“I can see that,” I said, leaning in for another, softer kiss that set off a round of cheers behind us.
“They’re so fucking cute,” Seth enthused.
“Cake’s melting,” Mr. Lewis said, which was exactly the cue I needed to break away from his son.
Not for long, though. I never broke away from Hayden for long. I never wanted to.
Hayden handed me a knife while an off-key chorus ofHappy Birthdaystarted up around me, Mr. Lewis singing the loudest and starting the cheers afterward.
He wasn’t mad atallthat I was dating Hayden. I should never have been worried.
“How does thirty feel?” Hayden murmured in my ear as I cut into the cake, both hands casually resting on my hips.
I still loved it when he got a little possessive.
“Usually feels pretty great,” I teased. “You’ll have to tell me tonight.”
“Felt pretty good this morning,” Hayden whispered, and I could feel him smiling against the shell of my ear. “Birthday boy gets whatever he wants.”
“I’m gonna hold you to that,” I said, offering the first slice of cake to Mr. Lewis.
“Promises, promises,” Hayden responded, slipping away to help with passing out cake.
34
Hayden
“Areyou asking me to taste your balls?” Seth asked as I slid a plate of ice cream truffles across the counter, eyes lighting up.
“I’m asking for your opinion on these ice cream truffles,” I said, voice raised a little above his so the nearest customers would know I wasn’t sexually harassing Seth—he was sexually harassing me.
As always. I would’ve been worried if he stopped, at this point.
“I’m not objecting,” Seth said, pulling the plate toward himself and bending down so he could look at the perfect little chocolate-coated truffles I’d generously offered him.
Wes was handling a delivery right now, or I wouldn’t have been having this conversation.
Seth spent most of his workdays in here—so much so that he had his own table and a coffee tab I wasn’t ever expecting payment for. He was one of my chief tastersandone of my best marketers, for free. I figured a few cups of coffee a day was a fair exchange.
“I’m just saying,” Seth went on. “These are balls and you want me to taste them. It’s okay. You can ask.”
I wasn’t getting out of this. I knew what he wanted, and the thing with Seth was that hegotwhat he wanted.
Mark had spoiled him, but so did everyone else.
And he was still one of the biggest sweethearts I knew, which probably said something about nature and nurture. Something I wasn’t smart or qualified enough to understand, butsomething.
“Seth,” I said, clearing my throat. If Iwhisperedthis, I’d never hear the end of it, so I’d have to say it in a perfectly normal voice. “I’m asking you to taste my balls.”
The look of triumph on his face was worth the sideways look one of the tourists sitting at the counter a few seats down gave me.
I’d probably never see them again.
Or they’d bring all their friends to see the weird pervert who ran the ice cream parlor in Otter Bay. One or the other.
“Gladly,” Seth said, grinning. “But these are too big for my mouth.”
“My balls are too big for your mouth?” I asked, turning the tables on him without a single second of remorse.
