Nothing Bundt Love

by Samantha Lind

  “Think I can convince you to bring Harper over here for dinner tomorrow night?” Mom asks.

  “Maybe, I’ll ask her tonight.”

  “Let me know, we’d love to have the both of you over,” Mom states.

  I hang out for another half-hour or so, listening as Mom fills me in on what’s going on with her different groups and everything that she does to keep busy these days.

  Ten minutes after I pull out of my parents’ driveway, I’m pulling into Harper’s. I cut the engine, then reach over and grab the bag Mom sent me with.

  Just like yesterday, as soon as my feet hit the porch, the door opens, and I find a smiling Harper waiting to greet me. “Hello,” she states, and I don’t miss the way her eyes rake down my body.

  “Evening, ma’am,” I greet, exaggerating the southern drawl that I definitely don’t use on a daily basis. “I brought a home-cooked meal, just needs to spend the next thirty or so minutes in the oven to finish it off.”

  “Well then, come in. Is that your momma’s cooking?” she questions.

  “Sure is. She practically balked at the idea of me picking up something on my way over here tonight.”

  “That was very kind of her. I’ve always loved her food when I’ve had the chance to have any.”

  “Speaking of her cooking, she asked if I’d bring you over for dinner tomorrow night.”

  “Oh!” she says, sounding a little shocked. “I guess, I don’t have anything else going on, so that’d work.”

  “We don’t have to if you don’t want to,” I assure her. “I know this is all so fast, and we’re just…” I trail off, realizing we’re not really anything other than two adults enjoying each other’s company. “Whatever we are, I’ll just tell her it will have to wait,” I throw out.

  I slide the dish into the oven, setting the timer for thirty minutes as instructed by my mom.

  “I’d be fine with going to your parents’ house for dinner tomorrow night. It isn’t like I don’t already know them just as well as everyone else in this town,” she says, sliding a hand up my chest. I wrap my arms around her waist, pulling her in tight against my body.

  “You’d be doing me a huge favor by going. When Mom brought it up, she was very excited about it.”

  “Then I’ll be there. I love your mom, and her cooking is to die for.”

  “Then I’ll pick you up; what time will you be home?” I ask.

  “Hopefully by four, so can we do ten-till five? That gives me time to come home and shower and change, first.”

  “That will work; she usually has dinner ready at five thirty.”

  “Perfect. Now, would you like something to drink?” she offers.

  “Sure, I’m not super picky, so what do you have?”

  “I stopped at the grocery store, so I’ve got some more wine, beer, and soda.”

  “Am I staying here tonight?” I ask, wanting to know before I decide if I’m drinking or not.

  “I was hoping you would.” She smiles up at me and I can’t help but drop my lips to hers, claiming my first kiss of the night.

  “In that case, I’ll take a beer or glass of wine, if you’re going to have one.”

  “Okay,” she says against my lips. Neither one of us is in a hurry to get the drinks. Now that we’ve kissed once, we’re a mess of lips and teeth and tongues as our bodies align.

  The beeping of the timer pulls us from our make-out session. Apparently, we found an easy way to blow a half-hour of time. “Let me get that,” I state, stepping away from her warm body. I grab the oven mitt before reaching into the oven to pull out the hot bubbling pan. I put the garlic bread in the oven, setting another timer for the five minutes the bread needs to warm up and toast.

  “Here’re some plates,” Harper states, setting two down next to where I set the hot pan. “Do you want me to cut it, or do you got it?”

  “I can do it,” I tell her, grabbing a larger knife from the butcher block on the countertop. I slice the lasagna, placing a large piece on each of our plates. The timer goes off again, and Harper grabs the garlic bread from the oven, pressing the buttons to turn it off.

  “Man, this all smells so amazing. I can’t believe your mom just whipped this up for us this afternoon.”

  “She was making one for her and Dad, so I think she just doubled her recipe or made a full one, just split it into two smaller pans that are perfect for two.”

  “Ah, that makes sense.”

