AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Perfect. Can you deliver?”
“Sure, let me get you a total and you can sign here. Quinn, Lanie’s in the back.” He nodded towards the kitchen, and I took the cue, easing my way—slowly—through the double doors. You never knew who was ready to barrel through from the other side.
Delaney was standing in front of the wide marble slab counter, rolling out dough, headphones in her ears, oblivious to the world. I took a few seconds to drink her in—the tight white T-shirt, messy bun, the look of concentration on her face. I almost hated to interrupt her, she seemed so lost in thought.
“Oh.”
She glanced up, her blue eyes catching mine, a pink blush blossoming on her cheeks. She yanked the headphones out of her ears. “Have you been here long? I didn’t hear you come in.”
I shook my head. “No, just got here. Mars sent me back.”
Wiping her hands down her apron self-consciously, she was almost shy for a moment. That didn’t last long.
“Wash your hands, then put this on.” She thrust a baby blue apron in my direction. “We have a lot to do, and I still have seven or so hours on our personal assistant deal. You better believe I’m going to make the most of them.”
I grudgingly scrubbed my hands and shrugged the apron on, wishing I had won the bet last night instead. I could think of a lot more fun things to do with Delaney than rolling out dough.
She interrupted my racy thoughts, asking, “Have you ever made a pie before?”
I stared blankly at her.
“Yeah, I didn’t think so.” She gnawed her bottom lip.
“So the key to a great pie crust is technique. You have to use just the right amount of flour to prevent sticking, but not too much or the crust will be dry. And you don’t want to overhandle the dough, or it gets tough.”
“I never overhandle,” I said, winking at her. She shook her head, rolling her eyes at me.
“Then you have to make sure you don’t roll the dough too thin. You have to be able to transfer it to the pan without tearing. We’ll put parchment paper down to help with the transfer, but it’s a delicate process.”
“I can do delicate.” I eased up behind her, tracing my finger down her neck, to her shoulder, skimming past her breast, all the way down to her hip. She inhaled sharply, her body melting back into mine.
“Then once it’s transferred, we’ll add the filling and bake it. Some of the pies will have a double crust, so we’ll add another layer of dough to the top of the pie, pinch the sides, and cut vents in the top. Then they get popped into the oven and that’s that.”
“Easy as pie,” I said.
“Yes, something like that,” she said. “So, you ready to do this?” She caught my eye over her shoulder and I nodded.
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
Delaney moved to the refrigerator, taking out a slab of chilled dough, dusting the marble counter lightly with flour. Grabbing my hands, she brushed flour first onto my palms, then onto hers. Next, she uncovered the slab of dough, smoothing out the parchment paper. She picked up a rolling pin and pounded down the dough.
I cocked a brow. “Anger management issues?”
She laughed. “No, the dough has to be a uniform thickness. But thisisone of my favorite parts.” She grinned at me, a wicked smile on her lips.
“Okay, now you take the rolling pin and roll it out. Watch.” She rolled the dough from the center out, first to the left, then to the right.
“Here, you try.” She handed the rolling pin to me, then scooted over, making room in front of the dough.
“Okay.” I made a tentative roll up and over, squashing the dough almost all the way flat. “Huh. That doesn’t look so good. Sorry.”
Delaney chuckled. “It’s fine. Not as easy as it looks, is it?”
“No.”
“Here, let me help.” She slid in front of me, placing her hands over mine on the handles of the rolling pin. “Just relax and feel the motion.” I let her hands guide the rolling pin across the dough, her fingers applying the correct pressure to the dough. She leaned against me, her body warm against mine, and I decided I could really get into this baking thing.
“Can you feel the pressure I’m using here?” she asked.
