle nodded. “Yes, please.” She stepped back and waited while Crew settled the cake container on the counter, then gave her room to work. “I had a mishap while driving so I hope it’s okay.” Chewing on her bottom lip, she began to unstrap all the pieces. “No…” she groaned, her head falling back.
Crew stepped up, crowding her from behind. “What’s wrong?” He figured there was little he could do, but he could stand behind her and keep her back warm. Nothing wrong with that. It’s what any good guy would do who was pursuing a woman, after all.
Estelle grew still and glanced at him through her peripheral vision. “I can handle it from here, thanks.”
“Uh,huh.” Crew put his arms on the counter on either side of her. “I think I’ll stick around just to make sure. Wouldn’t want all my hard work to go to waste.”
She gave a light snort and shook her head. “You’re ridiculous.”
“If, by ridiculous, you mean an awesome helper in the kitchen, then yes, yes I am.”
Her smile grew, but she didn’t press for him to leave again.
Images of their time spent kissing in the kitchen ran through Crew’s mind, and he found himself smiling with her. Time spent with Estelle was never boring.
“Crimeny,” she muttered as she lifted off the lid. “I was afraid of this.”
“What’s wrong?” Crew straightened, growing serious and stepped to the side so he could see better. “Oh.”
“Yeah…oh.” Estelle sighed and put her hands on her hips. “Stupid pedestrians.”
He chuckled. “Wow. I didn’t realize you could speak so meanly.”
Estelle scrunched her nose and gave him a look. “I worked hard on this, and now look at it! The cat’s nose is like a gargoyle!”
“It’s not that bad,” he soothed, though he was lying through his teeth. “Like you said, it’s a party for seven-year-olds. We can fix it.”
Estelle rubbed her forehead. “Okay, yeah, I suppose we can. But it’ll never be the same.”
Crew kissed her temple, pretending he was soothing her, but really using any excuse he could find to touch. Man, he had it bad. “Layla doesn’t know what it looked like before and even your worst efforts are better than hers, so she’ll love it. Who cares if it looks like a gargoyle.”
“I do.” Estelle slapped his arm. “Now move it, mister. I need some space.”
“I don’t know what that means.” Crew widened his eyes and stayed put, giving her his best innocent expression.
Estelle’s look said she was far from amused, and he laughed, stepping back and waving an arm. “My lady.”
Her eye roll was impressive, but the smile on her face gave away her real thoughts. “Harper?” Estelle marched out of the kitchen, a woman on a mission as she sought out her friend.
Twenty minutes later, Crew gave a slow clap at the restored cake. “You’re a genius,” he soothed, wrapping his arms around her. “Thank you for saving Layla’s birthday.”
Estelle huffed. “Don’t you mean her ‘almost ruined’ birthday?”
“Does that look ruined to you?” he asked, waving at the cake. While not as impressive as it was when she’d first finished, few people would be able to see the marks that had been left from the repair. Estelle really was one talented decorator. He squeezed a little more. “If we weren’t surrounded by people and about to start the games, I’d show you my appreciation more bluntly.” Crew couldn’t help his grin when she shivered and gripped his shirt.
“You’re not playing fair,” Estelle whispered.
“And I don’t intend to,” he quipped, kissing the top of her head. Stepping back was hard, but somehow Crew found the discipline he needed to release Estelle and take her hand. “Come on. Let’s go see what’s up first. Harper was organizing the kids into groups. My guess is, whatever’s coming is gonna be hilarious.”
He could feel her eyes on him as they walked, as if he were a puzzle she couldn’t figure out.
Crew gave her a playful side eye. “What?”
Estelle didn’t speak right away, and a moment later, they walked into a very noisy backyard.
“Are you ready?” Harper shouted over the children’s laughter. “I’m going to spin you three times and then you walk to the castle and pin the princess on.”
They stood on the outskirts of the group, a large mix of adults and children. Most anyone who loved Layla was there, and many of them were the same people who had been at the wedding a few years ago.
Apparently, the city of Seagull Cove was a tight knit community.
Crew had to give them credit. Outside of his small circle of friends and surfing buddies, he really didn’t know anyone, and he’d been living in California for years. He had good patients and good relationships with them and the parents, but it wasn’t the kind of thing where he would invite them for a barbecue over the weekend.
If he wanted a social hour, he either met his buddies early on the beach or he took Daphne to dinner. None of them were married, none had kids, and none of them had appeared to be in the market for it either.
Crew’s hand drifted to Estelle’s lower back. Until now.
The restless feeling he’d been struggling with before he came seemed to have dissipated, and Crew was intelligent enough to realize it had to do with the woman at his side. Maybe three years ago simply wasn’t the right time. Maybe he hadn’t been ready to take that more permanent step in his life.
But now, things were different. The road was more enticing, but it was also going to be more difficult. Estelle’s life was in upheaval and Crew was eager to help, but he also knew it would slow things down.
Getting her to agree to date him had been a good, but difficult hurdle, and likely each subsequent step would be just as hard.
“I can’t decide if you like kids because you honestly enjoy their company or if it’s because you simply never grew up.”
Crew blinked a few times and looked down. It took him a moment to realize she was finally answering his question from inside. He grinned. “Both?”
Estelle smiled in response and looked back out at the party. “Maybe.”
“Nothing wrong with enjoying the magic of childhood,” he said softly. He had a sudden thought that maybe Estelle had never gotten to enjoy it. Mason had certainly been forced to be older than his years. He’d become responsible for his siblings at a young age.
“True,” Estelle mused. “Most of the time anyway.”
Stepping behind her, Crew wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her into his body and leaning his head down to hers. “Sometimes childhood sucks,” he whispered. “That can be our fault or others’. But either way, how we choose to view the world as adults is a choice. No one else gets to control us or force us into their point of view.” He took a deep breath. “My parents were awful, but Mason was great. Now I’m in control, and I choose to enjoy life.”
Estelle’s hand landed on his, where they were settled together at her waist. “Even as adults, our choices are taken from us sometimes.”
Her words were soft, and Crew had to strain to hear them. “Situations happen, yes,” he responded. “But you still have a choice.”
She didn’t say more, and Crew let it go. They were at a party, and this wasn’t a time for a deep, sentimental discussion. It would come up again. It was inevitable since they were dating and her family would be part of the process.
But today…today he would revel in her company, cheer her accomplishment with the cake and let himself fall even more than he already was.
And it sounded perfect in every way.