“Hi.”
They all turned their attention to Leo, who stood next to Finch. It was cute, their size difference. Leo had to look up at him while Finch looked down.
“Oh. Hi.”
“Goldfish Cracker?” Leo held out his bag of favorite snacks.
“Hell yeah. I love these,” Finch said, extending his palm to Leo.
“Really?” Leo asked, his smile wide.
“Are you kidding? Cheesy, crunchy goodness with the bonus of being shaped like a smiling fish? What’s not to love?”
Funny thing was, Ryden believed Finch was serious. Especially since this was the first time the two were meeting face to face. Saint looked as surprised as Ryden felt.
Leo narrowed his eyes at Finch. “How do you feel about the pretzel ones?”
Finch wrinkled his nose. “Nah. I mean, if I wanted pretzels, I’d have pretzels.”
Leo beamed at him. “Right! That’s what I said!” He turned, calling out to King as he ran to him. “He hates the pretzel fish too!”
“What just happened?” Finch asked, confused.
“You just became Leo’s friend,” Ryden replied with a chuckle. Finch might not yet grasp the significance of that, but he would soon enough. It was sweet the way King’s features softened with Leo. He chuckled at Leo rambling excitedly at him, then lifted his gaze to Finch and, with a smile, gave him a nod.
“Holy shit,” Saint murmured. “You got a smileanda nod?”
“Damn,” Ryden shook his head in disbelief. “You know how long it took me to get the nod? I still haven’t gotten a smile. Maybe. I don’t think I have. I thought maybe he smiled at me like two months ago, but it turned out to be a grimace from something he’d just eaten. Six years, man. And you get both in like a month.”
Finch looked from Ryden to Saint and back. “I don’t know what any of that means, but I’m assuming it’s good.”
“It’s really good,” Saint reassured him.
Jay headed their way, and Ryden put in an order for his boyfriend’s favorite cocktail from the bar. He handed it to Jay when he got there.
“Aw, thank you,” Jay purred, kissing Ryden. “I think I’ll keep you.” He took the cocktail and sipped. “Mmm, tropical goodness.”
“Your brother got a smile and a nod from King,” Ryden said, motioning to Finch.
Jay gaped at him. “No way. Both? On the same day?”
“Okay, you all are freaking me out,” Finch grumbled. He fixed Jay’s shirt collar, which had flipped up on one side, then strolled off. The guy had no idea all the little things he did that showed he cared.
“Is it weird?” Saint asked Jay. “Having your brother around after all this time?”
“A little,” Jay admitted. “It’s like we’re getting to know each other again.” He smiled warmly. “If he’s made friends with Leo, he’s doing something right.”
The sound of glass shattering and a loud curse grabbed everyone’s attention. Something had happened to Finch’s beer bottle, and his hand was bleeding.
“Shit. I’ll be right back.” Jay placed his cocktail on the bar and hurried over, but Kazi was already there with the first aid kit. Ryden sometimes forgot that Val’s tavern manager had beena paramedic before joining Val’s team. None of them knew why Kazi had left that life and ended up at the Red Ax Tavern, but that was Kazi’s story to tell.
Kazi got to work quickly and efficiently, cleaning Finch’s wound. He shook his head, so Ryden assumed Finch wouldn’t need stitches. Ryden couldn’t hear what Kazi was saying to Finch, but it was clear Finch was a little smitten. He said something that made Kazi laugh.
“Do you see what I see?”
“Holy shit!” Ryden threw a hand over his heart, Saint jumped as well. “Where the hell did you come from?”
Ace grinned. “That’s not important. What’s important is that you see what I do.”
