But before Tucker could open his mouth to tell her, the squeak of a microphone sounded at the front of the room, and Eli was standing up, and speeches were starting. And because he was a groomsman and one of Eli’s best friends, Tucker knew he should give a speech. But he’d been thinking about it for days, and all he’d written down so far on the notecard in his pants pocket was “Eli and Amelia are such great people, and great people deserve other great people.” Not the most eloquent words ever written, and they certainly wouldn’t be the most eloquent words spoken that night. Tucker wished there was a way of avoiding having to get up and speak in front of the crowd. There was a reason his job involved being behind the scenes: Tucker was an introvert.
“Ugh, speeches,” Tucker muttered under his breath, but not so quietly that Hadley didn’t hear.
“Not a fan of every groomsman and his brother getting a turn at the mic?” Hadley leaned in and whispered to Tucker as Eli began thanking everyone who had helped make his and Amelia’s special day so wonderful.
“No. Especially since I should probably give one,” Tucker said. Hadley looked at him questioningly, so Tucker explained, “I’m a groomsman. One of four, but from what I’ve read online, every one of us is expected to speak.”
Tucker turned back to face the front of the room, but Hadley tugged at his shirt. “I have an idea for how to get you out of it.”
“You do?” Tucker asked. Hadley had what, in his limited time knowing her, he could tell was her “up to no good” look. He liked it. A lot.
“Yup. Follow me!” Hadley whispered, grabbing Tucker’s hand. He followed her as they walked out of the room, quietly and slowly so as not to draw attention, though as they passed various tables full of Eli and Amelia’s family and friends, it was clear that everyone’s attention was focused on the front.
They continued walking past the kitchens and took a right down a long hallway lined with what looked like offices and staff rooms. The reception was being held at a large hotel at the edge of the city, with views facing Forest Park, the trees just starting to turn the reds and golds of an Oregon autumn. Eli and Amelia had moved to Oregon the previous summer and lived a mile away. They’d chosen the hotel so they could be close to where all the out of town guests were staying, without having to leave their daughter, Katya, with the babysitter overnight at their house.
“Where are we going?” Tucker asked as they made a left down another hallway.
“You’ll see,” Hadley said, a devilish grin on her face that made Tucker’s cock twitch in excitement. He could spend the rest of his life cataloging the various and sundry and all very, very attractive facial expressions this woman made. He wondered what her face looked like when she came, then shook the thought out of his head because if his cock got any harder, he was going to have a major problem.
“Alright, we’re here,” Hadley said suddenly, stopping in front of a nondescript beige door with the words “Linens” written on it in embossed gold script.
“You took me to a linen closet?” Tucker said. He was confused. All the mischievous looks he and Hadley had been sharing on their journey around the hotel had made him think that maybe, what she was going to distract him with was her. Her body against his, her soft blonde curls in his fingers as he devoured her mouth. But linens?
“Have you never read a romance novel?” Hadley asked, her hands on her hips as she stood in front of the door to the linen closet.
Tucker scratched the back of his head. “Well, no, I can’t say I have. I’m usually more of a fantasy reader. But if you have some romance recommendations, I’d definitely be willing to try one.”
Hadley waved her hand at that suggestion. “Yeah, of course, I will, but Tucker. We are standing in front of a linen closet. You wanted a distraction. I want to make out with you but don’t really think it’s appropriate to do that in the dining room while Eli and Amelia are trying to tell all the guests how much they love them. See where I’m going, here?”
And just like that, the light bulb in Tucker’s head dinged, and he rushed forward, one hand on Hadley’s hip as the other turned the knob. It opened, with blissful smoothness that made him say a silent prayer of thanks for trusting hotels that didn’t expect guests to steal towels or, in their case, sully them with passion and sweat and, if things got as heated as he wanted them to, cum.
Hadley kicked the door shut with her heel and then shoved Tucker against a shelf full of freshly dried towels that smelled like lavender and laundry detergent, two scents that paled in comparison to the heady fragrance of the sexy woman in front of him. Tucker wanted Hadley. He wanted her so badly he could taste it, and now, he would finally have the chance to taste her.
