Ofcourse, he’d been…
Depressed,honestly. And for good reason. Ash had been watching helplessly as more andmore of Declan was chipped away by his crappy boss and useless colleagues, notknowing what he could do to help.
Declanalready seemed better now that he’d been away from that job for a month. Notback to his old self, butbetter.
He’dprobably never be the man he once was, but time changed everyone. As long as hewas happy, Ash was happy. Declan deserved so much better than he’d gotten.
Ashwas glad he’d decided to start over, and that they’d decided to do it together.
Evenonce they were divorced, Ash planned on sticking with Declan for as long asDeclan let him. He might not have been able to have him as a romantic partner,but Declan’s friendship meant everything to him.
“Here’sto friendship, then,” Ash said, making a toast gesture with the book he washolding.
Declangrabbed another book and tapped it against Ash’s, yawning widely. He had darkcircles under his eyes, too, from the long drive yesterday and what hadprobably been a sleepless night in a new place.
Thisbuilding was old, and it made all the sounds an old building made and thensome.
“Gotake a nap, and I’ll make dinner when I’m done down here. Okay?” Ash said. Hewanted to treat Declan gently, and it was just as much effort to make dinner forone as two. It wouldn’t hurt to be kind to his best friend.
“Okay,”Declan said. “Unless I can help?”
Ashshook his head. “I need you to be at your best tomorrow, so no. I can handlethis. I’ve been handling this for a long time. We’ll ease you into it.”
Declansmiled at that, warm and kind, back to his usual self. “I’m glad I marriedyou,” he said. “I’m never getting a better offer.”
Ashsnorted. “We’ll see about that. Go.”
Hesqueezed Declan’s hands one last time, and then let go of them, giving him anudge toward the stairs.
ChapterEleven
Despitebeing tired down to his bones, Declan hadn’t slept well at all. He’d woken everyhour or so, checking the time and wishing he could just fast-forward to morningbefore finally giving up a little after seven.
Theywere supposed to be opening at ten. Ash had determined that there wasn’t reallymuch point in being open before then, since most of the other stores on thestreet opened at ten as well. The bakery was the sole exception, but Declanfigured that was because it was abakery.
Helooked over at the shelves Ash had stacked, skimming the worn covers andhand-written category signs. Ash had really neat handwriting. Declan had knownthat, but he only ever saw it on birthday cards.
Itwas nice to be reminded that he wasn’t in this alone. He could never have donethis by himself, and he was lucky to have Ash’s help.
Aknock on the door startled Declan out of his thoughts. He looked up to see whoit was, and found the baker from a few doors down waving at him through theglass, holding a white cardboard box in one hand.
Declansuspected it was full of pastries, and he wasn’t about to say no to that.
“Hey,”the baker said the moment Declan opened the door, breaking into a broad grin. “Ididn’t get a chance to introduce myself before, thought I’d come say hi. I’mMarcus.”
Declanstepped back from the door to give the other man space to step inside. “Uh,Declan. Come in.”
Marcusstepped around him, setting the box on the counter next to the espresso machineand immediately reaching out to touch it.
“Thisis socool. I definitely have to get a new one.”
Declanchuckled at that. “So youarehere to scope out the competition.”
“Unlessyou’re gonna start opening at six, you’re not the competition,” Marcus said.“Besides, there’s plenty of room for both of us. Your better half not up yet?Because I brought you guys breakfast,” he added, nodding to the box on thecounter.
Declantook that as an excuse to open it, finding an assortment of doughnuts inside.“Damn,” he murmured. “People in this town sure know how to do welcomes.”
Marcusgrinned at him, still running his fingers over the espresso machine. “Yeah,well, they were awesome to me when I first moved in a few years back, so Ifigured I should pay it forward.”
