Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
If it weren’t for those boundary-setting lunch breaks, Connor would have surely lost his mind over the next two weeks.
Getting his kitchen staff ready, preparing for the wedding, and being fully present for Annabeth were exhausting him. But for an hour every day, he had Lexi all to himself, and it was a time to just shut out the rest of the world and pretend that nothing else mattered but the two of them.
It was refreshing, exhilarating, and beyond sexually satisfying.
Sometimes he’d show up at her cabin, and she’d be wearing nothing except her robe. He loved unwrapping her like a present.
Other times, she’d show up at his cabin and he'd sprawl her out on the dining room table and treat her like she was his lunch.
Those days were his favorite.
Today, they were meeting at her cabin, and he was desperately trying to leave to meet her, but his sous chef and fry cook were arguing over counter space, and he was doing everything possible to keep the conversation from turning ugly.
When his phone vibrated in his pocket, he knew it was going to be Lexi asking where he was.
Lexi: Lunch is getting cold.
Lexi: And by lunch, I mean me
Then there was a picture of her bare leg sticking out of her pink robe, and he groaned before sliding the phone back into his pocket.
“Okay!” he snapped. “That’s enough. Dan, you have an entire workstation next to the deep fryer that provides more than enough space for you. I understand that you’re plating stuff over here next to Scott, but once the resort opens, you’re both going to have to stick to your sections.”
“Yes, Chef,” Scott murmured before giving Dan a smug look.
“That’s not how we work here,” he quickly admonished.
“We need to respect one another because we’re a team.
Now I am taking my lunch break because I desperately need it, and so should all of you.
And when I get back, I want us to go over the dinner menus.
I’m not completely sold on our fish selections.
” Tossing his chef’s coat on the workstation, he called out, “See you all in an hour!”
Then, he grabbed the cooler bag with their lunch in it on his way out the door.
Outside, he jogged down the back stairs, across the parking lot, and down the path to Lexi’s cabin.
He hated how breathless he was when he got there, but when she greeted him at the door, he knew he’d run a damn marathon to get to her.
Without a word, he crowded her, dropping the bag on the floor before he cupped her face and kissed her as if his life depended on it.
After that, it was just chaotic choreography to get them across the room and into her bedroom.
It was nothing but breathy sighs, pleasurable moans, and a battle for who was going to be on top.
But he always let her be the one in control because he knew how much it meant to her.
They didn’t talk much about her ex, but he got the impression that she had felt powerless in that relationship on every level.
So if being the one on top when they made love gave her some of that empowerment back, he’d gladly lie back and let her while holding on for the ride.
The sun was shining through the curtains, giving Lexi an ethereal look that just made her even more beautiful, and he couldn’t stop looking at her, touching her, pleasing her.
When she cried out his name, it made him feel like the luckiest man on earth.
She slowly melted against him, their hearts racing, their breaths coming out in short pants, and it was just so damn good that he wanted it to be like this always.
And not just on their lunch breaks.
So many times over the last few weeks he’d wanted to say something to her about it—to talk about them taking things to another level—but he knew it was too soon.
In his mind, he would definitely find them a rental house off the resort property and then rework the plans he was currently working on with an architect for what was going to be his and Annabeth’s new home.
It’d need to be bigger and something that Lexi would get to put her stamp of approval on.
All Connor knew was that he wanted a massive primary suite that would be far away from the kids’ rooms.
“Connor?” By the way she was saying his name, he guessed it wasn’t the first time.
“Hmm?”
“You okay?” she asked with amusement. “You were definitely zoned out.”
His hand smoothed up and down her back before resting on her bare bottom. “Just needed a few minutes to catch my breath.” He guided her down for a heated kiss. “Hey, beautiful,” he murmured against her lips. “I never even said hello when I got here.”
“I know. I kind of liked that predatory look in your eyes when you saw me, and how eager you were to get me on the bed.”
“If I could be certain that no one was going to walk by on the path, I would have taken you right against the door. That was a very sexy picture you sent me.”
She laughed softly as she shook her head. Her blonde locks tickled his chest. “You’re ridiculous. It was just my leg.”
