“This is a nice thing to come home to,” I murmured, reaching down to give Misty some love, too.
“Well you’re a nice thing to see walking in the door,” he said.
“Never in my life did I expect to come home and see you baking,” I said, looking all around at the pans, bowls, and ingredients covering every open surface of my kitchen.
“Getting in a car accident has changed me, man,” he said wistfully. “I managed to get out of it without being badly hurt, but now I’m apparently a person who bakes.”
I chuckled, rubbing my palm along the small of his back. “I’ve never even seen you bake a cookie from store-bought dough. This is a new era for you, Goose.”
“It really is. Now, can you help me wash my arm off? Because nobody ever told me that the worst part of a casted arm isn’t the pain, it’s the complete inability to do anything by myself.”
“I’ve got you,” I said, heading over toward the kitchen sink and turning on the warm water.
I helped him soap up and wash all of the ingredients off of his arm and hand. I lathered him up and rubbed along his skin, taking my time.
“How do you manage to make washing my arm into something so sexy?” Sawyer asked. I caught his eyes, and he looked like he was in a trance.
“Because anytime I’m touching you, I want you to feel good,” I murmured. “I don’t care if it’s a hug, or sex, or washing your damn hand for you.”
He let out a slow breath. “How am I so lucky?”
I shut off the water and reached for a towel. “Trust me when I tell you that I’ve been wondering the same thing about myself.”
I leaned over and kissed him, softly and slowly. Not so long ago, a kiss like this would have felt impossible, so beyond off-limits that I never even let myself think about it. Now, it was a part of my life.
And he thought he was the lucky one?
“I love you,” he murmured near my lips.
“I love you so much. But I do have one question for you.”
“Go for it, Moose.”
I looked around the kitchen again. “What exactly are you baking?”
A grin spread across his face. “I thought you’d never ask. Here.”
He spun around and reached for the fridge, swinging open the door. “I think it should be just ready to cut into now.”
He pulled out a pie that looked stunning enough to be in a professional bakery. It was billowing with white on top, and underneath, I could see a sliver of yellow.
“Is that lemon meringue pie?”
“It is.”
“Holy hell, Sawyer, those aren’t easy to make,” I said.
He slid the pie onto the one remaining open spot on the kitchen counter. “I may or may not have had to make the filling twice, because the first batch was basically paste. But this second one looked just like it did in the YouTube video, so I have high hopes.”
“You made us a lemon meringue pie,” I said, still marveling at it.
“I know how much you love lemons,” he said. “When life gives you them, you can make the best lemonade on Earth, but you can also make a pie.”
I snorted. “You’re incredible.”
“I will admit that I am not going to be able to slice it very well with one arm, so I’ll need to enlist your strong, two-armed help.”
“Don’t have to ask me twice,” I said. “I’m probably going to devour half of this thing. God, it looks so good, Goose. I love you. I know I already said that, but I might say it in between every bite of this pie, so get ready for that.”
I got out my best knife and carefully sliced a piece of pie for each of us, setting them onto plates and taking them over to the table. We sat down and ate, and on the first bite, my eyes rolled to the back of my head.
“Okay,” I said, putting a hand down on the table. “I’ve had it with you. You were already perfect, and now you’re perfect and you can make the best pie I’ve ever had in my life? Unacceptable. I’m kicking you out.”
He beamed with pride, finishing a bite. “I’ve got to say, I’m even a little impressed with myself. This isn’t bad.”
“It’s fucking great. Thank you for this. And even though I said I was going to devour half of it, I think I’m going to eat the whole thing. Also, I love you so much.”
“You make me feel like I matter,” Sawyer said.
“You matter more than you’ll ever know. Speaking of which,” I said, dropping my fork. “Did you see the teaser trailer that came out?”
His eyes went wide. “Oh, shit,” he said quietly. “That’s already out?”
I nodded. “Posted online right before I left the brewery tonight. The guys played it for me. Here.”