She pulled him down into a hot kiss again. This time it was hungry, her mouth opening under his almost immediately, her back arching and her hand moving to cover his. She pressed it more firmly against her breast and stroked her tongue against his.

Parker could hardly argue with a woman who so clearly knew what she wanted. At least in this moment. And the fact that what she wanted was him, got him fully on board instantly. He kissed her deeply as he plucked at her nipple, then slid his hand to her stomach as he lowered his head and licked, then sucked the cinnamon and sugar from her skin. She moaned, and he moved to the other nipple. She took his hand again and moved it down to the peach silk of her panties. She was hot and wet as his finger coasted over the fabric between her legs, and he had to suck in a deep breath as he returned his finger to press against her clit. She gasped his name and he circled, relishing the way her hips bucked up closer to his touch.

Parker had to grit his teeth and force himself to remove his hand.

“Parker,” she protested.

“Patience, sweetheart,” he said gruffly. He reached to swirl his finger through the melted butter spilled on the counter, then dipped it into the brown sugar. He lifted it to her mouth.

She sucked it from his finger, tightening his balls, then said, “I’d happily suck that off of your cock if you put your hand in my panties right now.”

He coughed, then groaned. “This isn’t a negotiation.”

“Everything’s a negotiation.”

He shook his head, fighting for the firmness he needed—with both of them. “Sorry, Boss. You’re in no position to give directions right now.”

He loved the position she was in, however. Her hair spread out on the countertop, her body laid out for his enjoyment, her breasts thrust into the air, one knee bent and falling to the side.

“Well, I can—” She started to roll, presumably to sit up.

He put his hand on her stomach, holding her in place. “As much as I would love to feel your sassy mouth around my cock,” he said roughly, “right now, I have some plans for this butter and sugar.”

She pressed her lips together, clearly torn between wanting his hand in her panties and wanting to be in charge. So he took the decision away from her. He swiped up more butter and sugar and swirled them in her belly button as he’d promised. Then he trailed his finger down to the top edge of her panties. As he felt her body relax and give in, he realized that maybe taking decisions out of Ava’s hands more often would be a good way to go. He lapped up the sugary mix from her belly button with long, slow licks of his tongue, then followed the sticky trail to her panties. He inched them over her hips and kept going, kissing down to her bare mound.

Without a word, she lifted her hips and he pulled the peach silk to her knees. And revealed the pinnacle of deliciousness. He looked up to find her watching him. He wanted to just lean in and devour her. But he had a bigger purpose here. He reached for an apple slice. Watching her back, he licked the wedge, then put it against her clit.

She gasped as he pressed gently, then circled. “Parker,” came out on a soft breath.

He slid the apple lower, into the slick folds, rubbing against her most sensitive flesh.

She moaned, and her leg moved to the side, giving him more access. He slid lower, pressing against her wet center and she whimpered slightly. He made sure her eyes were locked on his when he lifted the apple to his mouth and licked the sweetness from it that was all her.

“Oh, my God, Parker,” she moaned.

“I’m telling you, sweeter than sugar.” He slid the apple against her again, this time lifting it to her mouth.

Her eyes went wide, but she opened her mouth without a verbal command. He ran the wedge along her lower lip before slipping it inside. “Suck,” he said softly.

She did. Then she licked the slice before he took it and bit into it. He watched her run her tongue over her bottom lip.

“See what I mean?” he asked. He shifted to put his mouth against her nipple again, licking and sucking there as his hand ran over her stomach and down to cup her sweet heat. “You’re fucking delicious, Ava. I could do this all day.”

She slid her fingers in his hair, gripping tightly. “I’ve got nowhere to be,” she panted.

That made him smile. Suddenly, he was all she wanted to do. That was a damned victory right there.

“Well, in that case, no sense rushing things.” He kissed his way down her stomach again, gathering up bits of butter and sugar as he went.

“I didn’t say that,” she protested, wiggling on the counter.

“You did,” he said, reaching for the ginger. “Having your undivided attention isn’t something I take for granted.” He wet his finger by dipping it between her legs and earning another soft moan. Then he shook the ground spice onto his finger. “And we haven’t tried the ginger yet,” he said, lifting his finger to her mouth.