“Are you ready?” she whispered, lust clear in her eyes, and boy, was he. Tucker reached out and tugged Hadley to him. She was soft and supple and warm against him, and her lips, when they met his, were luscious and welcoming, offering him entry to her mouth with just the slightest lick of her lower lip. As Tucker’s tongue caressed Hadley’s in a slow, delicious dance, he thought to himself that maybe, he wouldn’t be so lonely after all. Not if he had this woman by his side.
Chapter 4
It was official: Tucker Ponsonby was exactly as delectable as Hadley had thought he would be. His lips were smooth, his taste intoxicating as they broke apart and met again and again, their lips coming together like magnets.
Hadley wasn’t shy, so, while leading a man she’d just met to the linen closet she’d passed by earlier on her way to the ballroom to make out wasn’t exactly something she did regularly; the chutzpah required for the act was certainly in her repertoire. But the bravado she’d been using to guard herself against the doubt and anxiety creeping up in her chest as she’d taken him by the hand and led him to the closet melted away at their first kiss, because in Tucker’s arms, Hadley didn’t need bravado. She didn’t need chutzpah, either, because it was clear that Tucker was just as keen to press his taut body against her soft one as she was if the clear hardening of his dick through his trousers was anything to go by.
And god, did that taut body feel good against hers. Hadley’s nipples tightened with pleasure as the thin silk fabric of her dress rubbed against the soft cotton of Tucker’s shirt, relishing in the heat that seemed to radiate off the man as he backed her up against a shelf full of those little shampoo bottles Hadley had always thought were the devil’s answer to curly hair care.
“God, you’re so good,” he whispered in her ear, licking a hot trail of kisses down her neck before moving lower to caress the top of Hadley’s breasts with his mouth, a move that went straight to the core of her, sending bolts of pleasure down her thighs. But then Tucker’s heat and clear want was stepping away from her, and Hadley opened her eyes to find him bringing his hands to the buttons of his shirt, and she wanted to jump for joy when she realized that Tucker was undoing the buttons and soon, very soon, she would get to see that glorious chest bared just for her. She knew she would find more of his lightly tanned skin there, would see muscles cut into the skin, the ridges of his abdominals so sharp you could slice a lemon on them.
“Hurry up. I want to see that off you,” Hadley breathed, and a grin quirked Tucker’s mouth as he went even slower on the next button, taking his time pulling it from the hole and slowly, oh so slowly parting the fabric to reveal another sliver of skin.
“Patience, Hadley,” he rasped, but Hadley had everything but patience coursing through her at that particular moment. She wanted to walk over there and tear the rest of the shirt right off his chest, and then get down on her knees and place wet hot kisses all over his stomach before moving to rip his zipper down with her teeth and throw off his trousers to reveal what she knew would be the most glorious of cocks.
“I can see what you’re thinking,” Tucker said as he finally, finally undid the last button and shrugged off his shirt, giving Hadley the tantalizing view of his front that she’d been desperate for. It was even more beautiful than she imagined, but she had scant m
inutes to appreciate it before Tucker was coming toward, and lifting her up and out of her heels, until Hadley’s arms were wrapped around his neck, and her legs were curled around Tucker’s middle.
“I’m not rushing this, Hadley,” Tucker whispered in her ear, placing a kiss on her lobe, right next to her earring. “I already know it’ll be worth the wait. It’s going to be amazing, Hadley, but let’s take our time getting there.”
Hadley’s groan of impatience was swallowed by a kiss, and then another and another followed until they were barely coming up for air, so intent were they on getting on intimate terms with the way the other’s lips bit and sucked
.
One of Tucker’s hands left Hadley’s back and traveled around to her front, reaching for her right breast and squeezing. Their moans were breathed out in tandem, and Hadley was just arching into Tucker’s hand, desperate for him to show her nipples some attention when a knock sounded on the door they were now leaning against.
