Page 104 of Possessive Ink

“Oh god, the other staff are going to hate me,” she whines balefully.

Chuckling, I shake my head. “They were always going to find out who you are. It’s not like I’m going to stop coming here. But Tori is a good boss, and I expect all of her staff adore her, so they won’t care if you’re her sister.”

Huffing adorably, she makes a disgruntled sound, but her body betrays her, relaxing a little beneath my arm. When we reach the front door, I push it open and hold it so Lemon can step inside first, then I follow after her.

The store is empty and quiet. It doesn’t officially open for another hour, but Tori will have been here since dawn baking the cakes, pastries, and goodies that will soon fill the glass display cases.

“Little Bit, are you here?” I shout.

“Back here. Come through,” she calls from the kitchen behind the counter.

Lemon’s face blanches for a moment, then she visibly rolls back her shoulders, and with my hand guiding her on the base of her spine, she steps behind the counter and into the kitchen.

“Hey,” Tori says, her face smudged with flour, her apron tied tightly around her chef’s jacket.

“Good morning.”

Ignoring me completely, my sister speaks to Lemon. “Mornings are always hectic, so it’s probably going to be a bit of a running start. I hope that’s all right.”

“I’ll do my best to keep up,” Lemon tells her earnestly.

“That’s all I can ask. Daniel should be here in a minute, and he’ll walk you through how to use the till. Did you happen to look at the coffee machine on your way in?”

Lemon shakes her head.

“Okay—”

Whatever Tori was going to say is interrupted by the bell over the door dinging again.

“Oh perfect. He’s here. Daniel,” she calls.

“Morning.”

“Come on back. I want to introduce you to Lemon,” Tori shouts, her hands moving as she cuts and folds sheets of pastry without looking down.

The same young, fairly attractive guy who was here the other day steps into the kitchen and smiles at us all.

“Daniel, this is Lemon. She’s starting work with us this morning. She used to work as a barista, so she should be good with the coffee machine once you show her how it turns on. Could you walk her through the till, then she can just jump in and help until she gets into the swing of things.”

“Hey, Lemon, it’s great to meet you. The goddamn coffee machine is my arch nemesis, so if you can tame it, you’ll be my hero,” he says with a smile.

“I’ll see what I can do,” Lemon says sweetly.

Clearing my throat, I step forward. “We met the other day. I’m Atticus, Tori’s brother and Lemon’s husband,” I say, positioning myself slightly in front of Lemon and blocking her from Daniel’s view while I offer him my hand.

“Hi, Atticus. I remember. It’s nice to see you again,” Daniel says a little too easily, although I do see a hint of trepidation in his eyes.

“Okay, big bro. I love you, but you need to go. We have work to do,” Tori says, clapping her hands and then making a shooing motion at me.

“See you later, Little Bit,” I tell my sister before I grab Lemon and kiss her until we’re both a little breathless.

“Atticus,” she pants.

“I love you, Princess.”

“I love you too.”

“Be good. I’ll try to swing by at lunch if I can.”