She seemed to be trying to glare at him, but she parted her lips. He chuckled softly. “What kind of employee would I be if I ignored your requests?”

Her lips closed around his fingertip and she swirled her tongue over the pad, licking it completely clean and making Parker adjust himself behind his fly.

“Your employee evaluation could really go either way at this point,” she told him.

“So bossy,” he chided. Then he slipped a finger through her slick folds again and into her heat. She was tight and wet, and they both groaned as he filled her. He circled her clit with his thumb and put his mouth to her nipple again.

“That’s better,” she managed breathlessly.

“It’s fucking perfect,” he muttered against her breast. He sucked hard as he thrust deeper, curling his finger to find her G-spot.

She sighed his name, and Parker thought that was just about the best thing he’d ever heard. He added a second finger and picked up the pace, making sure her clit got the friction and pressure she needed.

He left her nipple and took her mouth in a hungry kiss as he felt her inner muscles begin rippling. “Fuck yes, Ava. Come for me, Boss.”

“So bossy,” she managed between gasps of air.

“Damn right,” he growled.

“Parker!” she gasped, then she gripped his wrist, arched her back, and went over the edge, tightening around his fingers.

Suddenly, the tinkling of the bell over the front door drifted to them.

Their eyes met, his fingers still deep inside of her, her naked and spread out on the countertop. And they both grinned.

“Thought it was locked,” he said, slipping his fingers free and helping her sit up.

“It was. But Cori and Brynn both have keys.”

Her hair was mussed, her lips pink, her whole body flushed. And she looked so fucking gorgeous it hurt. He leaned in and kissed her quickly, then swung her to the floor. He grabbed her clothes and stuffed them into her arms. “Next door is still locked up.” He nudged her toward the back door, then because he couldn’t resist, he swatted her ass.

She gave him a surprised looked, followed by a grin. “I’m supposed to walk outside naked?”

“It’s like a foot between our doorways,” he said.

“So?”

“So, hurry.”

He watched her go, inappropriately proud of the fact that this was surely the only walk of shame Ava Carmichael had ever taken.

He’d just turned back to the counter and grabbed a spoon when Cori came through the door from the front of the shop.

“Oh, Parker.” She glanced around. “Hey.”

“Hey.” He pretended to stir the butter around in the bowl he’d just righted, hoping Cori wouldn’t notice it was just butter. Or the fact that even looking at the butter was giving him an erection.

“What are you doing here?”

“Baking lesson,” he said.

“Where’s Ava?”

There was something in Cori’s eyes that looked like mischief. But that was a pretty consistent look for her so Parker ignored it. “She popped next door to get something.”

“I hope she’s not looking for her bra over there. She’ll never find it,” Cori said.

Parker looked up to see Cori pointing at the countertop next to him. Where Ava’s peach bra lay.

“Um, no, I think she knows where that is.” What was he supposed to say?

Cori lifted an eyebrow and gave him a half smile. “This place looks like things got a little out of hand,” she said, taking in the countertop covered with spilled sugar and butter and the apples and eggs on the floor.

He didn’t even look around when he said, “Yeah. Sometimes things get messier than you expect when you start a project.” He had definitely not expected all of this with Ava when he’d agreed to be her baking coach. They were absolutely making a mess. A surprising, hot, beautiful mess.

Cori nodded. “Yeah, sometimes they do.” She paused, then added, “She’s often on her own when it comes to cleanup after things…boil over.”

“Not this time,” he said firmly, meeting Cori’s eyes directly. “She’s not on her own now.”

---

Apple pie shots? Really?” Ava asked Cori as her sister positioned shot glasses on the tray, preparing to carry them into the dining room.

“It was Parker’s idea,” Cori said.

Ava sighed. Subtle, he was not.

“When he requested we have game night tonight,” Cori added, with a knowing grin.

“Parker requested game night?”

“Yep.”

“And you just jumped to accommodate,” Ava said with a frown.

“Of course. I love game night. It’s the perfect way for me and Evan to hang out without it being a ‘date’ and it’s a great date for Brynn and Noah that they don’t have to call a date.”