“Shit!” Hadley whispered, looking worriedly up at Tucker, but he shook his head, putting his finger against his mouth in the universal sign for “be quiet.”
“Tuck? Logan’s doing his speech now, and then you’re up next,” a voice outside the door said. The voice stopped for a few seconds, then a knock sounded again, and then the voice said, “Come on, man, I know you’re in there. I can practically smell the buttercream from here. All your clothes reek of it from the wedding cake.”
Hadley looked at Tucker again, because it appeared that the man outside the door not only knew him but knew him well enough to pinpoint his exact scent, though minus the subtle nuances of lemon peel and orange that Hadley had picked up from being pressed so closely against the man for the last ten minutes.
“Come on, wolfbrain! Get out here and tell everyone how much you love Eli. Even I gave a speech, and you know I’m the least eloquent bastard in here.”
Tucker tensed at the first phrase, and Hadley only just had time to furrow her brow in confusion before she was being unceremoniously dropped, albeit gently, from Tucker’s arms so he could open the door behind her.
He only opened it a crack, just enough for him to stick his head out and mutter something Hadley couldn’t quite hear to the man outside. Then, he ducked back in and looked at Hadley with a mixture of sheepishness and embarrassment, neither of which she understood. Sure, making out in a linen closet was a little unorthodox, but didn’t that happen at practically every wedding? Why was Tucker looking so nervous all of a sudden?
“Is something wrong?” Hadley asked as Tucker walked past her to retrieve her shirt. He briskly shook his head as he began doing up the buttons, and then, when he had run his hands through his hair and brushed his clothes down, he looked into her eyes, and Hadley knew that whatever had been between them two minutes ago when they were locked in each other’s embrace, it was gone now. Now, there was no affection or lust in Tucker’s eyes. There was only resignation.
“I understand that this was a one-time thing. I don’t expect to hear from you again,” Tucker said, and then he was brushing by Hadley, pausing briefly as their hands brushed against each other, shuddering like the touch physically repulsed him. And then, he was gone.
Chapter 5
The rest of the night was a blur; Tucker couldn’t remember what he’d said when Logan handed him the microphone—he just knew that after he handed the mike off, he’d walked to the bar. And, judging from the blinding pain in his temples and the sick feeling in his stomach, he’d journeyed quickly through the four stages of drunk: buzzed, tipsy, stumbling and, finally, blackout; the stage most likely to have caused the horrific hangover he could feel even as he lay perfectly still in bed.
* * *
But while everything after he walked back into the ballroom was a blur, the beginning of the night was stamped into his mind in perfect detail; catching Hadley right before she fell, feeling her smooth skin under his fingers, getting to know her first through conversation and later, through touch. It was just Tucker’s luck that right as he was about to feel the tight bud of her nipple in his fingers, Harvey had knocked and blown his cover. Blown any chance he had with the gorgeous woman in his arms, because no way would she still want him after Harvey had revealed Tucker’s true nature.
* * *
Tucker sat up slowly in the bed, bracing himself for the pulsing pain he knew he’d feel as soon as he sat back on his pillows. He’d bought this apartment for the light that always shined through the windows in the morning even on the cloudiest days, allowing him to wake up without an alarm clock, but on days like this, he wished he’d splurged on blackout curtains. He didn’t want to be reminded that the sun had come up, that it was a new day, and he’d have to go back to his life as a lonely baker.
* * *
But even though he’d taken the day off, he had work to do. Recipes to test, cookbooks to read, and a kitchen to clean. Work would keep him busy, keep him from thinking of Hadley and the way her hair felt as the soft curls fell through his fingers. The way the curve of her neck where it met her shoulder smelled, the heat of her skin as she was pressed herself against him. No, he needed the steady sound of his stand mixer creaming butter and sugar together. The scent, the monotony of doing his job, would be a welcome distraction.
