Haley Autumn AU Scenario - Pumpkin Spice & Everything Nice (Patreon)

The kitchen is a cloud of steam, blowing hot air across my skin and misting it up. But that air is tinged with the scent of cinnamon, apple, and pumpkin, so I inhale deep and smile as the aroma settles through me.

“Haley?” I call into the bakery’s kitchen. Flour-stained machines dot the wooden countertops, the middle island strewn with utensils covered in the remnants of gooey cookie dough, and icing sugar spilling out of open jars.

“Are you in here?” I ask, venturing further into the large room, the golden light of autumn streaming through the large windows on the right wall.

There’s a thud before a cheerful voice follows with, “I’m down here.”

I walk into the room to peer around the kitchen island and let my gaze fall. And there she is. Her full figure is crouched on the ground, arching in a pleasingly curved way that makes my brow quirk with piqued interest.

“Why are you down there?” I enquire with a smile, leaning against the island and regretting it as a line of flour cuts across the fabric of my outfit—though it’s an adornment I’m learning to get used to after coming to meet her so often.

She gazes into the glass door of the oven, the light inside illuminating her slightly flustered cheeks. “I’m waiting for the cookies to be done.”

“You do have an oven where you don’t have to kneel down, you know?” I remind her with a chuckle.

She turns to offer me a smile that makes my stomach flutter. “That one is filled with cookies too.”

I glance over my shoulder at the in-built oven and notice the trays inside. “Wow…that’s a lot of cookies.”

“Too many?” she blurts out, springing onto her feet. Her frilled apron settles around her, the ribbons knotted at her middle and accentuating her waist. It’s difficult to avoid the temptation to unwrap them.

I snap my gaze away from the distraction as she continues.

“I wanted to do my bit towards the harvest bake sale. But maybe you’re right. Who is going to buy this many cookies? But how do I get rid of them without wasting…” Her worried muttering continues as she flicks her anxious gaze between the ovens as well as the cooling racks piled with already made cookies to the side, tapping at her lips as she talks.

I approach her with a smile and place my hands on her shoulders. “Breathe, Haley.”

“But what about—”

“Breathe,” I interrupt, taking a deep gulp of air myself as an example.

Her plump lips pout, distracting me once again, before she manages to inhale a calming breath. She takes a few more after that for good measure, and I can feel the tension drain from her beneath my touch.

“You’re doing an amazing job. They will be thrilled to have so much to sell,” I assure her.

She nods. “I hope you’re right. Mind you, I still have to decorate them.” Her large eyes sweep up to find my gaze. “I think our date might have to be postponed. I’ll be here all night.”

I shrug and drop my hands from her. “Why? All we have to do is change our date plans. I’m not as experienced as you, but give me a piping bag to wield, and I’ll do the best I can.”

Her mouth falls open. “You’d do that?”

“For you?” I step in closer, brushing a curl of hair back from her face, turning her flustered cheeks into a deeper shade of pink. “You know I would.”

Her arms wrap around me as she presses her body against mine, resting her head on my shoulder. “You’re a life saver.”

When she meets my gaze again, our faces are so close and the heat of the kitchen is turning the tension between us up to simmering, we lean in close at the same time.

The kiss is exactly the kind of sweetness I’ve been craving—like a hit of icing sugar with the depths of spice.

When we draw away, she lets out a shivered breath and licks at her lips. “Maybe we don’t have to stay here all night…”

I chuckle and step away, holding out my hand. “Then give me a piping bag and let’s set to work.”

She fumbles on the spot for a moment before pressing the bag into my hand. A sudden urgency propels us on faster as we work, only heightened as I catch the little smile which falls across her lips every time her eyes meet mine.