  We carry our plates to the small table, both digging in to the hot food.

  10

  Harper

  This past week has flown by. Each day I’ve spent my mornings and afternoons at the bakery like always, but my evenings have been so different. Having a man take all my time. One who has quickly wormed his way into my life and heart. If I’m honest with myself, he always had a place in it, but I thought that a life with him was just a daydream. After the last few days, those ideas are back, front and center. My only issue is he’s leaving tomorrow to go back to California, and I have no idea when I’ll get to see him again.

  “Your mind is racing again,” Nathan states, tugging me a little tighter as we lay in bed. My head rests on his chest, along with one of my hands that’s splayed across the bare skin. My fingertips draw lazy circles and random patterns as they roam his skin.

  “Sorry, I’m trying not to, but I’ve just got so much on my mind,” I confess.

  “I know, babe. We’ll figure it out,” he assures me, but doesn’t tell me how. That’s the magical question I wish we could answer.

  “It just sucks,” I say after a while, the silence almost easier to deal with than the thoughts running through my head. He has to return home tomorrow. I knew this was coming. I knew he wasn’t here for good, and I still let him into my life, my home and bed, but most of all my heart. I loved this man, but I had no idea how to tell him that or to know what happens after he steps foot on that plane tomorrow.

  “Please don’t cry,” he says, rolling me under him and wiping my tears that slide down my cheeks away.

  “I’m trying,” I tell him honestly.

  “Let me make you feel good,” he states, dropping kisses on my exposed skin. My body instantly reacts to his touch; no matter how sad I am, my body craves his, and I give myself over to him again.

  “How many times are you going to wipe down the same square of the counter?” Lacey asks, pulling me from my funk. I’ve been off the entire morning. Burned the first batch of muffins I put in after I set the timer to the wrong setting. I hardly slept last night. Every time I’d doze off, Nathan would reach for me and we’d end up wrapped in each other until we were coming together, yet again. I lost count of the number of times we made love last night. He followed me out the door this morning, a long kiss goodbye as he drove off to his parents’ house to get the rest of his things before he needed to go to the airport. He left me with a promise to text me when he made it back, and that we could FaceTime tonight once we were both home.

  “Shit,” I say, dropping the rag I’ve got in my hands. “Sorry, I’m just out of it today.”

  “Why don’t you go home, take a hot shower, and then a nap. I’ve got it here today. We’ve got nothing pressing and I can handle whatever comes my way,” she states.

  “Are you sure?” I ask, ready to rip my apron from my body and take off for my house.

  “I wouldn’t have offered if I wasn’t,” she states, like I should know better from her.

  “You’re a lifesaver,” I tell her, pulling my best friend into a hug.

  “I know.” She smirks. “Just go, get some rest, talk to your man, and I’ll see you tomorrow morning. I’ll have everything prepped for the morning, as well.”

  “You’re so good to me,” I remind her before I pull my apron off, hanging it up on one of the hooks. I go into my office, gather my purse and keys, then head out to the parking lot and climb into my car. I don’t need anything, so I head straight home.

  The longest, hottest shower I can p
ossibly stand is just what my tired and sore body needed. Once out, I pull on some lounge pants and one of Nathan’s T-shirts I just so happened to borrow, purposely never giving it back to him. I snag one of the books I’ve been meaning to start and curl up on my bed. I don’t think I make it very far into the book before sleep claimed me and I passed out on the bed, book still in hand.

  I startle awake, my phone ringing from somewhere in the room. I finally find it between the sheets. I swipe quickly, hoping to answer the call before I miss it.

  “Hello,” I groggily state.

  “Were you sleeping, babe?” Nathan asks.

  “Yeah, I dozed off while reading.”

  “I’m sorry for waking you up. If I’d have known you were already in bed, I wouldn’t have called and woken you up.”

  “No, it’s okay. I should get up and warm something to eat. I didn’t really mean to fall asleep this afternoon, it just happened.”

