Caught in the Axe (Maine Lumberjacks, #1)

by Daphne Elliot

While snack food might not mean much to the average person, to someone like me, for whom food could be dangerous, it was huge.

“when in Lovewell…” “Go full lumberjack?” I finished. “Something like that.” “I like it,” I said softly.

The last thing I needed was to look at her gorgeous face. Because what I wasn’t saying was that she was the person I’d been looking for. She was the person I wanted to share it all with. But that wasn’t our deal. And I refused to push her into something she didn’t want. So I gritted my teeth and kept my pace steady, determined to enjoy every moment I could.

“I bet business daddy is great with his tongue,” Magnolia said, nudging Willa.

😂😂😂

The other bags all read gluten free. I picked up a stack of flour-crusted printouts. Each one was a recipe for gluten-free pizza dough. His messy handwriting was on each page. There were notes, highlights, and alternative measurements. Was he running some kind of test kitchen in here? As I sealed each bag and wiped down the counters, my mind wandered. Was he doing this for me? He’d baked scones before. And those incredible blueberry muffins after he got one at the Caffeinated Moose and I said I was jealous. Was he really trying to crack the pizza code? For me? My heart clenched. Some girls were about the flowers and jewelry. But this right here was my love language.

Lila Imported Italian pizza flour, actually. I think he’s trying to make good gluten-free pizza for me… Willa SWOON Magnolia Wow, he really knows you. You complain endlessly about pizza. Willa He spends his nonexistent free time elbow-deep in flour so you don’t feel left out on pizza night? That’s husband material right there.

“You know what? I love you so much that I’ll live in a rat-infested basement in Brighton if it makes you happy. I don’t care where we live, as long as I get to wake up next to you every day.”

“You taught me that we get to create our own futures,” he mused. “That we can grow and heal from the past and chase our dreams. I want to do it with you, as a team, every single day.”

I’d miss them when I returned to Boston for good next week. Hell, I’d probably miss Lovewell too, and that was saying something. But Lila had opened my eyes and forced me to move past so much of the anger I’d been carrying around over the years. I was already looking forward to visiting. I had a new nephew to see, after all, and I looked forward to checking in with my mom and brothers.