“You’ll take the blame for twenty?” he asked. “That’s mighty decent.”
“Well, I’m not exactly low maintenance.”
He couldn’t believe she managed to say the words with a straight face. “That I know.”
“So tell me, what else is on this list of yours?”
He had definitely piqued her curiosity, which brought him a surprising amount of satisfaction. But he wasn’t about to put all his cards on the table. At least not yet. “I’m afraid that’s classified information,” he said.
“Think you’ve got me all figured out, huh?”
“Hardly. The list is very much a work in progress.”
“Well, we never did finish that game of Twenty Questions. Maybe you’ll find a few more items for the list then,” she said.
“Ah, yes, and I still have all ten of mine.”
“If I’m not mistaken, I have what…eight more to ask you?”
His head fell back on a laugh. “Nice try.”
“What?” she asked, knowing damn well what.
“You’re worse than Maddie, do you know that?” It was meant as a joke, but the similarities between this and the conversation he’d just had with his four-year-old daughter were hard to miss.
Paige stared at him, nonplussed. Lucas had to admit, she was good. Step one in any negotiation: Never back down on the first move.
“You have four questions left,” he said.
“Five,” she corrected. Guess there wasn’t much point to standing your ground when you’d been busted. “One was up for debate, but the jury ruled in my favor.”
He grinned. “How quickly her memory returns when it suits her.”
“There’s a lot you don’t know about me,” she said. “Competitiveness isn’t only in my nature. It’s in my blood.”
“I’ll add that to the list.” Lucas grew more serious. “Tell me more.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Are you officially using one of your questions?”
“If you insist.”
“Well, I’ve already told you I’m wicked when it comes to rummy,” she teased. “But I can be just as ruthless with a good old-fashioned game of Candy Land, so best to keep Maddie away from me as well.”
He knew she was only playing, but as she said the words, Lucas realized just how far from the truth that was. Paige had only spent one afternoon with his daughter, but even after that short amount of time, the two of them had already made a connection. A bit of an awkward one, no doubt—who shook hands with a four-year-old, let alone asked what kind of crème brûlée she preferred?—but still.
“I don’t know about that. My daughter can be quite ruthless when it comes to Go Fish. Especially if we’re betting with M&Ms.”
Paige laughed. “I can respect a girl who goes for the jugular over chocolate.”
“Speaking of chocolate,” he said. “I have a surprise for you. Meet me in the living room.”
Chapter 17
Paige paced back and forth in front of the fireplace so many times, even the dogs grew tired of watching her. As a rule, she hated surprises, even good ones. Just one more side effect of being a type A control freak, but knowing that about herself didn’t make the waiting any easier.
Luckily, Lucas didn’t keep her in suspense for too long. He joined her a few moments later, holding a pink bakery box in his hands.
“Is that…”
Lucas nodded. “I know the booking wasn’t exactly as you imagined. Figured the least I could do was make good on the cake order.” He lifted the cover of the cardboard box to reveal a round cake decorated with pink roses and the words Happy Singles Day.
“Hope you like chocolate cake with white butter cream,” he said. “Inventory was a little light seeing as how they are just now back in business.”
“It’s my favorite,” Paige said. “My mom used to make one for my birthday every year.”
Lucas set the cake on the coffee table and pulled a fork out of the back pocket of his jeans. “Here you go,” he said as he handed it to her.
Paige gaped at him. “You can’t be serious? You want me to just dig in?”
“Why not?” He took a seat on the floor and waved his hand in the direction of the nine-inch cake.
“Aren’t you going to have any?” Surely he wasn’t expecting her to eat a giant cake all by herself.
Lucas flashed a boyish grin as he produced another fork from his pocket. “Absolutely, but ladies first. Plus, it is your cake, after all.”
“Is it too much to hope that you’re going to pull a knife and two plates out of that pocket?” The peanut butter on the banister was starting to make a lot more sense. If utensils were optional, it’s amazing the whole place wasn’t covered with remnants of food.
He laughed. “Live a little, Paige. Not everything has to be picture perfect. Sometimes you just need to eat a cake right out of the box.”
That sounded great and all, but Paige wasn’t convinced. “What if your sister wants some cake? And you know Maddie will. Are we just going to offer them a mangled mountain of crumbs?”
He reached for her hand and tugged her to the floor beside him. “If it will make you feel better, I promise to cut off the part where we ate before they come back. But for now”—he stuck the fork in the cake, breaking off a rather large chunk and holding it in front of her face—“taste.”
Sensing her hesitation, he turned playful. “Come on. You have to try some,” he said. “Least you can do after a shop full of the island’s busiest bodies heard me ask for this inscription.”
Paige reached for the fork, but Lucas shook his head. “Let me.”
“I can feed myself,” she started to protest. It was one of the stipulations she’d made for the wedding-that-never-happened. Under no circumstances was she going to allow herself to be fed cake in front of two hundred and fifty guests.
“That’s not the point.” His voice dropped. “Now, open for me.”
Oh boy. Paige shifted in place. How in the world had he turned pigging out on cake like a couple of eight-year-olds into something so erotic? Forget the cake, she was ready for a different kind of dessert.
But since Lucas seemed determined not only for her to try the cake, but to feed it to her as well…
Still feeling slightly foolish, Paige opened her mouth and allowed him to feed her a bite of decadent chocolate cake. “Mmmm…” Her eyes drifted shut as she savored the mouthwatering bite. When she opened them, she found Lucas watching her with a penetrating stare.