  “What? Why are you home so early? Is everything okay?” He is obviously worried about me.

  “I was so out of it at work today, I burned a batch of muffins and I kept wiping down the same section of counter. Lacey finally kicked me out and said to go home, shower and get some sleep in. She didn’t have to tell me twice. I was out of there so fast.”

  “I’m glad that you’re getting a small break, even if I did interrupt it while you were resting.”

  “How was your flight?” I ask, changing the subject.

  “Pretty standard flight. We had a nice tail wind, so we got in a little early.”

  “Oh, that’s nice. Was it a full flight?” I ask.

  “Um, no?” he states, but it sounds like a question. “You do know I own a private jet, right?”

  “Oh, I must have missed that memo,” I state. “So, you can just go jump on the plane and go anywhere at any time?”

  “Pretty much. We have to file flight plans with the FAA a certain amount of time before we actually fly, plus get takeoff and landing clearance from each airport. Most have no issues with last-minute approvals, whereas some airports can be dicks about it and hold up the process.”

  “Interesting. I’ve never been on a plane, best yet, a private one, at that,” I tell him honestly.

  “We’ll have to change that,” he states.

  “Maybe,” I yawn into the phone.

  “Why don’t I let you go, that way you can go back to sleep and we can talk tomorrow once we’ve both had the chance to get some sleep.”

  “Okay, but I miss you. Today has sucked without you here, or knowing that you’d show up on my doorstep, dinner in hand.”

  “Babe, you have no idea how empty my apartment feels right now. I long for the day I can see you in person and kiss the ever-loving daylights out of you.”

  “You have such a way with words.” I laugh.

  “I try.” He laughs right along with me.

  “Goodnight, Nathan,” I tell him.

  “Night, Harper. Text me whenever, tomorrow, I’ll be around most of the day, as of now.”

  “Will do, now get some sleep,” I tell him. “No staying up all night working. You’re still on vacation until tomorrow so you aren’t allowed to do excessive work.”

  He grumbles a little before agreeing, and then ends the call before I have a chance to give him any more crap.

  I get up, making my way into the kitchen. I need some food before I crawl back into bed for the night. The lack of sleep I’ve gotten over the past week is catching up to me. I find a container in the fridge with the leftovers from the lasagna the other night, so I pop it into the microwave. The moment the sauce hits my tongue, I practically moan, it tastes so good. Tina is an amazing cook, and I’d eat her food every day if I had the opportunity. I’m almost bummed that Sunday dinner with Grandma Betsy had to be postponed until another date, as she wasn’t feeling all that well.

  I scroll through my calendar, checking over what this coming week has in store for me. It isn’t unusual to have a handful of special orders each week, with more on the weekends for parties and get togethers. This week is no different, but thankfully, it is all easy orders. Cupcakes, cookies, and muffins make up most of the orders, which Lacey and I can make with our eyes closed, some days.

  I clean up from my late dinner, then head back to bed. I double-check my morning alarm before I pull out my kindle. I can’t be oversleeping tomorrow, and I know that if I don’t have one set, there is no way I’d wake up with enough time to open the bakery on time and have muffins and other goodies ready for the morning rush. It’s a good thing I set it, as I don’t make it very far in the book I’d started reading before Nathan came back home and into my life before my eyes are too heavy and I’m falling back to sleep.

  The hours pass quickly and I’m startled awake by my alarm. I want nothing more than to roll over, shut off the offensive alarm, and roll back over, preferably into the warm arms of the man who filled my bed for the last week. It is amazing how quickly I adjusted to him being here and in my life, my bed. Now, I miss him like crazy and wonder how so many years passed us by while he avoided coming home. At least he did it for his grandmother’s birthday and not her funeral.

  11

  Nathan

  I push the takeout container across the counter. I can’t take another bite, even if I wanted to. Today has been one meeting after another without any breaks. We ordered in lunch and worked right through it, and I’m just now finishing my dinner at almost ten pm.

