Jade rolled her eyes. “This town is ridiculous sometimes. They’ll really believe everything they hear.”
“I don’t think this is helping,” he pointed out. “It looks like we’re on a breakfast date.” He wiggled his brows. “You know … as if we had spent the night together.”
“But we came in separately!” she interjected, blushing deeply. The crimson shade did interesting things to the color of her eyes. She really was beautiful.
“Sure, we came in separately, but some people might actually think that we planned it that way.”
“Well, shit.” Her blush deepened. “I didn’t think of that.”
He chuckled. “I figured. Though, the binder is sure helping.”
“I would say we should leave, but I have pancakes coming. I amnotmissing my Saturday chocolate chip pancakes to keep the rumor mill from thinking we’re together.”
Parker grinned. “Chocolate chip pancakes? That’s adorable.”
“Don’t laugh at me. It’s been a tradition in my life since I was a little girl. Every Saturday was chocolate chip pancake day at Moony’s. They’re my favorite. And please don’t tell Lila I said this, but her boyfriend makes them even better than she and Bobbie do. He puts more chocolate, I think. Or something, I don’t know. But just talking about them is making my mouth water.”
He grinned. “Fine. Let’s stay so you can get your pancakes, but if the next rumor is that you’re pregnant and craving breakfast foods, I am blaming you.”
She giggled and quickly covered her mouth to kill the sound. It was too late, though. He had definitely heard the sweet giggle.
He called over the young waitress whose nametag readEmilyand ordered himself his own plate of chocolate chip pancakes.
“That’s quite the list of stuff we need to do. Maybe we should split it. You do half. I do half.”
She gaped at him. “You’re joking, right? You really think that the townspeople will give you the same deal if you walk in their places of business?”
“Well, I am on the committee, aren’t I?”
“Yes, you are, and as you already know, the entire town knows this. But that doesn’t mean you have the charm it takes to convince people to sponsor the day. Or to give us free things for the event.”
He arched a brow at her. “Are you doubting my charm, Jade?”
She shrugged. “Doubting? No. You’re underestimating the power of a small town. We’ll have to do this together if I wanna keep to the budget I set last year.”
“Fine by me,” he said just as Emily returned with two massive plates completely loaded down with syrup-drenched pancakes.
The sweet smell hit his nose, and his mouth filled with saliva. They smelled like nothing he had ever experienced. They were fluffy and buttery and full of chocolate chunks. The syrup on top of them glistened in the light of the diner. Even the dollop of whipped cream on top looked like the most delicious thing he had ever seen.
But instead of digging in like he wanted to, his attention was completely stolen by Jade. She was busy cutting up a piece of pancake. She brought the bite to her mouth and slid it between her lips. Her eyes rolled back into her head before closing. She moaned loudly, and the sound went right to his dick. It was a good thing he was sitting and completely hiding his hardening cock from Jade and the other patrons.
She took another bite and repeated the moan.
Parker’s control and sanity were barely hanging on by a thread.
“Are you gonna eat?” she asked, pointing to his plate. She licked syrup from her lips, and Parker stuffed a full pancake into his mouth to keep from jumping over the booth to devour her sweetened mouth.
The buttery, chocolatey taste exploded on his tongue, and he groaned. “Fuck me,” he said. “This is the best pancake I’ve ever had. What the hell is in this?”
Jade laughed. “Mason used to be some fancy chef. I’m sure there’s a secret ingredient in these. Pancakes shouldnotbe this good.”
“Agreed,” he responded. “It’s just flour and egg, right? Why does it taste like magic?” he took another bite.
“There’s lots of stuff that’s like that here in Half Moon Key. But I can’t say that these are good because of how weird we are. It’s all Mason.”
“He’s new to town, right?”
Jade nodded. “He arrived just a little bit before you did. Though, he created less of a splash. At first, people just thought he was here to visit his brother, the sheriff. But since then, he’s moved in with Lila. She owns the diner.”