“And one maple cinnamon doughnut in a separate bag, please,” Caleb adds. I look at him out of the corner of my eye, and he shrugs. “Isabelle loves cinnamon.”
“She does?”
He doesn’t answer, just points his narrowed eyes at me, analysing my interest. I take in the bakery while we wait for our coffees. It’s clean and simple, with soft white painted walls and pastel blue upholstered benches. Small vases of daisies sit in the centre of every table.
My phone buzzes in my pocket, so I pull it out and see a notification from our sibling group chat, but before I can read it, Caleb thrusts a pastry box in my hand while my phone continues to vibrate.
“What are they saying?” With the box in my hand, I can’t get my thumb in place to unlock my phone. Caleb ignores me, smirking at his phone.
With a sigh, I shift the box, managing to lean it on the edge of the counter so I can unlock my phone to see what’s going on.
CALEB:
The score is now Caleb and Beth against Gage in the stance that he’s talking SHIT when it comes to nothing happened with Isabelle.
What the fuck?
“Dick,” I mutter as Caleb walks past me to the front doors with our coffees in hand.
BETH:
YES!! I knew it!!
MASON:
WHAT?!?! But I didn’t get a chance to meet her and expose her to my charms yet.
BETH:
What charms?
MASON:
Ahhh many a woman find me extremely charming. TYVM
BETH:
Many a woman find you easy.
MASON:
What’s the difference?
I follow Caleb out of the bakery and back to his car, leaning the pastry box on the roofso I can type.
ME:
Nothing happened!
BETH:
Umm, we all heard in Royal Harbour when you called her Buttercup…care to explain THAT?
I’m shaking my head as I drop into the car and reach for my coffee, where Caleb left it in the centre cup holder. I look over at my brother, and he waves his phone at me. Yeah, okay, I’m not really helping my case by saying there’s nothing between me and his friend when I do shit like this. Still not talking about it.
“It’s nothing,” I snap.
Caleb’s snort sounds ironically much the same as the one I give myself in my head.