  I pull my cell from my pocket, noticing multiple notifications that I missed while I was dealing with a big client tonight. After hitting the texting app, I notice almost all of them are from Harper, and my heart sinks. I was just so busy, and now it’s way too late to call her with the time zone change, coupled with the fact she has to get up around five to go open the bakery.

  Harper: Hey! I’m home from the bakery, call or text whenever you can.

  Harper: I’m going to go swim for about forty-five minutes and won’t have my phone on me, hopefully you’ll be available afterwards.

  Harper: Just wanted to let you know I’m back home, showered, dressed and ready for bed. Hope you’re day has been okay. {kissy face}

  Harper: Call me crazy, but I’m worried about you. I hope everything is okay. I’m crawling into bed, will read until I can’t keep my eyes open anymore.

  I feel like shit for missing her texts from the last few hours, but I hate it when people constantly check their phones when in a meeting. If there was an emergency, Rose would come and get me.

  Nathan: So sorry I missed your messages today. I was in meetings the entire day and didn’t have my phone on me. I don’t want to risk waking you up with it being so late, so call me when you are free tomorrow, I shouldn’t be so busy.

  I slide my phone back in my slacks pocket and pull the tie that is hanging around my neck off. As soon as my last meeting ended, I untied it, leaving it hanging and open. I enter my bedroom and head straight for my walk-in closet. I hang the tie up, then slip my shoes off and put them back on the shelf. I strip out of the remaining pieces of clothing, being careful with my suit and adding my dress shirt to the pile that needs to be sent out for dry cleaning this week.

  I head for the bathroom; a hot shower is just what my tired body needs. I flip on the water, turning it up nice and hot, and give it a few seconds to warm up before I step in and under the spray. The heat and pressure from the shower head go to work on my tight and tired muscles. I reach for the bottle of body wash, adding some to the palm of my hand. I lather it up between my palms and start with my abs. As my hand slides lower, my cock twitches and images of Harper flash in my mind. What she looked like riding me, what she tasted like coming on my tongue, how she moaned and cursed my name when I slowed things down and teased her until she was coming on my cock.

  I wrap my hand around my cock, giving it a quick pump from the base to the tip, circling around the head as I slide it back down to the base. I brace my other hand on the shower wall and let the memories of th
e last week play on in my mind as the perfect montage while I seek release. It doesn’t take long before I’m ready to come. My orgasm barrels out of me, and spurts of cum land on the wall. I collapse into the arm braced on the wall, seeking support in my exhausted state. Not only am I sated from the orgasm, but my body clock is all messed up from the time difference.

  I rinse off the wall, paying special attention to the area that I know for sure I sprayed with my cum. Once that is rinsed off, I quickly make it through the rest of my shower.

  Once dry, I wrap the towel around my hips so I can stand at the bathroom sink. I brush my teeth, then run a quick razor over the stubble that has grown the last couple of days. Walking into my bedroom, I discard my towel in my hamper and pull on some boxer briefs before sliding between the cold sheets. I love the feeling of freshly washed sheets. One thing I’ve never minded paying for since I became a billionaire, and that is a housekeeper. Shelly is a godsend, and I would be lost without her. I can depend on her to keep my place clean, stocked with easy-to-heat meals, my dry cleaning in a regular rotation, my clothes clean and my sheets changed on a weekly basis.

  I don’t have long to think about Harper, or anything else for that matter, before sleep claims me.

  “Knock knock.” Leo raps his knuckles against the doorframe for my office. I look up from the contract I’ve been reading over all morning. I run a hand along my neck, squeezing the tight muscles as they scream in pain from being in the same position for so long.

  “Hey, what’s up?” I ask, waving him into my office.

  He holds up a bag, and it’s then that the smell of whatever he’s got hits me. My stomach growls at the same time, and I realize just how hungry I am. “Rose ordered us lunch, figured you’d forgotten about our meeting.” He chuckles as he takes a seat at the table in my office. He starts emptying the bag, pulling out multiple containers.