Starting From Scratch (29 page)

“And what did Cece say to that?” I felt awful, pumping

him for information yet again, but I couldn’t help myself. I

was utterly shocked that Cindy gave a shit who was

hanging around her son. Shocked in a good way.

“She was glad.” Max shrugged as if it didn’t really

matter.

“Well, I’m glad, too. You know I’m only nice to you

because you’re a great assistant chef, right?” I poked him

again and he squealed. “If you were a lousy assistant chef,

I’d toss you in the closet and keep you there until Mom

came to get you.” I poked him some more, delighted at

how ticklish he was.

He laughed and squirmed himself right off the chair,

and once I let up, he lay on the kitchen floor, panting and

adorable. I got a big spoon out of the drawer. Once he

caught his breath, he reclaimed his spot and we filled two

cookie sheets with fat drops of raisin-spotted batter. I was

even able to accept that they weren’t all uniform in size,

that Max’s were all over the place, and soon the house

smelled of warm oatmeal cookies.

It was nearly nine thirty by the time Elena arrived to

pick up her son. He was crashed on my couch, the Disney

Channel on mute on my television, Steve curled up near

Max’s feet. She stood looking at him for several moments,

her face a portrait of a mother totally in love with her

child. She looked gorgeous.

After a few minutes, she joined me in the kitchen

where I was wrapping up a big plate of cookies for my

assistant chef.

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“How was book club?” I asked her, my voice low.

“Great, as always. You should join us.”

“en you wouldn’t have a babysitter,” I pointed out

with a half-grin.

“But I’d have you sitting next to me.” She pulled me

into a hug. I wrapped my arms around her warm body and

took in the scent of her: coconut shampoo and the warm,

sweet scent of her body spray. “And I wouldn’t have to miss

you.”

Our kiss started gently enough, her soft lips finding

mine. As always, it was so easy to just slip into it, to lose all

sense of time and space and just float in her arms. I slid my

hand up her arm and into the silky hair at the nape of her

neck. In response, her tongue darted into my mouth and I

could taste the wine she’d had during book club…

something red and pepper y. We moved almost

unnoticeably until my back hit the edge of the counter and

Elena’s hands dropped lower to cup my ass. I reluctantly

pulled my lips from hers, halting her progress with a hand

on her chest.

“Elena,” I said softly as a warning.

“Christ, I can’t wait for this weekend,” she whispered,

nipping my jaw. “I am this close,” she held her thumb and

forefinger scant millimeters apart, “to propping you up on

this counter and taking advantage of you right here among

the kitchen utensils.”

I blushed and smiled simultaneously. “Just hold off for

two more days, baby, and if you’re good, maybe I’ll let you

smear cookie dough on me and lick it off.”

Elena grinned wickedly. “Promise?”

“Sweetie, you can have anything you want from me.

Don’t you know that by now?” I gave her a quick peck on

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the lips and extricated myself from her grasp…not because

I wanted to—the idea of her “taking advantage” of me did

nothing but send my arousal through the roof—but

because Max was in the next room and I couldn’t imagine

trying to explain to him why Mommy and Coach King

were naked and groaning on the kitchen counter.

Elena took a deep breath, exhaled loudly, and then

shook out her body as if waking up from a trance. She

straightened her clothes, wiped the corners of her mouth,

and gave a curt nod. Obviously, Mom was back on the

scene, which I found endearingly amusing. She scooped

Max up in her arms—he barely opened his eyes—and I got

the door for her.

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CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

“So, where are you guys going?” Maddie asked me

early Saturday afternoon. I hadn’t spoken with her in over

a week and it felt wonderful to catch up.

“Alexander’s. Elena’s never been and you know how

much I love it.”

“And how are things going with you and the Greek

goddess?” Maddie teased, using her newly minted

nickname for Elena. I was bringing her and Max to

Maddie and J.T.’s for dinner the following week, so she

was easing up a bit on the “why haven’t we met her?”

accusations she’d been e-mailing me on a regular basis.

And no, the tee-ball games didn’t count, she’d informed me

in no uncertain terms.

“Slow and easy. But it’s okay.”

“Slow and easy isn’t always a bad thing,” Maddie said

and I could almost hear her wink.

“She’s worth the wait, believe me.”

“Oh, I believe you. I haven’t seen you this goo-goo

since…since…wow, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this

goo-goo over a girl.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at Maddie’s choice of

adjective. “I’m not
goo-goo
,” I protested. “You make me

sound like I’m three. I’m just really…”

“In love.”

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“Well, duh. Yeah. But it’s more than that. Somehow. If

that makes any sense.”

“Are you trying to tell me Elena is  e One with a

capital T and a capital O?”

She wasn’t mocking me, not really. She was trying to

keep it light, but I could tell she seriously wanted to know

if that’s how I felt about Elena. I tapped my forefinger

against my lips as I pondered honestly. “Yes. I think she

very well might be.”

Maddie was quiet for a moment. When she spoke, her

voice was gentle. Pleased. “I’m glad to hear that, Avery. I’m

very happy for you. I knew you’d fallen hard for this

woman, but I wasn’t sure exactly
where
on the scale, you

know? I can’t wait to meet her.”

A knock on my front door hurried our goodbyes.

“We’ll see you on Tuesday,” I said.

I was surprised to see Elena when I opened my front

door. I set the phone down on a side table as I smiled

widely. “Well, hello there, gorgeous.”

She was dressed casually, but was no less sexy than

usual, in low-waisted jeans and a deep green tank top. I,

too, was casual in a pair of old boxer shorts and a Duke

Women’s Basketball T-shirt, but I paled in comparison.

