“It’s fantastic. Is this your recipe?”
“How did you know?”
“If it were Tee-Tee’s and she’d made it before, it would be the most requested dessert the ranch hands ever had.”
“Seriously?”
I nodded as I shoved two more forkfuls into my mouth. I hoped she wouldn’t swat my hand when I ate hers as well. “What is it?”
“A simple orange cake.”
I shook my head. “There is nothing simple about this. What’s the secret ingredient?”
She laughed. “There isn’t one.”
“Sure there is, and I’ve figured out what.”
She cocked her head. “You have?”
I nodded. “You made it.”
13
Rebel
This man wasn’t only hot as fuck, he was sweet too. A lethal combination for me. There was no way I could allow myself to get used to being around him or to the life I’d been thrust into.
Tee-Tee was sweet to give me this opportunity, but it wasn’t permanent. As I reminded myself often, I was in Edge’s custody. I wasn’t his guest or his live-in girlfriend. We weren’t even lovers, not yet.
“What are you thinking about?”
“Nothing,” I answered, noticing he’d stopped eating.
“Don’t do that.”
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t keep things from me.”
This wasn’t the first time Edge’s quick transition from playful to serious startled me. One minute he was smiling, and the next he looked like he wanted to take me over his knee and spank me. “I’m not keeping things from you.”
He grabbed the chair and turned it, with me in it, so I was facing him. Something told me that if I lied, he’d know it.
“I was thinking how nice this was. You, Tee-Tee…”
“And?”
/> When I shook my head, he scrunched his eyes. I bit my bottom lip, wishing he wouldn’t persist. “It’ll end.” I willed my eyes not to fill with tears. I hated self-pity.
“Why does it have to end?”
“Once this is…over and I’m not staying here anymore, I doubt that Tee-Tee will still let me work here.”
He motioned toward the kitchen with his head. “You sure about that?”
All of the dessert plates were gone, and I’d put out far more servings than there were people here. “Wow,” I mumbled.
“Wow is right. That takes care of your doubt that Tee-Tee will keep you on. Now let’s discuss the rest.”