Brynn and Noah spent so much time together—and with no one else—they were basically going steady, but they refused to call any of their times together dating. Their father had included a dating stipulation for Brynn to date at least six different guys while in Bliss. Since the quiet introvert had never dated…ever…that was going to be as much a challenge as the conditions for Ava and Cori. And Brynn was stalling. With Noah’s help. Ava was certain that the big ex-Marine would prefer Brynn not date at all. At least, not anyone but him. And it seemed that they thought as long as they didn’t label what they were doing as dating, then it didn’t count…and she didn’t have to stop seeing him to move on to five more guys.

The stipulation in the will for Cori’s love life was to not date at all. She and Evan were getting around that by not doing anything either of them had done in a relationship before. That meant they were taking this seriously, actually getting to know each other, and doing normal things like just hanging out, in contrast to the short-term flings they’d both had in the past.

So game night had become a thing. The six of them got together, played cards or board games, and hung out so that Cori and Brynn could date Evan and Noah without dating them.

Usually Ava enjoyed the game nights. Yes, she snuck off to the bathroom or to refill her drink more than anyone else so she could check her phone throughout the evening. But tonight felt different. She was back to jumpy and itchy and that was just thinking about Parker being there. And she hadn’t checked her phone once. In fact, at the moment, she wasn’t even sure where her phone was.

The bastard. She wasn’t going to be able to sit across the table from him and not think about his mouth and hands and…the fact that he’d stayed completely dressed. He’d taken care of her, very well, on the counter, in the kitchen, and he hadn’t even unbuttoned his shirt.

That made her feel very…defenseless. Or something. And that bugged her. Sex had never been one-sided like that. If anything, she had always felt in more in control. Men were easy. Show them breasts and they were putty.

Well, she’d shown Parker breasts. And more. And she had been putty. Mush. A melted pile of orgasmic goo.

And, perhaps even bigger than that, it had been intimate. Very, very intimate. Not that sex didn’t have a level of intimacy always, of course. But…no, it didn’t. Being naked with a person was one thing, but being exposed with a person was something else. And she’d never been exposed before. Not like that.

Worse—he’d surprised her. Again. She’d be a damned liar if she said, even to herself, that she hadn’t imagined getting frisky with Parker. And because Parker was Parker, some of those fantasies had involved food. But she’d expected him to be demanding and gruff and bossy. And he’d been those things…while also being sweet.

What the hell was that?

She couldn’t adequately prepare for spending time with him—and therefore get her defenses firmly in place—when he didn’t act the way she expected him to.

He’d talked to her. The whole time. Not dirty stuff, but insightful, sweet stuff that made her feel seen, cared for, and wanted. In spite of the things he knew about her. She’d never felt that for sure. The men she dated saw exactly what she let them see—a cool, in control business woman who was letting them get close. Parker just…got close. She definitely hadn’t pushed him away, but he certainly hadn’t hesitated or even thought twice about getting right into her business. So to speak.

There was also no way she was going to be able to taste apples or cinnamon and not get all flushed and hot and wet. Maybe ever again.

And he knew it.

“I should work tonight,” Ava said.

“You’ve been working for the past three days. Here. At home,” Cori said, looking annoyed.

Technically she’d gone in to the pie shop in the morning three days ago, but she’d only been there for two hours and had come home. And not gone back.

“Yeah, I know,” she said. “But I need to be here.” She did. Here, she was still distracted and thinking of Parker far more than she wanted to be, but at least she could get something done. Because she could avoid the smell of cinnamon and nutmeg and ginger. And it wasn’t a huge overreaction to tuck the canister of sugar behind the blender so she couldn’t see it. She’d gone to the kitchen for coffee and water and lunch, but she’d carefully stayed away from the drawer with the apples and hadn’t even touched the butter.

She knew it was all ridiculous but avoiding him was necessary.

Because the other morning, in those two hours in the pie shop, she’d made a good pie. From scratch. By herself.

It wasn’t an amazing pie. It wasn’t the best thing anyone had ever eaten. But it was good. It was by far the best one she’d made.

And it was because of Parker.

