When the customer leaves, I clean the counters and rearrange the baked-goods display to keep distracted from wanting to be a fly on the kitchen wall.
Fletcher isn’t shy about sticking his nose in everyone’s business, and he can sniff out a hookup from a mile away.
When he comes out of the kitchen, he’s wearing a suspicious smile.
“Can I get you a coffee?” I ask, straightening the pile of to-go cups.
“That’s really generous of you.”
“I’m a generous kind of guy.”
“So I hear.”
Shit.
“As they say, don’t believe everything you hear.”
Piercing blue eyes and long blond hair make Fletcher one of the most attractive men I know. He also knows it and uses it to his advantage. Shame my eyes and dick are tuned only to his friend’s personal frequency. Not to mention, Fletcher is happily married.
“Dammit. You’re not budging either. I could swear you and Connie are hooking up. And if you’re not, you should be.”
I snort. “Glad to have your approval.”
“You’re welcome. Now, can I please take two bribes with extra sprinkles to go?”
“Peanut butter and chocolate?”
“Yup.”
“You got it. What is it this time?” I ask, my curiosity peeked.
“We need to convince George and Megan to stay with my parents for a weekend next month so I can take Harrison away.”
I laugh. “How does Harrison feel about your underhanded tactics?”
“It was his idea. We really want to spend a weekend at the lake cabin. No clothes. No treasure hunts. No arguments about bedtime. Just us.”
I put a lid on his coffee and hand over the box with the two cupcakes—extra sprinkles for Megan. “I hope it works.”
After Fletcher leaves, we have a quiet moment in the coffee shop, so I grab my laptop and reconcile some invoices. Something I used to do at home over the weekend, but since I don’t have to spend all my free time in the kitchen, I’m getting better at managing the business.
“I didn’t tell him.”
I glance at the open kitchen door where Constantine stands with his hands in the pockets of his jeans. I know for a fact that he doesn’t have enough room to make them usable, but somehow, he still manages.
“I know.”
“I figured you wouldn’t want people to know.”
I cross the space between us until I’m close enough that he can hear me but far enough away that anyone who comes in won’t be able to tell we’re having this kind of conversation.
“That’s not true. I don’t want people to know until we’ve had a chance to talk about it and decide if this”—I point at him and me—“is something we want to tell people about.”
He lets out a breath. “I don’t know if I can make you promises.”
“I wouldn’t ask you for them. All I want?—”
The door opening stops the conversation and Constantine smiles when he sees Leo coming in from school.
