“Hey,” I manage to say when he releases me.
A cough reminds me we’re not alone.
“Right…um, Mik, these are my friends: Ellis, Milo, Fletcher, and Levi. Fletcher’s fiancé, Harrison, is working, and so is Levi’s.”
“Nice to meet you all,” Mik says. “Thank you for coming along today. It’s not an ideal situation, but I’m glad to meet Tyler’s friends.”
“We’ve got your back, man,” Fletcher says. “Tyler told us about…”—he looks around—“your daughter. I’m a dad too, and I’d do anything to protect my kids.”
“I appreciate that,” Mik says.
I stare at him as he looks so at ease, making light conversation until Julius comes over to take our coffee orders.
“Are you going to have a cupcake?” he leans to whisper in my ear.
“Why?”
“So I can lick the frosting off your delectable mouth.”
My mouth goes dry. “This is not part of the plan.”
“What isn’t?”
I take his hand and lace our fingers together, then put our hands on my lap. His eyes widen as he feels my erection, but instead of easing up, he runs his thumb up and down my length.
“Mik,” I say between gritted teeth.
“I’ll have a black coffee, no sugar, and a vanilla cupcake,” Mik says, giving Julius an over-the-top smile. “How about you, baby?”
I freeze at his use of the endearment in front of everyone until Julius clears his throat. “Oh, right…um, same.”
“Okay, I’ll be right back with your order.”
“So, Mik, what made you move to Stillwater?” Milo asks.
“The band played at the summer festival. I took a few days off to explore the area and liked it here.” He looks at me. “Maybe something was pulling me in this direction.”
He squeezes my hand under the table, and my heart skips a beat. If he keeps doing stuff like this, I’m going to lose my heart to him all over again.
“My brother’s band opened for you. That was a great concert,” Ellis says, then looks at Milo, who blushes.
“That’s right. Which one’s your brother?”
“Darius, the singer.”
Mik nods. “He has an awesome set of pipes. His voice made me shiver. We’ve actually kept in touch since. He was the one who suggested my realtor.”
“Did you two reconnect back in the summer? Have you been hiding your relationship all this time?” Milo asks.
“No,” I say, turning to Mik. “I didn’t know you were here for the festival. I went to California to visit Seymour, so I missed it.”
“It’s okay. We found each other in the end.”
“More like you intruded on my workplace pretending to be a bum.”
“I did not!”
“You looked like one.”