She’d found herself tasting as she went. Something she’d never done before. And as she tasted, she made adjustments so she liked it. She’d decreased the ginger, increased the cinnamon, and used honey crisp apples. She’d gone off-recipe. And it had worked. And that freaked her out. Because that wasn’t how her life was supposed to work. Plans, schedules, routines and recipes were supposed to be dependable. Following them was supposed to ensure a good outcome. But that hadn’t been working for her in Bliss. Or really since she’d gotten the phone call that her father had passed away in a tiny town in Kansas far from home. Far from her. That hadn’t been expected either. And it had thrown the plan she did have into a tailspin. That hadn’t stopped spinning yet.

And now she’d made a pie that was good, and she couldn’t remember how much of which thing she’d put in because she’d just added until it tasted good and not having exact numbers was giving her heart palpitations.

As did the idea that she maybe could reproduce it just by taste.

Because then she wouldn’t need Parker anymore.

That was the thought that sent her from palpitations to thumping-blood-rushing-chest-aching.

So, she’d decided to pretend that pie had never happened. It hadn’t really. It had been a fluke. Out of the millions of pies she’d tried, statistically she was bound to get one right eventually.

And all of that chest-hurting-heart-pounding stuff didn’t matter anyway.

Parker lived in small-town Kansas, she lived in New York City. He made burgers for a living—even if he wanted to make more than that—and she made…money. Even if she wanted to make more than that.

“Ava?” Cori was waving her hand in front of her face.

“Sorry. What?”

“I asked how you thought you were going to avoid him in this tiny town, working next door, for the next eight months.”

“I don’t know.”

“So you are trying to avoid Parker.”

Ava looked at Cori’s huge grin, realized what she’d just admitted, and blew out a breath. “Fine. Yes.”

“Because you had a fight?”

“No.”

“Because he made fun of your pie?”

“No.”

“Because he kissed you and took your bra off and made you not care about pie?”

Ava had no idea why she ever even considered keeping a secret from either of her sisters. “I have never cared about pie.” Until maybe the last few days. Well, caring about pie was stretching it, but she didn’t hate pie now. As much.

“So he kissed you and took your bra off and made you not care about stockholder year-end dividends?” Cori teased.

“Well…” She sighed. “Yeah.”

“Thank God,” Cori said, picking up the tray. “That guy’s getting extra shots.”

“Cori,” Ava said, before she could stop herself.

Cori turned back. “Yeah?”

“Parker and I are a bad idea.” They were, at least, an inconvenient idea. Bliss and New York were very far apart. In many ways.

Cori tipped her head. “So you’re not just having hot sex and baking lessons?”

Ava frowned as she thought about that question. And realized something. “We haven’t technically had either of those things.”

The other day had been hot, and she’d…appreciated…the orgasm. But it hadn’t been sex. And they still hadn’t baked a damned thing together. But he was under her skin, in her thoughts, messing with her plans. Or threatening her plans anyway.

Cori seemed unsure how to respond to that. “What have you had?” she asked, lowering the tray and looking almost concerned.

They’d had conversation. They’d had flirtation. They’d had insight and some confessions and food. They’d had lots of food. “I have no idea,” she finally told Cori honestly.

Cori studied her from across the kitchen, her puzzled look fading to surprise and then to understanding. “Oh.”

Ava didn’t like the sound of that. “What’s that mean?”

Cori wet her lips and then lifted a shoulder. “Let me just say that there was a while there when I didn’t know what Evan and I had either. Because it was so different and so unexpected and so complicated.”

Yeah, she definitely didn’t like the sound of that. “I don’t want different or unexpected or complicated,” she said.

Cori nodded, seeming almost sympathetic. “Yeah, I know.”

“So what do I do?”

“You mean to avoid all of that?”

“Yes.”

Cori shook her head, a soft smile touching her lips. “I have absolutely no idea. I’m up to my eyeballs in different and unexpected.”

“But you like it.”

Cori’s smile grew. “I love it.”

Ava groaned. This was not helping.

“If you’re not going to just enjoy it, I’ve only got one option for you,” Cori said.

“What? I’ll do anything.”

Cori held up the tray. “Lots of shots.”

