“It’s fine,” I said, glad I’d stepped away from Milo now so that my head could clear. Not that it was clearing all that much.
“See you inside.” Andre nodded, ducking back inside with the bell jingling again.
“Does every single place in Otter Bay have a bell above the door?” Milo asked indignantly.
I laughed, wiping the syringe I’d been feeding Orion with off and wrapping it up again to put back in my pocket. “We pooled together to get a bulk deal on ‘em,” I joked.
Milo snorted, and the last of the tension broke.Allof the last of the tension. I felt him relax, completely, for the first time since he’d gotten here.
The thought made me smile. Good. Milo deserved to relax.
“Small town.” I shrugged. “A lot of us are running things by ourselves or short-staffed. Means we can be in two places at once.”
“Ah, so the bells are magic,” Milo said, smiling as he handed Orion over to me.
As soon as our hands made contact, something else settled into place between us. Something comfier and cozier that made me want to roll around in it.
I wanted more of Milo. I wanted everything. And I couldn’t remember now why I’d been afraid to ask.
“Got it in one,” I said, settling Orion back into his little pocket. “Don’t tell anyone our secret though. Only locals are meant to know that.”
Milo laughed. “I could be a local here,” he said. “So far it’s all cinnamon rolls and ice cream and no one’s yelled at me even one time. Besides, the majority of my family lives here. I practicallyama local.”
“Our secret’s safe with you, then,” I said, pulling my jacket close to my body to warm Orion up again. “We’d better head back inside.”
16
MILO
“Isyour mouth still tingling from that last ice cream?” Xander asked as we walked away from the parlor, taking our time to stroll along the beachfront and listen to the waves crashing on the shore. It wasn’t a warm night, exactly, but it was a lot warmer here than it was in Seattle, and I didn’t mind taking advantage of that.
Not when I had company I couldn’t get enough of, anyway.
“The yuzu-szechuan? Yeah, that’s the pepper. It’s not so much hot as it is numbing. Hayden’s a genius for putting it in a yuzu gelato like that,” I said. “And I love yuzu.”
“Noted,” Xander said. “Can’t feel my tongue, though.”
“Same,” I agreed, rubbing it against the roof of my mouth. “Still cool. Thanks for taking me with you.”
“Are you kidding? Thank you for coming,” Xander said as we turned onto Main Street. “I couldn’t have done that alone.”
“You could,” I said. “You’re… smart and funny and just as talented as any of those guys. You belonged there. My favorite thing I’ve eaten in Otter Bay is still your cinnamon rolls.”
Xander snorted. “Right.”
“Seriously,” I said. “You were right there when Hayden presented that ice cream inspired by them. He likes and respects you. So does everyone else.”
Xander gave me a disbelieving look, both hands shoved in his pockets.
“Hey,” I said, reaching out to him, curling my hand around his shoulder as we reached the bakery. “I get it, okay? I’ve got all the self-confidence of a cake fork with an anxiety disorder. But you deserved to be there. You’re… I don’t think you have any idea how incredible you are but I wish you did, because you deserve that, too.”
I wondered if I was saying too much as the words tumbled out of my mouth, but all of it was true. Xanderwasincredible. Thinking about him made me smile every time I did it.
I wanted…
“Milo?” Xander swallowed, looking up at me.
“Shut up?” I asked, scratching the back of my neck. I was saying too much. I was embarrassing him. Maybe I sounded ridiculous.
