There, on perfect display, are those luscious butt cheeks I know and love.
“Baking in grandma’s apron again, are we?” I ask, and he goes completely still. His reaction to my finding him naked in a gingham apron is quite a bit different now than it was last time. He turns around, presumably to hide his balls from view, and stares at me with an almost apologetic expression. “What? Now that you know I’m a girl, that somehow changes the game?”
“How the hell did you get here so fast?” he murmurs, the rich scent of cocoa clinging to the warm winds curling in from outside. I’m not even really sure where the house ends, and the outdoors begin. The whole thing is glass. I can see straight from one side to the other, save for a small area that I figure must be a downstairs bathroom.
“Little to no traffic,” I reply, hopping up on a counter and gesturing with my chin in his direction. “Come on now, keep it up. I don’t want to ruin your German chocolate cake a second time.” Ranger hesitates for a moment, and then nods, going back to his passion while I sit and tap my heels against the side of a stupidly expensive cabinet. “How much did this place set your mom back?”
“Do you always ask questions that some people might find to be super rude and invasive?” he queries back, piping pink frosting onto a small, white cake. “And also, around twenty-eight million. Why?”
“Did Jenica ever live here?”
I don’t mean to ask that particular question; it just comes tumbling out. It’s like … after all we’ve been through together, it feels like I know the girl personally. Ranger looks up at me, sapphire eyes burning, and then nods once, curt and businesslike.
“You can stay in her room,” he says, and I lift a brow. I wasn’t aware I was invited for a sleepover, so I didn’t bring anything but my purse. “I left your fake dick on the bed in case you wanted it.”
“Gee, thanks,” I say, scoping out the ridiculously cool swimming pool and hot tub that sit on the edge of the property. They’re practically hanging off the side; I can’t even discern how the water’s even being held up. It looks like it’s floating. “Also, I forgot a swimsuit …”
Ranger’s mouth twitches.
“I’ll send my mother’s personal shopper out to get a new one. She already has your measurements on file.” He finishes piping the frosting, and then goes for the fondant flowers with the crystallized sugar next. “Courtesy of Church, by the way.”
“Where is everyone anyway?” I ask, realizing that it’s a tad weird to be sitting here with a naked dude that I’m not dating, just chilling while his balls take in the warm breeze, and he covers a cake with stupid efficiency, turning a pink circle into a garden of glitter.
“They all had shit to do; they’ll be here soon.” Ranger stands up and spins the cake on its stand, piping in green vines and leaves with the skill and detail of a true artist. There’s this strong urge in me to tear my clothes off, don an apron, and get to work. My cheeks heat, and I tap my fingers on the stone countertop. Might be marble, quartz, something like that. “By the way, I had a private investigator look into Ian Dave. He seems pretty legit. He has no records, all his references check out, and I had the guy follow him for a few days. He’s boring as hell, to be honest.”
“Yeah, but come on. The librarian of our school is dating my mother? My mother? The recovering addict who lives in Los Angeles? No way. No way, I’m sorry, but I know Mr. Dave is involved in this somehow.”
“Sure he is, but he’s damn good at not leaving a trail.” Ranger pushes the cake aside, removes another from the oven with a mitt that looks like a kitty paw, and then gets to work on a sea of sugar cookies. He turns them into suns, moons, and planets with little effort. His work is flawless.
“I texted that guy back, the one who sent me Jenica’s yearbook, but I really don’t think he knows anything,” I add as Ranger puts a beautiful full moon cookie on a plate, and brings it over to me. There’s a very subtle face in the dark craters and shadows, and I can’t help but ogle it before I take a bite. The dude even brings me a glass of milk to go with it.
“I had him checked out, too. Actually, I’ve gone over your list.” Ranger grabs his unicorn notebook and tosses it onto the counter next to me. He’s taken some names away, and added new information on others.List of Suspects
