After months of scraping by, it would be sublime to enjoy a breakfast feast. Plus, she was making enough for Jasper too. She didn’t know what he liked to eat in the morning, but figured she couldn’t go wrong with pancakes, eggs, bacon, and fruit. A strapping man like him would likely eat a lot too, so she didn’t skimp on the portions.
She mainlined coffee while she cooked, unsure what the day would bring.
Once the food was cooked, she put all but what she needed to feed Maddie in the oven to keep warm. She sat with Maddie at the kitchen table. Her kid was happily stuffing her face when Jasper strolled into the kitchen in a pair of black basketball shorts and nothing else.
Holy mother of god!
Her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth. Because hubba, hubba. The man was gorgeous. His inky hair hung around his broad shoulders. His chest was covered with a light dusting of dark hair. But what had her panting was his six-pack abs and chiseled vee lines that disappeared beneath his shorts that hung indecently low on his hips.
For a moment, she stared there, thinking she spied the faint outline of his thang. And good lord in heaven, he couldn’t be that big.
Feminine flutters clenched and rippled in her sex.
“Morning, ladies. I smelled bacon,” he murmured and winked at Maddie.
“Breakfast is in the oven, staying warm. Help yourself.” It was his food, after all. “And the coffee’s fresh too.”
He padded over to the coffeepot and withdrew a mug from the cabinet. “Have you eaten yet?”
“I will once Maddie’s finished.”
“I’ll wait for you.” He leaned back against the counter with his steaming mug of coffee.
“Oh, you don’t have to.” She kept her focus on feeding Maddie, not her future husband, who was giving her all sorts of naughty thoughts. It was ridiculous. She was a grown woman with a child, not some horny teenager. Tell that to her uterus. Damn thing kept making kissy noises in his direction, because he was the biggest, baddest alpha male she’d ever encountered. And her body biologically understood he was the best alpha male to procreate with and continue the species.
“You don’t have to wait for me. Eat while it’s still hot.”
“I’ll wait.”
“But you don’t have to.”
“I’d like to discuss a few things with you.”
Oh god, he’d changed his mind. They were going to have to pack up and leave this place when they’d barely settled in. What would she do? Where would they go?
“All right.” She swallowed, uncertain what she and Maddie would do now.
“Relax. I’m not tossing you out.”
Was he a mind reader besides being a sexy beast of a man who was loaded and single? “Am I that obvious?”
“Yep. It’s written all over your face. You’d never win at poker.”
“I avoid games of chance.” She had experienced far too much excitement in her twenty-six years. She wanted peace. She wanted a place to raise Maddie without feeling like there was an ax above their heads.
“All life is risk, lass. The simple act of walking out your door each day could have dire consequences, so live your life and stop worrying about the rest.”
She snorted. “Easy for you to say.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because of all this.” She gestured to encompass the cabin, and she used that term sparingly because it was at least four thousand square feet. “You have money and can be careless when most of us can’t. Most of us have to be careful with every penny we spend and everything we do, because the consequences are too dire. And when you have a child, that becomes compounded exponentially.”
“Do you think I don’t have responsibilities?” he scowled.
“No, I do…it’s just we don’t really know each other, and we’re both making assumptions about the other.”
“I agree. For this to work, lass, we’re going to have to spend some time getting to know each other.”
“Yay!” Maddie clapped.
They grinned at her daughter’s enthusiasm. “Let me get her cleaned up and grab her playpen, then we can eat.”
“I’ll grab the playpen. You take care of her.” He set his coffee mug on the counter and strode away before she could argue.
She inhaled a deep breath. The man was potent. His presence made her forget herself and speak up. She closed her eyes. Not all men hit. Just because Ian had doesn’t mean Jasper will.
Freya cleaned Maddie’s face and hands, which, with a toddler who wants to be active, could be problematic. Jasper returned, hefting the playpen, and lord alive, but seeing all those chest and arm muscles in action, the way they rippled and flexed with his movements, left her wanting to fan her face.
She stood there frozen, lusting after him. She didn’t know what was more shocking, not being able to move or the fact that she was experiencing lust.
He glanced with a wry grin. “Problem?”
She flushed under his penetrating stare. “Uh, no, just thinking of everything we need to get done.” Even though they hadn’t really talked about the steps that came next.
“Why don’t I put on Sesame Street for Maddie so we can talk without being interrupted.”
“Fine by me. I’ll get the food out of the oven,” she said, hating how much she used the television to babysit her kid. But sometimes as a single parent, it was the only option when she wanted to get things done.
She pulled everything out of the oven, hoping the eggs weren’t too dried out, and got out two plates. She dished up the food onto her plate. But given she didn’t know how much Jasper would eat, she left the rest out for him to make his own plate.
Once they were both seated at the table, he said, “It’s good. Thank you for fixing breakfast.”
“Well, you are marrying me and giving us a nice place to live.”
“It’s not a requirement of our arrangement. But you should know we’ve got a delivery coming today with a bed, changing table, and highchair for Maddie, along with some other things.”
She opened her mouth to tell him he didn’t need to do that.
“Before you object, you need to understand that, as my wife, there will be certain expectations. My family would think it’s strange if they came to visit and your daughter didn’t have her own bed to sleep in. It’s just not practical to have her sleeping in the playpen all the time. She needs a bed, and I’m providing one. In fact, we’ll be setting up a room specifically for Maddie here, at the house in Denver, and then at the manor in Scotland down the road. I’ll be outfitting them with the things she needs. No arguments.”
She sighed, swallowing any objections she had, because they wouldn’t make a bit of difference. Not when his stance was as immovable as the mountains outside the windows. “Thank you. I don’t think you have to do that, but thank you just the same.”
“Good. As for you, I’ll be making a hair and nail appointment for you tomorrow morning in Denver. We’ve got an appointment after that at Bloomingdales because you need to be outfitted.”
“I don’t think that’s necessary. I have my own clothes.” She didn’t want to take money from him for clothes. She had far more important things to use her money on. Nor did she want to spend a boatload on clothing and have it deducted from the amount they’d agreed upon.