Chapter 2 #2
He reached out his hand and picked up the first cookie his fingers touched.
It was some kind of sandwich cookie, but it certainly wasn't an Oreo out of a package.
"These look fancy." He held it up closer to his mouth so he could see what was inside the sandwich between the two swirling golden cookies.
Some kind of cream and a jam, if he was right. "Look like they'd taste fancy, too."
"Ugh," Katie gave him a look that said she was getting frustrated more than she normally did with him. "You have to put it in your mouth and taste it to know what it tastes like."
He grimaced and caught sight of Ruth out of the corner of his eye. She was barely holding back a smile, or maybe even a laugh at his expense.
Nick bit into the cookie and tasted the cookie first.
Buttery goodness.
Like heaven on his tongue and then he tasted more.
Raspberry.
Raspberry and cream.
He didn't even move the cookie from his lips. He took another bite and when it wasn't enough, he put the rest of the cookie in his mouth and chewed it, almost drowning in the taste.
His eyes drifted closed and he chewed until he swallowed it down.
"Those are Viennese Whirls." Ruth's voice made its way into his ear, and he opened his eyes to look at her. She looked happy, pleased with herself and she should be. "Shortbread cookies with vanilla buttercream and raspberry jam inside."
Her gaze lowered to the island top and he swore he could see her cheeks coloring.
"My mom used to make shortbread every year, but they were never that delicate."
Ruth's expression changed to more of a bittersweet smile.
He swallowed and felt the scratch of some kind of emotion in his throat. "That's wonderful that she made them for you. Homemade treats are always the best kind of gift during the holidays."
"They're awesome any day of the year," Katie looked up at him from her seat. "Dad, you've got cream by your mouth."
"Huh?" Oh great! "Here?" He lifted a hand and rubbed at the corner of his mouth on the right side. "Did I get it?"
Katie snorted with laughter, but Nick felt like a complete jerk. He reached for the napkin that Katie had set beside his plate, but the little square slipped off the edge and started to fall to the floor.
Ruth reached out and snapped it out of its free fall.
"Wow, that's cool!" A giggle filled the air. “You’ve got awesome reflexes!”
Nick had to agree with Katie. He certainly hadn't been on the ball enough to rescue the napkin from the floor.
He reached for the napkin, but Ruth didn't put it in his hand right away.
"Here, let me," she offered. "You can't see where it is."
"Yeah," he replied, swallowing his pride. "Sure."
He could hear that his voice had deepened. It was rougher than normal, too.
"Okay," her voice was barely over a whisper, "it'll just take a second."
Nick saw her cover the tip of her finger with the corner of the napkin and reached for his face.
Her bare palm touched his left cheek and he leaned into it. As a soft smile lifted the corners of her mouth, she wiped the napkin near the corner of his mouth, and something touched his lower lip.
His mouth opened and his tongue moved closer. He felt something warm against the tip of his tongue before she moved her hand away and he managed not to reach out and touch her, haul her up against his side.
Those feelings rocked him, put him way off balance.
This was the danger he'd been worried about since she moved in next door. This need for her.
It wasn't just superficial.
It went down deep.
Right at that moment it was deep down behind his zipper.
Her scent. The taste of her food. And the sweet curves of her body?
They were all meant to torture him.
It was good for him that he had a tolerance for pain.
"So, what do you think, Dad?"
His gaze snapped to the side, and he met Katie's expectant gaze.
"Do you think these would be good with tea?"
Thank goodness his daughter hadn't picked up on the change in his temperature and demeanor.
"I dunno, sweetheart." He straightened and looked at Ruth who was flushed across her cheeks to her temples. “I mean. I made a mess of things-”
"I agree. I think they might be too... messy."
She leaned in toward Katie and pointed to another cookie. "These are called Citrus Crinkle cookies. Green is lime. Yellow is lemon. And orange-"
"Is orange?"
Ruth smiled at Katie and his little girl giggled.
"That's right, Katie. Try those. They have some powdered sugar on them, but they're not squishy in the least. And I think I’ve made them so they won’t break apart."
Katie picked up a green with one hand and then a yellow with the other before taking a bite out of the yellow. "Yummm," she murmured with the bite in her mouth, "delicious."
Nick looked at his daughter before meeting Ruth's eyes again. "She loves lemon squares."
Ruth's smile brightened. "I do, too!"
He felt a hand touch his arm. "See, dad?"
Katie's grin was frosted.
"Yeah, I see, baby girl."
