His brows shot up, but he didn’t argue. He liked this bossy side of her. A lot.

Alice studied the menu once more. They clearly needed more hands in the kitchen. She and Kit had been busy—rolling crust, coring apples, making custard, whipping cream, and tens of other tasks—for six straight hours. And they hadn’t accomplished nearly enough.

“I am starving,” Kit said as he finished the layers on another charlotte russe. “And working with all this food is making it worse.”

“We’re almost done for the day. I must return to the hotel, so I’ll eat there.”

“John is waiting for you outside. He’ll see you safely returned.”

True to his word, Kit had hired a driver to take her to and from the hotel each day. It seemed extravagant, but she wasn’t about to argue. The luxury would save her the time of finding a hack. “Thank you for that, by the way.”

“You are doing us an enormous favor. It’s the least Preston and I can do.” He smoothed the top of the dessert with a frosting spatula. “How does this look?”

“Perfect. Much better than your first five attempts.”

“Why, thank you. Glad to hear I’m not completely hopeless.” He lifted the platter and headed for the cooler. “I’ll put this away and then see you off.”

Frowning, she watched his retreating back and thought about his disparaging comment. If not for his drunken ramblings that night in his bedroom, she might have laughed it off as harmless. But she knew his insecurities now, knew how he thought of himself as unintelligent.

I’m a fool. A pretty but dim bulb.

She didn’t like it. He was smart and charming, absolutely gorgeous . . . what more could anyone want in a person? Why couldn’t he recognize any of his good qualities, besides being good with women?

When he returned, she pointed to her list. “We are behind. Though we finished most of the two desserts, I had also hoped to get some work done on the vegetables, as well.”

He perused the menu and ingredients. “Shall I hire more hands?”

“Can you find some kitchen staff on such short notice?”

“Of course.” He flicked his finger over her cheek and came away with a tiny bit of custard. “I won’t let you down.” Holding his finger to his mouth, he slowly cleaned the thick cream off with his tongue.

Her reaction was instant. Tingles rippled down her legs, along her spine, while heat wrapped around her insides, stealing her breath and causing her nipples to stiffen. How did he manage it? In one second he turned her entire body liquid. “Kit,” she whispered, not even sure if she was pleading with him to stop . . . or keep going.