Jaxon laughs, “Yeah, the fucker even threatened to quit.”
“Dom, that’s… You shouldnotput your job on the line for someone you don’t even know,” I say in disbelief.
That just makes them laugh even harder. “Please,” Dom says in between fits of laughter, “like Jaxon would ever fire me.”
“So you don’t think you could ever do anything to make Jaxon fire you?” Beckett pipes in, eyebrow raised.
“No,” Dom and Jaxon speak at the same time.
Pretty sure some kind of standoff is brewing between Dom and Beckett. “Good to know,” says Beckett, who is currently winning if Dom’s narrowing eyes mean anything.
“Knowing what I know now. It seems The Matthew House has been integrating itself in all our lives for a while…” Alex says. “Wait! So Marcus reaching out about House of Arrows, was that you?”
I smile sheepishly. “All I did was point him toward a local, queer-owned business. The rest was all you and your talent. I swear.”
Alex and I don’t hug. Yet here we are, hugging. “Thank you,” he says as soon as he pushes Olly out of the way. “You barely knew me. I know we’re not close, so the fact you even thought of me. Well, what I’m trying to say is that I don’t know what to say.”
“Baby, let go of Jasper before the little vein in Olly’s neck explodes.”
“What?” Alex pushes Jasper away in a panic and we all double over in laughter.
“Excuse me, Olly?”
“Yes, that’s me,” he says, answering a small child who has appeared wearing a tux and headset, holding a clipboard.
“Jacob was wondering if he could help pass out cupcakes?”
“Yes, of course. Tell him to stop by the booth whenever he is ready.”
“Great, we’ll be opening the gates in ten minutes.”
“We should head back and make sure the booth is ready,” I tell Olly.
“What? No, you just, you know, spilled your guts. Stay, spend some with your friends, your family.”
“And you’re a part of that family, Olly. Now let’s go. You promised I could have a taste test if I didn’t drop any, and I believe I saved that one cupcake before it hit the ground.”
It’sabeautifulday.The sun is shining, it’snot too hot, and there’s a gentle breeze coming off the water. The location is absolutely perfect for a carnival.
I can hear kids screaming and laughing as they run by on their way to various activities set up throughout the park.
There’s a small petting zoo, along with pony rides. They even have a couple of horses for the older kids. On the opposite side of the big, open park is a bouncy house and an old Ferris wheel.
In the middle of all that is where they have the gamesandin the middle of all that, my… boyfriend is currently refereeing a three-legged race competition.
Looking out over the sea of kids, I’m baffled. Completely stunned.
“He’s so good with kids, isn’t he?”
I slowly turn my head, shock written on my face. “But he hates kids. Did he not tell you about Baby Spy? Because those two can barely be in the same room together.”
Jacob laughs. “Oh, he told us about Mazie.” He winks “I think those two will be good for each other. Jasper needs someone to put him in his place, and she just might be the one for the job.” He picks up a vanilla cupcake, and I hold my breath before he examines it and sets it back down.
God, what if he hates them? The suspense is killing me.
“But no, Jasper doesn’t hate kids,” he continues. “He’s just terrified of babies. You get him in a room filled with a bunch of ten-year-olds and they’ll think he hung the moon.”
I sigh. “I can see that.” I’m way older than a ten-old and I think he hung the moon. “But why babies?” Still not understanding.