“And to me, that’s sexy as hell.” He kissed her again. “Would you like lunch? I made us some chicken salad sandwiches on brioche bread. Although I didn’t assemble them. I didn’t want the bread to get soggy. And I grabbed some fruit salad and a handful of cookies.”
“That all sounds very yummy,” she said as she rolled over and off the bed, picking her robe up off of the floor. “You know I can make lunch for us too, right? I might not be a professional chef like you, but I wouldn’t mind making a meal once in a while.”
He hadn’t thought of that. He just figured he was doing something nice, which is what he told her.
“And it is nice, Connor.” She tied her robe and walked over, giving him a quick kiss. “But I just don’t want you to think I expect you to do all the meals all the time.”
He shrugged. “I’m used to it. And with the big kitchen, it’s just easier for me to make us something so it doesn’t take away from our time together.”
“Aww…that’s sweet.” Another kiss. “Now feed me because I’m starving, and that all sounded wonderful.”
Once he had his pants zipped, he followed her out to the living room and picked the cooler bag up off the floor where he’d dropped it earlier.
“Did I mention that I talked to Kelsey last night?” she asked as she grabbed a couple of bottles of water from the refrigerator.
“Nope. Is everything okay? Are they ready for this wedding to be over?” he joked as he prepared their sandwiches.
“I think they are. She says it feels weird to be so disconnected from all of it. It’s a small wedding, and you and your staff are handling everything, but she says it’s still a little strange. Plus, she’s really missing her mom.”
“I’m sure. I know Jayce has a big family, but it’s not the same as having her own there.”
“I can’t even imagine how it must feel. I don’t have a big family, but I couldn’t imagine not having my parents at my wedding.
Obviously they were there, but…” She shrugged.
“I told her that that doesn’t have anything to do with her marriage.
Both of my parents were there, and my marriage still tanked. ”
He chuckled. “Same. Still, you can’t blame her for being a little emotional about it. That’s why Jayce asked us to do something special for her so she can feel connected to her parents—especially her mom—when she’s here.”
“Oh? What are you doing?”
Dammit. He wasn’t sure he was supposed to say anything, but now that he’d opened his mouth, he supposed it wasn’t the worst thing to tell her. “Please don’t say anything to Kelsey about this.”
“I won’t. I promise,” she said as she sat down at the table.
“Two years ago when they met up again here at the resort, Kelsey was here to scatter her mom’s ashes, and she did.
I don’t know if you noticed the small sitting area down at the end of this path—it’s got two benches and faces the lake, and we planted some perennials—and he’s going to present a plaque to her as a wedding gift. We’re naming it in her mom’s honor.”
Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. “That’s so sweet. She’s going to love it.” Grabbing a napkin, she wiped her eyes. “I am so happy for the two of them. It’s just incredible that they found each other again.”
Sitting down, he put her plate in front of her. “So did we,” he reminded her. “This resort is…I don’t know…it’s kind of magical.” Then he laughed softly. “Ugh…I can’t believe I just said that, but you know what I mean.”
Nodding, she smiled. “I do. First it was Jayce and Kelsey, then this is where Walker and Harlow met, and Axel and Maisie.” She sighed happily. “I think magical is a wonderful description.”
“And us,” he lightly reminded her again, feeling more than a little insecure that she wasn’t including them in all the couple comparisons.
She nodded again before taking a bite of her sandwich. “Mmm…okay, forget what I said before. You can keep making our lunches. Seriously, what did you put in this to make it taste so good?”
“The secret ingredient is honey,” he told her. “Just a hint of sweetness. I know some people use fruit, but I prefer just the chicken and celery.”
“It’s delicious.”
“Thanks.” After that, the conversation turned to food and what was for dinner tonight—a traditional barbecue platter with brisket, chicken, ribs, corn on the cob, and hush puppies. “Slater actually requested that we try something like this, so tonight’s the test.”
“Hopefully he’ll be back in time. He left about an hour ago to pick Nora up.”
“Nora?”
She nodded again. “They used to work as guides together back in Alaska, and she’s coming here to check out the resort. He thinks she’s going to take the position, but she wants to come and experience it all first.”
“He’s cutting it kind of close, isn’t he? I would have thought he would’ve hired someone already.”