Page 13 of Bread with the Orc (Harmony Glen #6)

Chapter Eleven

Dorvak

I am not the sort of male to hum while I work. Therefore, let it be known that I absolutely was not humming as, only a half-hour before closing time, I shaped the last of the shortbread cookies and slid them into the fridge to rest overnight.

But maybe I was…sort of smiling. Sort of! Just a small smile! One no one besides my Mate would recognize.

Yes, my Mate. Laney was the reason for my abhorrently good mood, and I wasn’t even sorry.

In the week since I’d finally claimed her, I suppose our life could only be described as: bliss? That is, were I the sort of male to use words like bliss . But yes, Laney made me feel fucking blissful, and I was getting to the point where I didn’t care who knew it .

“Hey! Go ahead and get your egg whites resting, because tomorrow we’re going to need twice as many macarons!

” Laney announced, breezing into my kitchen like a breath of fresh air.

She smiled as she stretched up on her toes to kiss me, then wiped flour from my apron absentmindedly.

“It was a brilliant idea to test the recipes out on our customers first.”

I rested my butt against the counter and folded my arms in front of my chest. “Which ones are selling the best? The macarons?”

“I think they’re going to be a winner, just because they look so fancy.

That doesn’t mean they’re the best.” Smirking, she ticked off her fingers.

“The Chai Spice macarons are going the fastest, because people are ordering them in bulk. But the Earl Grey lavender shortbread are getting the best reviews—I told you!”

“Is that just because shortbread goes well with tea?”

She winked at me. “Obviously. Even if we don’t make them for the contest, you have to add them to our menu.”

I nodded, making a mental note to double my butter order next time. “And what about the Jasmine Tea Honey Cakes?” I’d designed those to honor Laney’s mother and her heritage, the love of tea that my Mate still revered.

Unfortunately, she winced. “As delicious as I think they are, I’m afraid they’re just too exotic for Harmony Glen. People aren’t taking a chance on them, not when macarons and shortbread are possibilities.”

I grunted. “Exotic could be a good thing in the dessert contest. ”

“That’s right!” Stretching up again, she gave me another kiss, and I allowed myself to fall into her sweet scent for a moment before she pulled away.

“Better start cracking those egg whites for the macarons,” she announced as the bell over the door jangled. “I’ll go get the last of these orders?—”

“Yes chef,” I barked sarcastically before realizing that she’d frozen, staring out at the main space of the bakery. “What is it? Laney?”

“My father,” she whispered. “Oh shit, oh shit.”

Immediately, I was beside her. “You don’t have to go out there.” My hand went to her back. “I’ll go let him know he’s not welcome.”

“No,” she whispered, turning to me, panic in her dark eyes. “No, he’s my father. I have to face him. He’s here , isn’t he? Maybe it’s a good thing?”

But as my Mate took a deep breath and stepped out of the kitchen, I could feel her certainty: This was not a good thing.

“Hello, Baba ,” she called, trying to be cheerful. I wondered if anyone was fooled.

The man who had stopped at the counter didn’t look as if he believed her tone. He was in his sixties, his hair graying to silver, his expression stern as he studied his daughter. He wore a suit that was likely worth a month’s rent on this place.

Finally, he flicked his fingers dismissively. “Is that the way you honor the man who raised you? ”

Laney hesitated, glancing over her shoulder at me, then to my surprise, clasped her hands together and inclined her head. “Welcome, Baba . It’s good to see you.”

What the shit? Had he just demanded she bow to him? I couldn’t stop the little growl that burst from my throat, and I realized I was digging my claws into my chest in a vain attempt to calm my Kteer .

This is her fight. She’ll call you if she needs you .

The older man now nodded in satisfaction as he looked around the space, his lip curling in slight disdain. “I see your little tea shop failed, Lan-Yee, and you’ve had to close down.”

I watched my Mate straighten her shoulders and take a deep breath, and from my place by the door to the kitchens, I sent her as much strength as I could.

“My tea shop failed, yes,” she said quietly, as if aware that everyone in the place was surreptitiously watching the drama play out. “But it was because I didn’t give the community a place to linger.”

“It failed because it was a bad business model.” Her father sniffed, his attention on the eclectic décor. “Hospitality is always a risk. Who decorated in here, your boss?”

When Laney chose to ignore the insult to her tastes, I almost cheered.

“You know my dream was to open a tea shop to honor Ama’s love.

” At that announcement, her father’s attention swung sharply back to pin her, and Laney lifted her chin.

“I wanted a place where the people of Harmony Glen could gather.”

“The people of Harmony Glen are half monsters now. ”

Did he not see Roarke from the veterinary office sitting in the corner? Bold move to be that insulting with a lionman nearby.

My Mate kept her cool. “Nevertheless, that was my dream?—”

“Your dream failed,” her father snapped.