---

Of course he’s falling for her,” Noah said, pulling the cards out of the game box. “I think we were all already half in love just from what Rudy told us about them before they ever got to town.”

Evan laughed. “Yeah, except I think Rudy thought we’d pair up differently. He thought Ava and I would be good for each other, and that Brynn could be the sweetness Parker needs, and that Cori could make you have some fun.”

Noah looked up. “I’d say it’s all working out pretty well as is.”

Evan nodded. He was sitting back in his chair, his beer bottle cradled in one hand, the picture of nonchalance. But he was watching his friend carefully. “Me too. Obviously. Of course, there’s the little issue of Brynn needing to date five more guys before this is all over.”

Noah frowned. “Six guys. She’s supposed to date six guys before it’s over.”

“Then you’re sticking with the assertion that the time you spend together doesn’t count as dating?” Evan asked. “You’re not guy number one?”

Noah shook his head and started shuffling the cards. “We’re not dating.”

“Right. You just spend all your free time together, socialize together, don’t socialize with anyone else, scowl at any guy who tries to talk to her for more than five minutes, and stare at her like a love-sick puppy dog whenever she’s not looking. And sometimes when she is looking,” Evan said.

Noah didn’t actually refute any of that. He just said, “We’re friends. I’m getting to know her so that I know which guys I should set her up with.” But he didn’t make eye contact as he said it. He was very busy shuffling the cards that said things like a funeral and Denzel Washington and smelly. And that basically didn’t need shuffling.

“What about the love-sick puppy dog thing?” Evan asked, clearly not willing to let Noah just ignore that part.

“Every guy who meets her looks at her that way,” Noah said, lifting a shoulder as if it was no big deal. “Every guy looks at Cori that way too, in case you haven’t noticed.”

“I’ve totally noticed,” Evan said. “Which is why I make it crystal clear that she’s taken. Kind of like what you’re doing with Brynn.”

“That’s not what I’m doing.”

But there wasn’t a guy in Bliss who dared do more than smile at Brynn and hold doors for her and ask her how she was. Because Noah was big, and he was an ex-Marine, and he’d made it clear, albeit nonverbally, that Brynn was his. Even if he hadn’t exactly meant to.

“You haven’t set her up with one single date yet,” Evan said. “How long does getting to know her take?”

“We don’t all think we know everything important about someone after just a few days,” Noah said, obviously referring to how quickly Evan and Cori had bonded.

Evan shrugged. “Well, it’s only taken Parker about four months with Ava. How come you’re still getting to know Brynn?”

“Parker knew a lot about Ava from Rudy,” Noah pointed out.

“You didn’t know a lot about Brynn from Rudy?” Evan asked.

Noah’s frown darkened. “Rudy didn’t know Brynn very well.” The look on Noah’s face was one of protectiveness and almost anger. Considering Noah had been as close to Rudy as Evan and Parker had, the anger was interesting.

Evan obviously read the situation. It was better not to provoke the big guy who made a living taking things apart with tools that Evan and Parker had never even heard of. “So you think Parker is pretty much screwed?” Evan asked. “I mean, the second I kissed Cori, I was a goner. I didn’t know it, but there was no coming back from that.”

“Yeah, I think he is,” Noah said arranging the game cards for the third time.

“I wonder how long it will be before he realizes it,” Evan said.

“Well, you needed us to tell you that your mini-panic attack and indecision about having sex with Cori was because you were in love with her,” Noah reminded him.

Evan nodded. “So should we just tell him?”

“You mean before he asks us?” Noah asked.

“Yeah.”

“I don’t know. He’s not very good about taking advice,” Noah said.

“That’s because I know better than either of you about most things,” Parker said dryly, finally inputting into the conversation. He was seated across from Noah, even if it seemed that he wasn’t even in the room. He had a beer in his hand too and was half listening to his two best friends run their mouths.

He was also half listening for Ava’s voice and footsteps.

Which meant his friends were absolutely right. He was screwed. But he already knew it, so he was still ahead of these two.

