“I think the strawberries went bad,” she croaked before taking a big swig of the coffee sitting on her tray.
I glanced down at the red, gooey stuff slathered over the fluffy, golden pancakes. Since it was like a strawberry glaze, it would’ve been easy to miss if the strawberries were mushy with over ripeness. A sigh escaped my lips as I rolled my eyes to the ceiling. It certainly wasn’t the start I had envisioned for the day.
Aurora giggled, and I glanced down at her twinkling blue eyes. It was impossible to fight my answering smile when she looked at me like that. I kissed her forehead and shook my head ruefully. “Sorry, baby. We’ll get breakfast on the way to work.”
She trailed a finger down my bare chest and eyed me slyly. “Now that we don’t have breakfast taking up our time…” I grabbed her hand before she could go any lower and gave her a mock glare.
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you only want me for my body,” I said with a huff. Aurora laughed boisterously and smacked a kiss on my lips.
Then she winked at me. “It certainly doesn’t hurt your cause.”
I barked out a laugh and playfully tugged her from the bed. “Let’s go, beautiful.”
With a pat to her juicy ass, I urged her toward the bathroom. It took a monumental feat of strength to ignore her “come hither” look as she sashayed toward the shower. When I remained firm, her face drooped into an adorable pout, making me laugh as I hastily left the room to escape temptation. The day was already off to a rocky start, but it wouldn’t ruin everything else I had planned.* * *“What a beautiful day,” Aurora sighed as she laid her head back and turned her face up to the sun. With the top of my convertible down, the wind blew her golden locks wildly around her. Rather than complaining and trying to keep her hair away, she just laughed and tossed on her sunglasses. I loved how relaxed she had become with me. She seemed to shed the persona she constantly wore around others and was just herself with me.
Aurora was forever taking on the role of parent with her sisters and the demanding job of running the chapel. Her sisters worked just as hard and were brilliant in their roles, but it was Aurora who truly dealt with the stresses and demands that came with the business side of things. When I’d casually tried to bring up hiring help so she could take some much-needed breaks, she’d balked and refused to consider the idea. However, after thoroughly seducing her and driving home (double entendre intended) the idea of a blissful vacation where we had nothing to do besides each other…she became much more amenable to the idea.
As far as Aurora knew, we were headed to work, but I’d asked Belle and Ariel to take over the chapel duties and wedding for the day. Since breakfast had been a bust, I decided to take her to a little diner she loved on the Strip. I’d make it up to her with the special lunch I had planned.
We were a few minutes from the main Vegas drag when a loud pop sounded, and the car swerved dangerously. I managed to keep control of the vehicle and pull to the shoulder of the road. We came to a sudden stop, and I immediately turned to Aurora to make sure she hadn’t been injured. Her blue eyes were wide with shock, but I couldn’t see any visible signs of damage. My heart had dropped into my stomach and fear squeezed at my throat until I ran my hands over her—ignoring her protests—and decided she was unhurt.
I stepped out of the car and exhaled harshly at the sight of my shredded front tire. “Fuck,” I whispered under my breath when what I wanted was to shout in frustration at this second unexpected and seriously ill-timed interruption of my plans. Silently seething, I stomped to the trunk to retrieve the spare. Aurora chuckled as she scooted to my side of the car and exited.
“Relax, baby,” I told her. “I’ll take care of this.”
She raised a brow and narrowed her eyes at me. “I know how to change a tire, Will. Knox made sure all his sisters could take care of themselves.”
I dropped the tire and closed the distance between us, snaking my arm around her waist and pulling her close. “I have no doubt you could handle this, baby, but how about you let your man play the hero for his woman?” I finished my question with a wink, and it had the desired effect when she laughed.
“By all means, Superman, impress me.”
I grinned, feeling much less frustrated at the circumstances and quickly replaced the ruined tire with the spare. Unfortunately, the task was a grimy one, and my clothes and hands ended up streaked with oil and dirt. I was going to need a shower because I refused to romance my girl in my current condition.