"You gotta eat one, too, Dad!"
Yes, he did.
He picked up a lemon cookie and took a bite out of it.
Ruth held out a napkin to him, and he almost tilted his face up to let her wipe his mouth. He knew he had powdered sugar on his lips and likely his mustache and beard, too. He saw her tense up a little, a hesitation.
He didn't think Ruth was afraid to touch him, but he was wondering if she was worried about him touching her.
He had been out of the dating field for years. Since the passing of Katie's mom just as Katie was starting Elementary School, he hadn't been interested in anyone new or going through the motions in general.
No one made his blood pump harder or his heart beat faster.
Not until the first time he saw Ruth walking through the fence separating their houses with a piping hot basket of bread that she’d made.
Nick reached out and took the napkin from Ruth's fingers, feeling the warmth of her skin against his fingertips.
He thought he might have felt a shiver pass between her skin and his, but he couldn't really tell. He knew how he was reacting to her, he just wasn’t sure if it was happening on her end.
There was just something about Ruth.
Not just her baked goods, but just her very presence had him off kilter.
"So?" Ruth's lips flattened together as she rolled them against each other. Hesitant perhaps. "How is it?"
"These could be my new favorite lemon dessert." He smiled at her, unable to hide it anymore. "Is there anything you bake that doesn't taste incredible?"
She shrugged and her smile looked as tempting as her cookies. "Not that anyone would admit to my face. My father says that my bran muffins are still tolerably good."
Katie leaned forward and grinned at him. "Your doctor said you should eat some of those, right, Daddy?"
Oh great.
The last thing he wanted to do was be cock blocked by his own daughter, but she couldn't know the pull that Ruth had on him.
"You want me to make you some?"
He smiled up at Ruth and hated to answer the truth. "Yeah, I don't think my stomach can afford to say no. I tried some from a fancy ass bakery in town and it tasted like cardboard."
Katie made a noise that sounded like she was gagging.
"Katie?"
She lowered her gaze. "Sorry, dad, but you're the one who said something gross."
"Tasteless," he corrected, "not gross."
"Yeah," she grimaced. "Well, boys are gross."
Nick rolled his eyes, but he was glad to agree with her. "Yes, like boys."
Ruth's smile and raised brows said she understood the humor in Katie's words.
"Well, as long as you both like my cookies, I'm happy. Why don't you both taste some of the others while I box up my orders for tomorrow. If you have any suggestions for what you’d like to have at the tea, we can talk while I work."
Katie lifted up the orange crinkle cookie while she chewed on the lime one. "I don't have any suggestions," she mumbled around her mouthful. "I'm going to like them all."
Ruth put her hand on Katie's shoulder, smiling at his daughter and fuck if his chest didn't swell with an emotion he didn’t know how to name.
"Good," Ruth moved around to the sink and started to wash her hands. "What about you, ... Nick?"
He loved the way she said his name. Sweet, but a little breathy.
"Do you have any suggestions?"
He smiled trying to hide the heat and hunger in his gaze. He had plenty of suggestions, but none that he'd dare to voice in front of his daughter. Sure, he was single and hungry, but Katie was his focus.
Would always be.
"No," he shook his head and wiped off the powdered sugar from his mouth.
"Okay," she wiped her hands on a clean cloth and reached for one of the pink pastry boxes on the counter. "I have a few questions while I’m trying to figure this out in my head."
Nick sat back on his stool, bringing one foot up to brace himself. "About the show? Go ahead and ask."
Ruth smiled and picked up a pair of pink tongs. "So about this Mother Ginger role?"
“Wh-” Nick felt his stomach sink a little. "What?"
"Did you say no because of the skirt?"
He shook his head and took another bite. "No."
She paused counting the cookies she was putting in the box and turned her gaze back to him. "Then why?"
Nick lifted his left hand and stroked his beard. "I just didn't want to be the bearded lady."
Ruth laughed softly and continued to box the cookies in front of her.
"I think you would have been a pretty bearded lady, Dad."
Ruth turned back to look at him. "I'd have to agree, Nick. Depending on the color of the dress, I think it would really make your eyes pop."
She went back to filling the box with cookies and his daughter almost choked trying to chew and laugh at the same time.
Shaking his head, Nick reached over and gave Katie a hearty pat on her back. She ended up shaking him off a moment later and then they were both laughing.
It wasn't long before Ruth joined in and damn, it was crazy how good it felt.
It almost felt like it was family.
Oh, shit.
He was in trouble.