Sweet Tooth (Little Cakes, #11)(23)

“I’m sure you’d rather be alone. I understand. I’m not that old,” Susan assured him.

“Thanks, Mom. I’ll be back soon,” Tom said to Elizabeth, giving her a look that assured her he would make it quick.





Chapter Ten





Tom felt bad leaving Elizabeth with his mom and sisters. She hadn’t expected to meet his family tonight. He hadn’t anticipated sharing her either. As soon as he’d watched her pass his house and continue down the road toward his parents’ house, he’d worried this might happen.

There had been no way the two of them could have gotten away with turning around in his family’s driveway without anyone noticing and coming out onto the porch.

Tom had no intention of actually staying for dinner. He didn’t want to share Elizabeth with his family so soon into their relationship. On the one hand, he knew in his heart she was the Little girl for him, and he would eventually need to let her get to know everyone else. On the other hand, he was still feeling greedy about her time. He’d rather be alone with her. Plus, there was no way she’d feel comfortable being Little in front of his family, and he couldn’t blame her. What they did behind closed doors in their own home was no one else’s business.

It would have been rude to leave his brothers to bring in the ripe produce from the garden behind the main house, so he’d hurried out to help them, hoping it would only take ten minutes or so.

In reality, it ended up taking the four of them closer to half an hour, during which time his father asked him far too many questions about Elizabeth. By the time they returned to the main house, Tom was anxious and frustrated.

Laughter filled the kitchen, however, and the moment Tom stepped into the fray, he found all four women sitting at the table, giggling so hard they must have had stitches in their sides.

Elizabeth’s face was lit up in a huge smile as she listened to something Margaret must have said.

Tom relaxed. She’s fine. She’s a grown woman.

Elizabeth turned her head to look at Tom as he came toward her. His frustration still lingered, but he was actively shaking it off as he forced a smile. “I hate to ask what Margaret must have told you, considering you have tears running down your face from laughing.”

Elizabeth covered her mouth as if trying to contain her laughter as Tom leaned over to kiss the top of her head. He took her hand and stood next to her. He wouldn’t expose her Little side to his family without discussing it with her first, but he sure wasn’t going to withhold his affection. They might as well know he was serious about her.

Margaret wiped the tears from her eyes. “I was just telling Elizabeth about the time you got the tractor stuck in the mud behind the barn and insisted you could get it out all by yourself.”

Tom groaned.

Elizabeth tipped her head back to look at him. “Did you really spend two days working on it before you asked for help?”

Tom rolled his eyes. “I was seventeen at the time,” he pointed out. “The rest of these yahoos weren’t big enough to help me. Did they mention that part?”

Elizabeth kept smiling. She gave his hand a squeeze. “I think it shows how dedicated you are to your family and your job,” she said in a low voice.

Suddenly, Tom didn’t feel quite as miffed. She was impressed by him. His chest pumped out a bit. He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to do a lot more than kiss her. “Are you ready to go?” he asked, careful not to call her Bunny in front of his family. He stepped back and tugged her hand to get her to stand.

She pulled back though. “I think we should stay for dinner. Is that okay? Your mom says there’s enough for an army.” Elizabeth tipped her head back, looking up at him sweetly, biting her bottom lip.

This was a huge change from when they’d first pulled into the driveway and she’d wanted to leave and not meet his family. Now it was him who wanted to get out of there and hog her all to himself.

Tom searched her face, wondering if she was just saying she wanted to stay to please his mother. He glanced at the expectant faces around the room. Everyone was waiting for him to respond. They weren’t even trying to hide their curiosity.

Tom gave Elizabeth’s hand a squeeze. “Please excuse us for a moment,” he told the room at large as he pulled her to standing before tugging her out of the kitchen and down a hallway that led to the bedrooms. He pulled her into a guest room and kicked the door shut.

“Tom!” she hissed.

He pinned her to the door, cupped her face, and stared into her eyes. “Do you really want to stay, or were you just saying that to make my mom happy?”

She set her hands on his hips. “I want to stay. Your family is so nice. I was nervous and leery at first. I’m not used to so many people. I’m an only child. Nothing that exciting ever happened in my mother’s kitchen,” she teased.

His brow furrowed. “See, I didn’t even know that about you. I feel like I’m throwing you to the wolves.”

She shrugged. “I’m fine. No one seems to have any wolf characteristics.” She grinned.

“You’re sure? We can leave whenever you want. We’ll just stay for dinner and then go back to my house. I want some alone time with you. I don’t like sharing you just yet.”

She slid her hands up and flattened her palms on his chest before lifting onto her toes and kissing him. “I like being alone with you too, but if you really think you’re my Daddy, then I’ll have to get to know your family. They live less than a mile down the road. I can tell you’re all close.”