Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 106065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
I swallowed hard and cleared my throat. “May I spend some time with you in the kitchen, Archie? Like, I could be your assistant while I’m here?”
He smiled and reached over to squeeze my shoulder. “I think that’s a great idea. And now that I know what you can’t eat, I wanna hear all about your favorites. Aside from these obsessions.”
“Chicken and mints are worth mentioning twice,” I blurted out without thinking. Pure reflex. “I love chicken. Fried chicken and rotisserie from Costco—oh my gosh. And biscuits and garlic knots and carrot sticks and strawberries. I have lots of favorites.”
He grinned and nodded toward the kitchen. “Let’s go, then. We clearly have a lot to talk about.”
Okay!
CHAPTER FIVE
“Daddy’s home!” Greer hollered.
We already knew. The doggies had started barking the moment Greer had pulled into the carport, which was like a solid fifty or sixty feet away from the house.
“Archie and I are making garlic knots, Sir!” I yelled. “I’m helping!”
I was developing a crush on Archie. The way he worked in the kitchen…? Oof. Like watching porn. He’d put together a dough in a matter of minutes and then tossed it into the KitchenAid before we’d made little dough knots together. And now he was teaching me how to make the best seasoning blend for garlic knots.
I had flour probably all over my face, but I didn’t care. This was so much fun.
“Something definitely smells fantastic.” Greer joined us while carrying two enormous cardboard boxes that he dumped on the dining room table. The part of it that hadn’t been set. Big family, big table.
“Food should be ready in twenty minutes, Master,” Archie said.
“Look at’chu two,” Greer chuckled. “How come flour only exploded on Corey’s face?”
I snickered and wiped my cheek on my shoulder. “He has finesse and sexy, skillful fingers. I do not.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that.” Archie poured melted butter into the mixing bowl where I had all the spices. “Your fingers are plenty sexy.”
They were all smooth talkers.
“Just stir for a bit while I check on the knots,” he said. “Master, there’s fresh lemonade in the fridge for you. Want me to pour you a glass?”
“I won’t say no to that.” Greer wiped his forehead and sat down on the other side of the bar. He’d definitely spent the morning doing manual labor, ’cause he was sweaty and wearing utility clothes. “Where’s Sloan?”
“When I decided that lunch was missing garlic knots, he took Odin and Bandit for a walk on the ridge,” Archie replied. “They should be back soon.”
“Ah.” Greer glanced past us toward the stove. “So what’re we having? I walk in here, and my mouth turns into a faucet.”
Archie placed a big glass of lemonade on a coaster in front of his Master, and they shared a quick kiss. “Big spread of leftovers—so a little bit of everything from this week.”
“Fuckin’ A. You spoil us, baby.” Master Greer could not look more content, and who could blame him. They were living the dream out here. He took a big swallow of his lemonade and finished with a happy ahhhh. Then he stood up and announced he’d get the last from the hallway. The last of what, I had no idea. More boxes, I guessed.
“I swear, I could look at Master’s ass forever,” Archie murmured under his breath. “Bloody hell.”
I grinned and quirked a brow at him. “Are you part English?”
He returned to his task of checking the knots on the tray, seemingly to make sure they’d risen enough. “My parents are both from the UK, but they moved to Pittsburgh before I was born.” That explained it. “Then they moved back to London when I finished high school here, so I went back and forth a lot and studied a few years there.”
Made sense. I’d studied in Europe too, partly because I had dual citizenship, and uni studies in Denmark didn’t bury me in debt. I’d actually taken a course in London too, but that was just a four-week stint.
“When I studied to become an illustrator, I did a four-week exchange program thing with an amazing artist in London,” I said. “I think I learned more from him in one month than I did during the other four semesters. Plus, he was a freak in bed.” I did a chef’s kiss.
Archie’s eyes glittered with interest. “I think I need more information. You slept with your professor?”
I grinned and shrugged.
“Who slept with his professor?” Greer asked, returning with a—oh, it had to be someone’s birthday in the family. I would recognize the shopping box from Build-A-Bear from a mile away!
“Corey, apparently.” Archie’s wicked smile made me laugh. “What a little deviant. Who took the initiative? Did you seduce him or the other way around?”
I flushed at the memory. “I’m not sure. We got drunk at his place, and all of a sudden, I was kneeling to suck him off. I think I made the first move, actually. But he wasn’t far behind.”