Chapter 13
I t had been a long day of cooking, but it was finally over.
The wedding had come and gone, and they had survived.
Thanks to Kelly. Miles knew it would not have gone smoothly if he had been in charge of everything.
She handled everything with grace and allowed him to just focus on the food.
While the bride had several complaints about everything she could think of, Kelly was able to diffuse every situation until the reception ended.
She was a godsend.
Emma was sleeping over at Noah and Jessa’s place, so Miles could deal with the wedding without worrying about her. Now he was leaning against the kitchen island with Kelly across from him, cake shavings sitting between them with extra icing slathered on it and a glass of wine in hand.
He handed Kelly a fork and sighed before stabbing a chunk of cake. “I have to say, this was probably the longest day of my life. Zero out of ten. Do not recommend.”
Kelly giggled and stabbed a chunk of cake as well. “I mean, it could have been worse. But I had fun.” She put the bite in her mouth and immediately closed her eyes and moaned. “Oh, my God, Miles. This is incredible.”
His dick hardened in his pants and jumped at her moan.
He couldn’t remember the last time he had slept with someone.
After Emma was born, the opportunity just wasn’t there.
He never wanted to pass her off to someone just so he could get laid.
He hadn’t been completely celibate since her mom took off, but it had been nearly that long.
“Glad you like it,” he said, his voice coming out huskier than he wanted.
Kelly’s eyes met his, and she blushed. They both ate the cake in silence until Kelly finally set her fork down. “Can I ask you a personal question?”
Miles nodded. He suspected he knew where this was going. One of the first questions he always got from a woman was asking where Emma’s mom was.
“Where’s Emma’s mom?”
Bingo.
He sighed. “She just decided she didn’t want to be a parent.
We were dating, and she got pregnant. She, Brooke, wanted to terminate the pregnancy, but I told her I wanted to keep the baby.
We were young. I was twenty and she was nineteen.
So she carried Emma to term and then signed all her rights over to me.
Staying in Wintervale was never her plan.
She always wanted to leave, and she didn’t want to be tied down with a baby. ”
Miles held no ill will toward Brooke. He understood what he was signing up for when he asked her to have the baby.
He heard about her occasionally from people around town since she had grown up here and still had ties here.
But she never contacted him. Fortunately, Emma hadn’t asked about her much.
Once in a while she brought up that she wished she had a mom, but she never directly asked about her.
Miles knew it would eventually be something he would need to address, but for now, he was okay with just continuing on as they were.
“Wow. So you’ve been doing it alone since the beginning?”
He nodded. “Yes, mostly. My family helps a lot. They’re built-in babysitters who I pay with meals.”
She giggled. “Sounds like a great deal, to be honest. You’re an amazing chef.”
His cheeks warmed. He knew he was a good cook, but he always had trouble taking compliments. And she was no exception. “Thank you.”
They stared at each other, and the urge to lean forward and kiss her washed over him.
After the kiss yesterday, he wanted it more than ever.
And that terrified him. He reminded himself that she didn’t live here, and starting a relationship with someone who would leave soon was a terrible idea. But, damn, if she moaned again…
He cleared his throat. “So, my family has a standing family dinner every Sunday. My mom asked if you’d like to join us tomorrow, as long as everyone is feeling better. I believe she and my dad are on the mend, and they think they’ll be fine by tomorrow.”
“I’m supposed to fly home tomorrow afternoon.”
Miles couldn’t help the disappointment that flooded through him, but he tried to mask his features. “Oh. Okay.”
He wasn’t sure what else there was to say. Please stay. I’m not ready for you to leave. No, he couldn’t do that. It wouldn’t be fair to her. And the thought terrified him. Kelly was the first woman he had felt anything toward, outside of friendship, since before Emma was born.
“Maybe I can try to change the date? I need to see if everything is going okay back at home first. I can find out in the morning.”
Hope filled him, but he tried to push it down.
He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t get excited about something that likely wouldn’t work out.
If he didn’t have a child, he could follow her to Colorado if he felt it was worth pursuing, but he wouldn’t uproot his daughter’s life for it.