---
Hadley was not hungover in the traditional sense. While she had not used the open bar as an opportunity to drown her sorrows in champagne, or her favorite, cupcake vodka with diet coke, she had a sugar hangover that had her seeing stars and feeling like at any moment, she was going to either do a thousand jumping jacks or collapse on her kitchen floor and cry. The wedding cake Tucker had made for Amelia and Eli was the most delicious thing she’d ever tasted, and that wasn’t a biased opinion. She was positive that even before she’d run her hands over Tucker’s back and felt his hard muscles under her palms before she’d tasted his sweetness against her tongue as he kissed her until she was practically faint, she would have bowed down to that cake like the bastion of bakery perfection it was.
* * *
Layers of lemon drizzle cake were sandwiched together with fresh lemon curd and blood orange buttercream that burst into a delicious duet of flavors on the tongue. Hadley had had one huge piece of the cake, and then immediately afterward had felt that bone-deep sadness that came with the sight of an empty plate wiped clean of leftover frosting. So, she had nearly cried tears of joy when the kitchen staff at the reception hall had brought out cupcakes in the same flavor. A cupcake she had proceeded to declare to herself, where she was sitting at a table near the door while watching the rest of the guests dance, was the best she had ever tasted. And while it was delicious, knowing that it had been crafted by hands she had felt just an hour previously glued to her hips and breasts made her cry a little bit, and then, after she watched Amelia and Eli dance their first waltz together, a lot, so she’d eaten another cupcake, and another, until she could feel the seams of her dreams cutting into her skin, signaling that it was time to go home.
* * *
And now it was the morning after and there was no cure for a sugar hangover, so Hadley decided to do what she did for a normal hangover and run. She ran miles around the city, pretending that Tucker’s face was pasted onto each slap of sidewalk, pounding the pavement until her legs hurt and her lungs were burning. It was longer and faster than her normal run, but she came home sweaty and spent and unable to think about anything except showering and going to work, which she was scheduled to do at 2:00pm that day. Baking would help. Baking had healed other heartbreaks and heartaches, and maybe, as she pounded bread dough for the next day’s bagels, she could imbue into the dough all her anger and sadness and leave work feeling like a new woman who had never known the touch of Tucker Ponsonby, the man who, sadly, she still had a sneaking suspicion was The One. But she obviously wasn’t his, and she’d just have to deal. And eat more cupcakes.
Chapter 6
“It’s not that I don’t admire your creativity…it’s just,
well, I mean, it’s not really a normal flavor, is it? Wasabi and ginger? It’s a bit out there for a wedding cake, don’t you think?” Tucker’s boss, Angela, asked him a few weeks later as they sat drinking cappuccinos in the showroom.
They were meeting up to discuss the flavors to debut for next month. It was a normal routine, something Tucker had grown used to in the five months he’d been working at Gateau, but this was the first time Angela had ever questioned one of his flavors, let alone five of them. They debuted seven new flavors a month, keeping four “classics” as well for the more traditional couples, and it was Tucker’s job to research the newest and most popular cake flavors debuting at upscale bakeries around the world and then present the best seven to Angela. Last month had been Pandan, Matcha Green Tea and Cardamom, Darjeeling and Vanilla, Passionfruit and Rum, Chocolate Molé, Chocolate Blueberry, and Carrot Mango. The Pandan had turned out to be one of their most popular flavors ever, with fifty different couples requesting it for their big day. But Tucker’s victory streak was apparently short-lived, because this month’s Wasabi and Ginger, Basil and Tomato, Lavender and Rosewater, Oreo and Funfetti were not going down well.
“I thought the zing of the wasabi would go well with the ginger,” Tucker said, shrugging and taking a sip of his espresso. He hadn’t been sleeping well, and this was his fifth coffee of the day. It wasn’t even 10am yet, and yes, he’d been up since 4 working on a new cinnamon roll recipe to serve to gluten-free wedding guests, but that was the most caffeine he’d imbibed since his long nights working as a night janitor back in Montana.
The Baby Shift- Oregon Page 2