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Dragging a deep breath in, I waited on pins and needles for him to say… something. With a soft expression, he drew closer to me and pulled me down for a scorching kiss.

Luka stood to snag another kiss from both of us when the doorbell rang and I groaned.

A whine escaped my throat as Petal pulled away to go answer the door, but Luka was there the next second, cupping the back of my head and drawing a loud groan from my throat as he consumed me. When he pulled back, the hazel in his eyes was faint, and he growled as he nipped at my bottom lip.

“Tonight. I promise,” Luka said, before studying my face. “Can you wait that long?”

I let out a breath and huffed out a curse under my breath. “I… you know what, let’s say, sure. And if the three of us get locked in any bathroom, upstairs or down, at any point in the day, I was productive and stored a bottle of lube away in each, just in case.”

Luka laughed and pecked at my lips. “I love you, you crazy man.”

“Love you, too. So very much. High five on being brave enough to tell Phoenix how we felt.”

He slapped his hand against mine and we both walked toward the entrance to see who had arrived.

***

Luka

The gathering was in full swing in the backyard several hours later. It was a mild summer day, punctuated by clouds drifting in and out with a high in the low seventies.

Back in May, I splurged on an entire grill center with a smoker, a rotisserie, a burner, and a prep area. Sunshine, B, and I spent most of our days off and summer evenings outside, taking advantage of the grill, and our place was where friends and family congregated when they wanted to relax.

Mateo sidled up as I was basting the ribs and whistled. “That is quite a grill. You guys went all out today.”

“It’s a pleasure to see my men so happy, and we’re grateful all of you could come.”

I glanced over to see Phoenix sharing a lounge chair with B’s mom, with my mom seated close to Charlotte, all of them in a serious discussion.

“So, how’s it been going since… well, you know?” Mateo asked.

Sunshine became fast friends with the man who’d arrested his father and helped ensure a permanent restraining order against Hale Aalto.

The man had tried countless times to call our company, yet Drew noted it and hung up on the man each time. He hadn’t dared to go near the bakery, knowing I’d do more than break his wrist if I caught him.

The irony of the entire situation, Sunshine taking back control of his life and cutting out the toxicity he’d experienced throughout his younger years, had a negative effect on his father’s entire life.

He’d left a nasty message on the home messaging machine where Hale threatened to take everything monetary from the three of us because of the information Sunshine gave Suzy. It allowed her to escape the toxic marriage. Another mark on Hale’s pristine image.

It turned out, since he turned fifteen, Phoenix squirreled away all of his money and cashed out stocks his father gifted him when he started as a real estate agent. That added up to close to two million dollars. He explained getting the loan felt like standing on his own two feet, so he kept the money growing interest until he passed on the account to her.

She rushed the divorce, which was granted when we testified for her, giving testimony about Hale’s ways of revenge by using money and influence. And Hale’s arrest and his upcoming prosecution, for hiring the men who broke into the bakery, helped speed up the divorce. She now lives in California.

Hale was also being sued by several clients for embezzlement and for not paying his staff the salary they’d negotiated. To add to his pain, Sunshine also added to the number of civil suits that will keep Hale busy for years.

Unfortunately, Hale made bail on the trespassing and attempted assault charges despite having the aggravated property damage charge already on his record.

Not trusting the man, I’d put motion sensor lights on the house and around the bakery.

Hale’s business associates quit and when his arrest and subsequent mugshot hit the local news, people knew to avoid him.

I blew out a breath as I remembered the last confrontation.

We hadn’t heard from Hale in four months, only speaking through his lawyer, who’d made the request for a loan from Phoenix. Our lawyer shot down the request and told them under no uncertain terms they would never help Hale out of the situation he found himself in.

The no contact had been blissful.

Until we left for work one morning. I’d gone to the truck to put my bag in the back and as I headed back to the house, I found Hale on our porch, screeching at Sunshine and for a moment, it appeared he might turn violent.