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“Yes!” Mila said, setting aside her piping bag and admiring her mille-feuille. “I really want to impress them.”

“You already have,” Carter reminded her.

“It can only help to exceed expectations," Mila said, quoting her mother.

“I guess.” Carter didn’t sound convinced.

Mila ignored his lack of enthusiasm. She had enough for both of them! “I can’t wait to take Mildred for a ride. We can drop off The Pack House’s order and then visit Rissa. If she’s awake.”

Gio and Carter had stolen her van for an entire week. When it reappeared yesterday, it had new tires, new transmission, and a new paint job that made her tear up. It had the logo for Mila’s Sweets on both sides along with the business number and web address for her new company.

They wanted to buy her a whole new van, but Mila couldn’t stand the thought of getting rid of the vehicle. Mildred not only got her out of South Dakota but sheltered her through some of the worst times in her life. That van was basically family.

“She’s going to be the prettiest van on the road,” Carter said, leaning over so he could swipe a finger in the bowl of pastry cream and bring it to his mouth.

“Bad wolf!” Mila admonished with a laugh

“Bad,” Carter agreed. “But only in the best way.”

“Why is Carter a bad wolf?” Gio asked as he walked in. He was dressed in his normal paint-stained clothes, some of the smears looking fresh. He was currently obsessing over the painting of her and Carter. They didn’t need to pose for it anymore, but he still refused to show them. He kept saying it wasn’t right yet.

Carter warned her that sometimes Gio had meltdowns over his art and destroyed it before anyone could see. He’d told her the best thing was to leave Gio alone, so Mila stopped asking.

“Oh, nothing,” Mila said and moved to the fridge. She pulled out a beer for Carter. A quick swipe with the back of a knife sent the beer cap sailing off into the sink.

The first time she’d done that trick, it had sent Carter into a fit over how dangerous it was. She’d still been holding the knife and had pointed it at him asking if he wanted the same treatment as the beer.

He’d shut up and never said anything about her bottle opening technique again.

It felt good to be this person she was all the time. She never felt pressured to be perfect and pleasant around Carter and Gio. She could even be grumpy occasionally without them acting like she was being horrible.

It was so liberating!

Turning, she handed the beer to Carter, then returned to the fridge for a bag of blood. Without hesitation, she cut the bagopen and poured the contents into Gio’s favorite mug. It had taken a full week before she was comfortable with Gio’s food, but now it didn’t bother her at all.

He smiled when she handed it over. That’s when she noticed Carter had stolen a tray of mille-feuille she’d put together and had already eaten two of them.

“Carter!”

“What?” he asked, trying to look innocent even though his mouth was full of pilfered pastry. “It’s your fault for putting them too close to a wolf with no impulse control and an empty stomach.”

She tried to look severe but couldn’t hold up in the face of Carter’s charm. Gio chuckled into his mug.

It was all so perfectly domestic that Mila went silent for a moment, losing herself in a feeling of happiness and contentment.

“Mila?”

She focused on Gio to see him watching her with curiosity. “Yes?”

“What are you thinking?” he asked.

“I’m ready,” she said, feeling nothing but satisfaction at finally giving them her answer.

“Ready?” Carter said, some custard on his bottom lip. She came around the island and both men turned their stools to face her. She picked up a dish towel and wiped Carter’s lip clean.

She had the impulse to use her tongue but needed to stay focused. If she and Carter started kissing, they’d all end up in the bedroom.

Carter pretended to be upset when she cleaned off his lip. “Hey, I was saving that for later. Anyway, what are we ready for?”