Emma came first, and her wellbeing was his top priority, even if it meant putting his life on hold for now.
Despite trying to suppress his feelings, he couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face. There was no hiding it. “Yeah?”
She blushed and nodded. “I’ll call my family in the morning.”
Kelly took another bite of the cake and sighed. Who knew that vanilla bean and basil would make an excellent combination? She thought the bride was being completely insane when she requested some obscure flavor, but Miles pulled it off, and it was amazing.
Her entire body was tired, but she was still keyed up from the wedding. The whole experience had been exhilarating. She pulled it off. A wedding. And she could hardly believe it.
Another bite of cake and a moan slipped past her lips. She couldn’t help it. It was divine.
Kelly could feel Miles’s gaze on her, and she looked up to find his eyes glued to hers. He had set his fork down and was no longer enjoying the cake as she was. There was an intensity there that had her belly warming up.
He moved around the island, and she tracked him.
With every step he took, her heart rate picked up speed.
She set her fork down and turned toward him as he approached.
Without a word, he leaned forward and captured her lips with his.
The taste of cake and wine lingered on his tongue. It was intoxicating.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning into his touch. Within seconds, he had grasped her butt and lifted her up onto the counter. He pressed his hands against her legs to push them apart so he could get closer and then kissed his way down her neck.
When she moaned, he pulled back and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I got excited.” He pressed his forehead to hers.
“You don’t see me complaining,” she whispered.
He looked into her eyes. “It’s been a while.”
She smiled and tilted her head. “I bet Emma is a bit of a cockblock.”
He snorted. “It’s not so much that. I just think it’s rude for me to pawn her off on a family member so I can go sleep with someone. Feels wrong.”
She brushed her hand across his cheek. “Does it feel wrong now?”
His eyes bounced between hers. “Not in the slightest.”
She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his.
He groaned, and her hands worked at pulling his shirt up.
They pulled apart long enough for her to discard his shirt on the floor.
Then, her eyes roamed over his body. He was fit, just as she had pictured.
Her fingers traced the hard lines of his body, and he groaned against her mouth when they dipped below the hem of his pants, brushing his hard cock.
Miles moved his hands to her back, grasping the zipper of her dress and pulling it down. She let the straps fall, and her bra quickly fell with them. He pulled away, and his eyes roamed over her exposed chest, the cold air making her nipples pucker into tight buds.
“You’re so beautiful,” he said, his voice deepening.
He leaned forward and pulled her nipple into his mouth. She gasped and dropped her head back, her fingers threading through his hair.
“Miles, I want you.”
He released her nipple with a “pop” and stepped away. He fished a condom out of his wallet before he loosened his belt and dropped his pants to the floor along with his boxers. His cock bobbed with the movement, and she couldn’t help but stare.
This was going to be incredible.
She shimmied while on the counter, working her dress off her and letting it fall to the floor with her panties while he rolled the condom down his shaft. She then used her toes to push her ballet flats off, which dropped to the floor with a soft thud.
His eyes looked molten when he stepped closer to her, closing the distance, and pulled her ass to the edge of the counter. He took hold of his cock and pressed the tip to her slick entrance.
“Are you sure you want to do this? I’ll be honest. I’m not sure I’ll be able to stop once we start,” he said.
She hooked her legs around his waist and tugged him closer. “I’ll never ask you to stop.”
He sank into her, and they both moaned.
“Baby, you feel so good,” he said.
“So do you.”
He thrust into her, and she gasped, gripping his biceps. He thrust again, and she leaned closer, biting down on his shoulder.
“That’s it, baby,” he whispered into her ear before kissing her temple and thrusting again.
She cried out with every thrust. Her body climbed higher and higher until finally spots appeared in front of her eyes as her pleasure tore through her.
“Oh, my God,” she cried.
“Yes,” he groaned, thrusting harder.
She gripped his arms tighter and clung on for dear life until he emptied inside her. They both breathed heavily as their bodies twitched. When he finally pulled back, he discarded the condom, and helped her off the counter.
“How many codes did we just break having sex in a commercial kitchen?” she asked.
He huffed out a laugh. “Don’t worry. I’ll sanitize everything.”