“Bronwyn,” she corrected, narrowing her eyes at him. “Blakely.”
“That’s what I said,” Ash agreed. “Do you want to go sit down and I’ll come over in a second to talk about the cake you'll be needinginJanuary?” He pointed them to a table, and when they moved away, Si and I stepped up to the cash register to take theirplaces.
“Sorry about the inquisition,” Ash said. “Ignore her. I tryto.”
“She’s a little… high strung?” Isuggested.
“She’s a raving bitch. But she’s good for Mackie and murder is illegal, so here we are.” Calshrugged.
Ash laughed and wrapped his arms around Cal’s waist from behind, dropping a kiss on the side of his head. “That’s the sweet man I fell in lovewith.”
Cal cracked a smile for the first time. “If you thought I was sweet, you weredeluded.”
“Oh, you’re sweet,” Ash insisted, squeezing him harder. “Just notvanilla,baby.”
Cal snorted and relaxed against Ash for a second. I looked up at Si, feeling like I’d missed a jokesomehow.
“Fanaille,” Si said. “The name of the bakery. Means vanilla inIrish.”
Oh. I frownedagain.
“Anyway,” Cal said, stepping away from Ash. “What can I get yougents?”
“One of everything,” I told him. “And coffee. The biggest coffee you’ve got.” I would need it to get through thisday.
Ash grinned. “A man after my own heart. But if you’re going to be living here, you’ll need to pace yourself. Start slow. Go for the blueberry lemon bars, since they’re seasonal. Next week, we’re bringing out our fallstuff.”
“Enough pumpkin spice and apple pie to induce a diabetic coma from across the street, so be wary,” Calconfirmed.
Si leaned against the counter, making the muscles beneath hist-shirt bulge in a disconcerting way. “Ash speaks with great wisdom,” he said solemnly. “I can confirm that the lemon bars are an excellent gatewaydrug.”
“Fair enough,” I said. I was a little shocked by the reappearance of my sweet tooth, but I figured I had to make up for lost time. “Bring me two.And…”
“And a vat of coffee,” Cal said. His mouth tipped up on one side in what felt like approval. “I’ll bring the same for you, Si. You guys can go sit down and I’ll bring your stuff over.” He turned to his boyfriend and said with less enthusiasm, “And we can go sort out Karen’sshit.”
“Oh, I feel like that might take more than a morning,” Ash sighed. He squeezed the back of Cal’s neck in a reassuring gesture, then walked over to his brother’stable.
By unspoken agreement, Si and I took a table as far from the others aspossible.
“So… they’re totally out?” I asked Si, nodding at Cal, who was preparing ourorder.
“Cal and Ash? Yeah, of course,” Si replied. “Kinda hard to hide it when a twenty-foot-tall former Navy SEAL suddenly starts baking cupcakes and moving into Cal’s placeupstairs.”
I nodded. “And people don’t…care?”
“Oh, they care.” Si’s eyes widened dramatically. “If a day passes when one of them doesn’t get asked how much longer until their wedding, I’ll give up baked goods for a year. And your grandfather was in here a few months ago, explaining to Cal that he and Ash can’t possibly raise their children in that tiny apartment upstairs, because kids need room toroam.”
“Mygrandfather?” Grandpa Hen hadn’t even attended my wedding. I couldn’t imagine how he’d have felt if Adrian and I had children. “Wait, are Ash and Cal having akid?”
Si snorted. “God, no. They just got together last February. One of those love-at-first-sight deals. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it. No, the people of O’Leary just assume that everyone wants a spouse, and a house, and a kid or twelve.” He shook hishead.
“And you don’t,” Isurmised.
He shrugged and gave me a half-smile. “I have a house. So, one out of three isn’tbad.”
I chuckled. “No babies foryou?”
“Nope! I like other folks’ babies just fine. Never felt the need to haveone.”
