Jerking away from Leon, I rubbed a hand down my face as Bella bounded down the stairs and skidded into the
hallway.
Leon cleared his throat and stepped back, a light smile touching his lips as his head swayed toward my sister. “Baby Bedford. You’re a lot bigger than the last time I saw you.”
Bella ran her eyes down Leon’s body, blatantly assessing him without a hint of shame. “And you look like a boy band threw up on you.”
I quickly covered my chuckle with a closed fist, slanting a look over to Leon. His sandy brows scaled his forehead as he blinked down at Bella, a wtf expression on his handsome face. Yep.
“Didn’t realize you had a BF, Liss.” Bella turned to me with a questioning stare.
“He’s not my boyfriend,” I corrected, painfully aware of Leon’s eyes on me.
Bella shrugged and flipped her hair, walking past us down the hallway with one last parting comment. “Good. He’s way too pretty for you, and plus, his hair looks flammable.”
Leon’s stunned gaze swung my way as Bella strutted into the kitchen.
“What the fuck did I do to her?” His eyes slitted as he stared down at me. “Did you train her to hate me?”
I laughed, shaking my head. “Didn’t have to.”
“Christ. I pity any guy she comes into contact with for the next ten years.” Leon stuck his thumbs on his hips, head lightly swinging on his shoulders as he stared after my sister. “Pretty sure she couldn’t even talk last time I saw her.”
I nodded. “Yeah. We all miss those days.”
A high-pitched beeping sounded from the kitchen and my eyes shot wide. Hurrying through the doorway, I shoved my hand in the mitt and yanked the door down, sliding the tray from the oven and placing it on the counter with a satisfied nod.
Golden. Cakey… ish. Weirdly shaped, but what the hey? Who gave a fuck what a cake looked like?
“You’re baking?” Leon’s deep voice came from behind me.
“Clearly,” I muttered, staving off the shudder his throaty drawl incited.
“Standing that close to a hot appliance not a health hazard for you?” My eyes narrowed. “Any closer and you’ll melt, Snow Queen.”
The amusement in his tone had me turning to face him. Mirth danced his gaze, lips twitching as he fought a grin. I glanced away, because it wasn’t the oven I needed to steer clear of.
“Hardy fucking har, Bradshaw,” I muttered. “Going by the amount of product in your hair, I’d say there’s more danger of you going up in flames than me melting.”
“Just playing, Snow Queen,” he murmured with a quick wink, his blues bolting to mine as he took a step closer.
His eyes flashed, never wavering from mine, as he leaned forward and reached around me to snag a cupcake. My lungs suspended, and I leaned back as far as the counter would allow, the hard edge biting into my back as the clean, fresh smell of him drifted up through my nostrils. I gripped the edges of the counter to stop myself from reaching out and touching him.
“Um, I thought you said he wasn’t your boyfriend?”
Leon smirked down at me before stuffing a whole cupcake into his mouth and chewing. Shaking my head with an indrawn breath, I twisted to look at Bella.
“Did you sit on these?” she asked.
“What?”
Bella squinted up at me. “They look weird. What did you do to them?”
I scowled, huffing air out through my nostrils. I’d fucking cook her if she didn’t give up.
“They’re fine,” I muttered with a scowl. “You won’t even be able to notice what they look like once they’re covered with frosting, anyway.”
She stared at them a beat longer, before giving her head a firm shake. “I’m not taking those. Mom’s are way better. Mom makes them exactly like the ones in the window of the cake shop in town. Why can’t she just do them?”