She was delectable.

Elena stepped into the foyer and directly into my

personal space, one eyebrow arched mischievously and a

predatory gleam in her eye, each of which sent a pang of

arousal straight down between my legs. She took my face

in both hands and kissed me, hard and rough, pulling a

moan from my throat while kicking the door shut behind

her.

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“I’m sorry,” she muttered between kisses as she spun us

around so my back was against the door. “I know you’ve

got things to do today. So do I. But I just dropped Max off

at my mother’s and I was thinking about us spending time

together later and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on you.

If I don’t get this out of my system, we’ll never make it to

the restaurant tonight.” She stopped and looked me in the

eyes. “I hope you don’t mind.”

I tried to meet her gaze, but my own eyes had swum

out of focus from the intensity of her kiss, and my

breathing was ragged. I think I managed a shake of my

head and a sentence fragment or two. “No. Don’t mind.

Don’t mind at all.” Something like that. I pulled her face

back to me and she took my mouth with hers again,

stopping the kiss only long enough to pull my shirt over

my head and off. Her hands slipped behind my back and

with a quick flick, my bra was unfastened. She yanked that

off, too, and filled her hands with my breasts.

Her touch was not gentle, it was demanding. And

bossy. And possessive. And I couldn’t remember the last

time my panties became so damp so fast. God, it was easy

with her.
I
was easy with her. She could take me from zero

to sixty in about four seconds. I moaned loudly and the

back of my head knocked against the door when she

fastened her mouth onto my nipple and bit down, then

sucked me in hungrily. I lost all sense of time while she

went back and forth from one breast to the other with her

tongue, her teeth, and her fingers. Just when I thought I

seriously might spontaneously combust, she stood back up

and kissed me again and her tongue pushed into my

mouth at the same time her hand dipped into my shorts

and underwear. We both groaned at the contact.

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“Oh, my God, you’re so wet,” she whispered against

my lips.

“It’s what you do to me,” I replied honestly, then raised

my right leg and hooked it around her hips to give her

better access. I was slightly off balance and gripping her

shoulders tightly, and I wasn’t terribly comfortable in this

position, but I didn’t care. I just didn’t want her to stop

touching me.

Elena didn’t disappoint me, but instead gripped my

right thigh with her hand, lifted it higher, and held it,

helping me balance, while at the same time pushing us

both hard against the door and setting up a rhythm

between my legs. I held on for dear life and tried not to

scream in pleasure and delight so as not to bring any

neighbors running to my aid.  e foyer filled with the

sound of our labored breathing and the recurring beat of

my shoulders against the door.

“I love you,” I murmured in Elena’s ear as she drove

me higher, the pitch of my voice climbing as well. “Elena.

God, I love you.” e edge was in sight now, I could feel its

rapid approach. “Oh, yes. God, yes.”

“Like that?”

“Just like that.”

“Yeah?”

“Oh, yeah. Oh…” I clamped my jaw shut and groaned

through my teeth as colors exploded behind my eyelids like

fireworks.

“ere it is,” Elena whispered, her lips next to my ear

and her sexy voice intensifying my climax as she kept her

hand moving against my hot and swollen flesh. “at’s it,

baby. at’s it. Just for me. All for me.” She held on tightly,

keeping me upright as I rode out the contractions, panting

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and whimpering and wondering how the top of my head

hadn’t blown off.

“Oh, my God,” I said breathlessly when the last spasm

had left me boneless and Elena’s hand slowed and then

stopped, but still pressed tightly against me. “Dear God.

I’ve got to…down…”

And together, we slid down the door and dropped like

a discarded towel onto my foyer floor, breathless, satisfied,

and utterly wiped out.

“Holy crap,” I finally said after several moments of

waiting for my vision to focus once again. “at was…holy

crap.”

“anks for wearing the easy access shorts.”

“Hey, whatever I can do to make your life simpler. Is

this ambushing me at the front door going to be a regular

occurrence? You’ve done it twice now.”

“It might be.” Elena chuckled and tightened her arms

around me. “Should I apologize for the lack of warning?”

“Absolutely not. I’d reward you for your element of

surprise if I could move any of my limbs. Or feel them.”

“I love you,” Elena said a few moments later before we

began the difficult task of untangling ourselves from each

other and attempting to stand.

Five minutes later, she was gone and I was still

standing in my foyer, braless (not that anybody would

notice) and wearing my T-shirt inside out.

Steve wandered by at that moment. He stood and

seemed to study me, then turned and went back into the

living room.

“Hey. Did you just judge me?” I asked defensively,

glaring at his retreating backside.

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1

Alexander’s was filled to capacity with its usual

Saturday night crowd, but we had a cozy little table for two

in the corner and as far as I was concerned, there was no

crowd. Just Elena, in her drop-dead gorgeous little black

dress with a plunging neckline that made me salivate as I

imagined running my tongue along the V made by the

fabric. I indicated her cleavage with my eyes.

“Nice dress.”

“I thought you might like it.” e expression on her

face was mirthful as she sipped her Pinot Noir.

“Like it? I’m not sure I’ll be able to think about—or

look at—anything else.” Changing my voice to a serious

note, I added quietly, “You look beautiful, Elena.”

I was pleased to see her cheeks flush a delicate pink.

“ank you. You’re looking awfully gorgeous yourself, you

know.”

ough I wasn’t showing nearly the skin Elena was, I

had chosen an emerald green silk blouse and left it

unbuttoned lower than I usually dared. I’d paired it with a

new pair of black dress slacks and black strappy sandals

with a slight heel, and I’d pulled my hair back into a gold