Evan hadn’t realized his feelings for Cori went beyond lust and friendship until Parker and Noah—and Hank—had helped him see it. And Noah was still sitting there holding bright red and green playing cards, getting ready for another game night, after stitching cushions and painting walls and arranging tartlet pans full of pie-scented wax crumbles on the tables at the pie shop, and thinking that he and Brynn were just friends. Noah hadn’t even known what a tartlet was before Brynn had come to town. And none of the guys had heard of wax crumbles, scented or otherwise. Noah was in deep. But the guy was mentally tough. Clearly. His denial was almost as strong as his feelings for the sweet, nerdy triplet.

So yeah, Parker was aware of his feelings for Ava. He knew that things had gotten complicated. Somehow, in the midst of avocados and cinnamon, he’d developed feelings for her.

Actually, the feelings had probably started somewhere in the midst of her throwing him out of her kitchen on the very first day, and the way she’d stomped into his kitchen the next day demanding to know the difference between whisking and beating.

Okay, actually, it had probably started somewhere between Rudy telling him about Ava organizing Rudy’s assistant’s desk on her first Take Your Daughter to Work Day when she was twelve, and his story about Ava asking for a briefcase for her fourteenth birthday.

And it had gotten official when she told him she’d been taste-testing cinnamon and nutmeg and reading about apples. The colored tabs on her pie filling report hadn’t hurt either.

The door to the kitchen swung open just then, and Cori emerged with a tray full of shot glasses.

Parker gave her a big grin as he saw the cinnamon sticks poking out of the glasses. Cori could plan a party in thirty seconds. She loved a theme, so when he’d suggested game night, said “What about Apples to Apples?” and requested apple pie shots as the drink, Cori had nearly swooned. She’d taken over organizing game nights ever since the first one, when Ava had rolled out beer and chips and dip with poker. It had been fine, of course, but Cori couldn’t tolerate boring or “typical”. Which meant even Apples to Apples was going to have a twist or two.

If nothing else, there was no way Ava was going to sit across from him and ignore him. If he had to make pie jokes and insert the word “apple” into every other sentence all night, he was going to have her attention.

Which was just one more indication that he’d gone around the bend. He was perfectly content without attention. He’d certainly never worked for a woman’s attention before. He hadn’t really had to, he supposed. But he’d also never met a woman who was as complex as Ava Carmichael.

He should really settle down with a Bliss girl. They were mostly sweet and uncomplicated, and at least eight out of ten of them could bake a fucking pie.

“Where’s Brynn?” Noah asked.

Evan smirked, as though he’d just been waiting for Noah to ask.

“She’s Skyping with Jeffrey,” Cori said. Jeffrey was one of Brynn’s lab assistants and was the guy keeping things going in her absence.

Noah frowned. “How long have they been on?”

Parker just shook his head. Noah was jealous of some scientist geek from New York who was talking about microbes with Brynn via Skype. Yeah, he was going to handle her dating experiment really well.

“About an hour?” Cori said. Then she got a sly look in her eye and added, “All I heard was giggling when I went by.”

Noah got to his feet and started for the stairs. Cori burst into laughter as his foot hit the bottom step. “I’m kidding,” she called after him. “Brynn doesn’t giggle.”

“Yeah, she does,” Noah shot back and stomped up the stairs.

Evan, Parker, and Cori all shared wide-eyed looks.

“Damn,” Cori said.

“What?” Evan asked, reaching out and pulling her into his lap. “You like guys who get all possessive and growly?”

She wrapped an arm around his neck. “Well, yeah. Duh. All girls like that. At least within reason.”

“I can be possessive and growly,” Evan told her, pinching her ass.

She kissed him and then said, “Can you get some tattoos too?”

Evan arched a brow. “You like Noah’s tattoos?”

“Uh, I might be in love with you, Mr. Stone, but I’m not dead.”

“Is that a yes?” he asked, getting a little growly even as they sat there.

“All girls like Noah’s tattoos.”

“Is that right?” Parker asked. Did that include Ava?

“Even Ava,” Cori said with a nod, as if reading his mind.

Parker felt a little growly himself suddenly.

The kitchen door swung out again, and the hot, long-legged blonde who emerged this time was the one that he’d like to pinch on the ass.