“No shit? E will love you! He’s always trying to drag one of us to the farmer’s market for fresh fruits and veggies. He’s a total food snob. If you grow a bunch here, he can grab things from your garden instead.”
“Um, okay?” Seb seems determined to insert both himself and his friends into my life with or without my permission. It’s…sweet.
Seb grabs his phone and starts typing. When he finishes, he pockets his phone and gives me a smile. “Let’s get sorting these boxes.”
We spend the next hour making piles of boxes. Everything is clearly labelled, so it’s simple work, only dusty.
As we’re finishing the last few boxes, someone yells from outside. “Seb, we’re here. Where are you?”
Seb leans over the loft railing. “Up here sorting boxes. We’ll be right down.” He looks over at me and smiles sheepishly. “So I might have asked the guys to help when I saw all these boxes and your plans for a garden. That’s okay, right?”
Gulping nervously, I reply. “All your friends are down there?”
“Well, not everyone, just E and Bay. Nick is at martial arts class. He’ll probably be over afterwards. Come on, Sunshine, it’ll be fine. They’re all gonna be your friends, too. Might as well get the introductions over with.” He dusts off his hands and heads downstairs.
Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath.Meeting Seb was easy,I tell myself.His friends will be too.Zander has them working for him, so they can’t be bad guys.You can do this Summer. It’s a new life.
“Sunshine, get your cute butt down here. E has iced tea and croissants,” Seb yells.
Opening my eyes, I head down the steps, not looking up. When I reach the bottom, Seb is standing there and gives me a big smile. “Come on, they don’t bite,” he jokes.
I walk out of the garage with Seb and see two guys facing the hood of a Honda Civic talking. They’re both taller than Seb. The shorter one is slightly taller, while the other must be over six and a half feet tall.
“Hey guys, meet Summer,” Seb calls. Both guys turn around as we walk up.
The tallest one smiles down at me. “Hi Summer, I’m Elijah, but everyone calls me E.”
“Hi E,” I say with a small, awkward wave. E is, for lack of a better word, stunning. Curly, light brown hair falls over his ears and around his neck. Long lashes and light amber eyes gaze down at me. A square jaw with golden stubble and high cheekbones makes him look like a model. I can see his muscles through his t-shirt, too.
The other guy is leaner than Seb and E, with straight blond hair cut shorter on the sides and pushed up in the front. Brightblue-green eyes gaze back at me, with an angular jaw and full lips. “Hi Summer, I’m Bay.”
“Hi Bay. Nice to meet you.”
“Come and grab some sweet tea and croissants, Summer. I made them fresh this morning,” E offers. E has a velvety soft voice, almost honeyed. Not as deep as Alex, but similar in tone.
“Seb said you’re the chef, right?” I walk closer to the hood to see a box of croissants and a liquid container.
“One day, for now, I love cooking. These heathens keep me busy with how much they eat.”
“Hey man, I’ve never heard you complain about cooking for us before. We’re still growing boys. We need our sustenance!” Seb exclaims.
Bay pours, then hands me a paper cup of iced tea. I take a sip and scrunch up my nose. Bay chuckles at me. “First time drinking sweet tea?”
“Yeah,” I nod. “I wasn’t expecting it to be that sweet.” It’s not bad. I have a sweet tooth, but that was very unexpected. I’ve never had tea so sweet before, or cold.
“It’s a staple around here. E and I grew up on the stuff.” Bay has a strong southern drawl, the strongest I’ve heard of the guys, and speaks quietly but clearly.
E looks over at me in concern. “Do you not like the sweet tea?”
“It’s fine,” I quickly explain. “I wasn’t expecting the sweetness.”
He looks me over and nods to himself. “I’ll bring unsweetened next time.”
“You don’t have to do that,” I hurry to say. Geez, I don’t want to appear snobby or demanding, having just met these guys.
“Don’t bother, Sunshine.” Seb puts his arm around E’s waist. “He’s a mother hen about food. He’s never satisfied unless everyone loves his cooking. You’ll be trying the unsweetened whether or not you like it.”
E wraps his arm around Seb’s shoulder. “Stop calling me a mother hen, you dipshit.” He places a kiss on his cheek.
