Teddy quickly rose above the derailing conversation. “We’re holding up the line. May I have whatever smells like bacon?” He turned to Blaise.
“Egg, cheese, and bacon croissant,” the man recited cheerily. “With or without spinach?”
“With, please. And some coffee.”
“And a mocha for me,” Erina added, “large on both. And….” She eyed the bakery goods again.
“Why don’t I sneak you into the back for one of those pastries?” Rose waved her over. “If Blaise doesn’t mind?”
“Go on! I need varied opinions. Rose and Finn like everything I make.”
There was still a line forming behind Teddy, so he used the opportunity of their sisters disappearing to move out of the way after Blaise handed him his croissant, and a young woman at the coffee machine started making their drinks.
“Went to bed early last night, huh?” Finn whispered once they stood off to the side.
“Wish I could have. Rose seems lovely and meddling. Erina is just meddling. Coming over last night wouldn’t have been optimal.” Teddy took a bite of his croissant to distract himself—heaven.
“And you’re not interested, so….”
Then he nearly choked, enough to make him cough for several seconds afterward. “Are you?” he sputtered.
“You think I scare that easy? I’ve been nearly punched, cursed at, hexed once actually. People in pain”—Finn hushed his voice, leaning into Teddy’s body—“in real agony and denial, trying to pull themselves up from something they can’t change, it’s tough, and sometimes they lash out. That’s okay. I get it. It’s part of the job.”
He really had the most tempting bow to his lips.
Teddy swallowed, still feeling a bit of flakey crust in his throat. “I don’t get why anyone would want that job.”
“No, you got to be the asshole to everybody else and they had to listen to you,” Finn said, smiling guilelessly. “Me, I have to be patient because being an ass back to an ass just makes a bigger mess. Somewhere along the line, everyone needs to save themselves, but we can do better by lending a hand or an ear even when it’s not asked for.”
Crap, he was incredible. Surreal, really.
He probably had bodies in his basement.
“Are you sure you’re not secretly a baby-faced fortysomething with that kind of wisdom?” Teddy asked.
“Nope, just twenty-eight. But I can see the appeal of a wise fortysomething.” He flicked his eyes down Teddy’s body and up again. “Love the glasses, by the way.”
Crap again. Though it was enticing, realizing he might not have ruined everything after all.
“This is amazing!”
Erina and Rose came back from the kitchen, effectively ruining the moment, and Erina paid for their breakfast and coffees at the register. They grabbed a table together, and Teddy couldn’t say he minded all that terribly.
“What are you two up to today?” Erina asked.
“Yearly tradition,” Rose said. “This weekend is all about brother-sister bonding.”
“That’s a nice tradition—planningit, I mean, instead of an impromptu ambush,” Teddy said pointedly to his sister, who rolled her eyes. Turning back to Rose, Teddy sipped at his coffee, which was also heaven. “Any reason it’s this weekend?”
“Oh, um….” Rose flashed her eyes guiltily at Finn like she’d said too much, and Finn dropped his gaze to the table.
“No particular reason,” he said—alie, something personal that he wasn’t ready to share with Teddy yet, which Teddy couldn’t fault him for, but it did leave him wondering. “In fact, we should get going, but it was nice running into you. I’m sure you have a lot of catching up to do yourselves for brother-sister time. See you Monday?” He locked eyes with Teddy warmly.
“Right,” Teddy said. “Monday.”
It was only later, after Teddy and Erina were back in the car, that he realized he still hadn’t apologized to Finn for the other day.
Then his sister asked, “So what’s Monday?”
