He was a young man with big appetites, and for some reason all his hunger was focused on Seth.
It was disorienting, to say the least. Seth was cute. He knew that much. Men had never kicked him out of bed or anything, especially when he was being a little flirt. But they didn’t, like,yearnfor him either.
He’d had two serious relationships, one monogamous and one less so. They’d been sweet and tender and had ended easily, without anyone’s heart breaking too badly. And Seth had entertained other, less serious dalliances with equally cute friends that had never turned into anything more.
So Seth wasn’t some great catch, some once-in-a-lifetime hunk. He’d never turned someone’s life upside down just by existing. Riley just…didn’t know any better.
That was the thought that had stopped Seth when he’d been lying there on the couch, his legs wrapped around Riley’s hips, his hands trapped above his head in Riley’s hold. When Seth had been so close to letting Riley undress him and suck more hungry kisses into whatever bit of skin he wanted. The thought had run through Seth’s head that if Riley hadn’t grown up so isolated, he’d have realized from the get-go that Seth wasn’t anything special, and he’d regret giving Seth so much undivided attention.
So Seth had stopped him.
Seth kicked at the dirt on the trail, annoyed with himself. It wasn’t like him to be cock-blocked by low self-esteem. Helikedhimself. He liked the way he looked, even. But he was just being a realist. Wasn’t that supposed to be a good thing? Both feet firmly planted on the ground and all that.
Being a scaredy-cat, some inner voice taunted.
But that wasn’t true at all. There was a difference. This was a small town—no doubt Riley hadn’t been exposed to too many men he was attracted to, especially if he was…particular. Possibly demi, from what he’d told Seth. His pool had been too small for him to really get a sense for what his options were.
Well, whatever. It wasn’t like Seth had heard from Riley today, anyway. They didn’t have each other’s numbers yet, and it wasn’t realistic to expect Riley to just show up at Seth’s doorstep out of the blue, even if thatdidseem to be a very Riley thing to do.
Riley would probably appear at the bakery sometime later this week, and they would resume their weird, sexually charged friendship, and the kiss would be forgotten, and that would be that.
Seth picked up his trudging again, unwilling and unable to wipe the scowl from his face..
If he was going to be miserable anyway, he might as well get some cardio done while he was at it.
Seth lethimself into the bakery Tuesday morning determinednotto dwell on who may or may not be visiting that day. He put on bright, bubbly, early 2000s pop, donned his apron and his headband, and got to work.
By the time he made it to the front of the shop to start setting up for the day, he’d almost succeeded in keeping his mind focused solely on work. Almost.
Still, Seth wasn’t surprised to see a shadow lurking on the other side of his bakery door.
Although, if it wasn’t shock, Seth really didn’t want to speculate on why else his heart sped up like that at the sight.
Whatwasa little shocking was that it wasn’t Riley waiting outside but two immaculately dressed, unbelievably beautiful women. One was pale, tall, and statuesque, with a waterfall of dark hair and a velvet wrap dress clinging to her frame. The other was dark-skinned and petite, wearing a puff-sleeved ginghamnumber that Seth would have loved to repurpose into an apron and headband for himself. They were holding hands, and neither was wearing a coat, despite the chill in the air and the promise of rain.
“Um, hello,” Seth said after he’d unlocked the door and peered outside, biting back his disappointment that Riley wasn’t lurking somewhere behind them. It hadn’t seemed right to leave them standing there without a word, though, not when neither of them was wearing appropriate outerwear. “I’m so sorry, but I open at six.”
The taller beauty made an exaggerated face of dismay, red lips pursing. “Oh, but don’t tell me we got the time wrong! I could swear Riley told us you opened at five thirty.”
“Riley?” Seth gave the duo a startled second glance, putting two and two together. “You’re…Riley’s moms?”
They barely looked old enough for the title, although if Riley was adopted, Seth supposed it didn’t much matter. And Rileyhadtold Seth once that his moms were the two most beautiful women in the world. Seth had thought at the time that it had been the exaggeration of a devoted son. But now that he’d seen them…
Seth realized both women were gazing at him with matching expressions of wry amusement. He stopped his gawking and stepped back from the door. “Come in!” he said hurriedly. “If you don’t mind me finishing up while you sit.”
“Oh, not at all,” said the pretty gingham-clad one with a blinding smile. Seth had learned their names from Riley, but he wasn’t sure who was Sybil and who was Daphne. “You really must forgive us for showing up early. I woke up with a hankering for pastry and decided we had to indulge straightaway.”
Seth nodded absently, taking down the chairs from one of the tables and gesturing for them to have a seat. They must have been early risers, considering they were both decked out with flawlessfaces of tasteful makeup and hair that could have been in shampoo commercials. Now Seth kind of wished he’d thrown on some bronzer, or at least a swipe of mascara. He wasn’t exactly presenting himself at his best.
“Can I get you something hot to drink?” he asked, surprised that neither one was shivering after standing out in the cold. “Coffee or tea?”
“Aren’t you a dear?” the tall brunette cooed. “I’ll have a coffee, and my darling Daphne will take a tea, thank you.”
That confirmed who was who, at least. The taller woman was Sybil; the petite one was Daphne. Seth hustled to get them their drinks.
When he returned to their table, mugs in hand, Daphne was gazing around with open admiration. “My, it looks wonderful in here! So bright and yet…cozy. Warm, I’d say. I’m very impressed.”
“Oh, um, thank you,” Seth murmured, more awkward than he should have been with the praise. Normally he took it in stride—he was proud of his little bakery and wasn’t the type to wave aside compliments with false modesty—but his customers weren’t usually this…gorgeous and sophisticated.
