“Yay! Mommy!” Hope yelled, running over to take my hand and drag me into the kitchen. “We’re at the best part.”
I glanced at the counter and wasn’t surprised to see three mixing bowls lined up perfectly in a row. Faith grinned at me, holding her favorite pink spatula. “Hi, Mommy. We’re getting ready to add the dry stuff into the eggs and sugar.”
I ran my hand down my oldest daughter’s dark-red hair and smiled. “Everything looks perfect. Good job, sweetie.”
“I did the lemon zest,” Hope boasted, tugging on my hand.
Smiling down at her, I licked my lips. “Mmm, the hint of lemon is what makes the recipe so yummy.”
“And the vanilla,” Faith chimed in as she lifted the bowl with the dry ingredients to start folding it into the beaten mixture of eggs, sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla. Maddox came up behind her to steady the bowl, and she twisted her head to flash him a big grin. “Thanks, Daddy.”
“I wanna do the next part.” I settled my hand on Hope’s lower back while she climbed back on a stool so she could reach the mixing bowls. The girls were only seven and eight, but Faith had already outgrown the need for one. Hope wasn’t too far behind, which wasn’t a surprise since Maddox and I were both tall. She had another inch to go before she could safely work in the kitchen without a stool.
I helped Hope mix half of the batter into the melted butter, and then Maddox watched over Faith while she poured that back into the batter and blended it all together. Once everything was combined into one bowl, I clapped my hands together. “Okay, girls. This needs to chill for about an hour. How about you go ahead and wash up and play outside until it’s time to brush the pan with melted butter?”
Our daughters hopped off their stools and ran into the downstairs bathroom. They chattered back and forth as they squirted their favorite strawberry scented foam soap into their hands and rinsed off the bubbles. Then they dried their hands off and ran for the French doors that led out to the backyard. After they scampered over to the playground set and we’d cleaned up the mess, Maddox backed me up against the counter. I smiled up at him and stroked my hands up his chest. “Thanks for the surprise. You know how much I love Madeleines.”
“Anything for you, baby.” Pressing a palm against the marble surface on either side of my body, he lowered his head and brushed his lips over mine. “You give me my favorite dessert whenever I want it, too.”
A shiver raced up my spine as I remembered how I’d had to muffle my cries with a pillow just this morning. “And I get lots of orgasms out of it.”
“That’s the best part—watching your beautiful face as you come.” He bumped his hard length against my lower belly. “I’ve been addicted ever since you came back to that tattoo parlor and let me taste that pretty little pussy of yours before you gave me your cherry.”
A deep flush warmed my cheeks, not out of embarrassment but desire. My hands clenched his shirt, and I was about to pull him closer when I heard the girls call out for us to push them on the swings. “Tonight.”
“It sounds like we have a plan,” he agreed. “You’ll gorge on your favorite cakes after dinner, and then I’ll devour you for my dessert after the girls go to bed.”
Lucky me, that was how most of our nights went.
Baby, I Do
Aurora Dawson loved helping happy couples have their perfect wedding and happily ever after. Even if she never found one for herself.
When a divorce office opened shop right next to her, she was livid that someone would help tear apart the couples she brought together. But it was hard for her to stay angry at the charming, sexy lawyer when she found herself fighting an attraction like she’d never felt before.
With all the families he’d seen torn apart because of marriages that never should have happened in the first place, Will Scott was a one and done kind of man. When the stunning owner of the wedding chapel came storming into his office, he knew right away that she was the forever he was looking for. Now, he just had to convince Aurora that he was her happily ever after.
1 Aurora
I loved weddings. The blushing brides, handsome grooms, and especially, the way they looked at each other. The flashy rings, beautiful flowers, and decadent cakes. I basically loved everything about them, which was a good thing since I lived and breathed weddings pretty much twenty-four seven.
When my older brother asked my younger sisters and me if we’d be interested in opening a wedding chapel inside the Lennox, the hottest resort on the Vegas Strip, I leapt at the chance. Knox knew we’d be a perfect fit for the business that his boss, Drew Lennox, wanted to add to the property. Ariel was a whiz with cakes, Belle lived for flowers, and I was the type A personality out of the bunch who kept everyone organized.
Running The Chapel of Dreams wasn’t just my job—it was a dream come true. I loved coming into work every day, knowing I was going to be a part of one of the most important days in a couple’s life. Giving them the perfect wedding gave me a sense of accomplishment that had me grinning whenever I was at work...except for those rare instances when I wished the couple in question had picked a different chapel because they were unworthy of that perfection. Like the bride and groom who were getting ready to walk down the aisle of my chapel right now.
“You two make a cute couple,” I lied, infusing my tone with as much sincerity as I could muster.
The guy was actually a douchebag. But it wasn't like I was