“My dream changed.” Laney took another deep breath and stepped up to the counter, and I couldn’t be more proud of her. “Dorvak and I combined our businesses a month ago. I make teas, he makes breads and pastries. Let me pour you some of your favorite, jasmine?—”

Her father cut her off with a slashing motion. “I didn’t come here for tea!”

Why did he come, then? I was already stepping forward when Laney softly echoed my question.

“Why did you come, Baba ?”

Her father visibly settled himself, straightening his cufflinks. “I came to see this new venture you’ll fail at, like you failed at the old one. You’ll continue to fail without my help.”

Well that was the last straw. I wasn’t going to sit there and let some asshole insult my Mate, even if I was fucking proud of her for standing up to him.

“She’s not going to fail,” I growled, striding out from the kitchen. “This place turned a profit in the first week we opened jointly.”

The look of disgust the man shot me told me everything I needed to know. Dismissing me, he glared at his daughter. “ You’re just using someone else’s shop to fail this time.”

Fuck him . I placed my hand on Laney’s shoulder, felt her sway toward me, and I let my tusks gleam. “She told you, this is our shop. The new sign will be up next week— Harmony Tea and Treats.”

My Mate sucked in a breath and twisted to stare up at me. “You didn’t tell me that!”

“It was supposed to be a surprise,” I bit out, still glaring at her father. “Maggie’s making the sign for us.”

I risked a glance down at her, and was relieved to see her smile. “That’s beautiful,” she breathed, leaning against me for just a moment. “Thank you.”

Her father’s eyes had narrowed. “This little venture isn’t making you enough to have found a new apartment, Lan-Yee. You haven’t found a new place.”

He’d been…what? Watching her? Following her? I shook my head. “Laney’s name is on the lease for this place now, and that includes the apartment upstairs. What’s mine is hers.”

It was a declaration, and more than one of the townspeople gathered around sucked in a breath when they realized what that meant.

In retrospect, watching Mr. Wong’s face go suddenly purple, maybe I could have worded it differently.

“ Baba ,” Laney began, but her father cut her off.

“You’re—you’re paired up with this monster? ”

Fucking, living with, loving—take your pick . Instead, I put my arm around her waist and tucked her up against my side. “Laney is my Mate, and I’m hers.”

Her father looked close to apoplectic when he swung his sneer to her. “You’re playing house with the help ?”

I didn’t understand the insult, but from the way Laney suddenly stiffened, she did.

“Dorvak is not —what you said. This is his bakery!” She was shaking now, and I suspected half of it was fury, half panic.

“He’s a staple in this community! He’s given back to the people of Harmony Glen in a way I only hope to! ”

To my surprise, there were murmurs of support around me, and I glanced about to see a number of townspeople on their feet, glaring. The realization that this bastard thought I would be insulted by such a claim made me want to laugh.

So I did.

From the sudden shock I saw on the faces around the bakery, no one had heard me chuckle before.

“Look, Mr. Wong?—”

“ You don’t get to talk to me!” The man swung on me, jabbing his finger in my direction. “Do you know who I am?”

Calmly, I shrugged. “You’re my Mate’s father, and the grandfather of my future son.”

The older man sucked in a breath so quickly I thought he might fall over. In fact, he stumbled backward a step, his hand on his chest, his expression panicked. “A son? No. ”

Good. Let the bastard suffer.

“And if you want to be part of your grandson’s life, Baba , you’re going to have to wise the hell up. Monsters are here to stay in Harmony Glen, but you’re welcome to leave.”

“This is my home!”

“And now it’s our home too,” I bit out. “More importantly, it’s Laney’s home.

Now, I know, deep down, you love her. Well, guess what?

” I snarled. “I love her too. And her heart’s big enough to love both of us.

So you’d better get used to the idea of me being in your life, because I’m most definitely going to be in hers. ”

The older man just stared, wide-eyed.

I grasped Laney’s hand and pulled it to my mouth, kissing her palm while holding her father’s gaze.

“Laney is my Mate . Get used to it.”

Without speaking, the man stumbled backward again, knocking into a table, putting out his hand to stop himself from falling. Laney lurched forward.

“ Baba ?”

But her father held out his palm to stop her, then turned and stumbled toward the door. He looked weak, broken. Nothing like the male who’d swaggered in here before.

Had I gone too far? Had I hurt him?

Would Laney forgive me?

As the bell over the door jangled—jarringly cheerful in the sudden silence—I turned to look down at her. My Mate was chewing on her lip, watching her father’s exit…leaning trustingly on me.

Better apologize preemptively. “I’m sorry if I went too far.”

She blinked, then shifted her gaze to me. With a sad smile, she shook her head. “He was going to find out sooner or later. I suppose it felt good to take him down a peg.”

My hand settled on her stomach as I ducked my head toward her. There was no reason to think she was breeding already, but… “You want him part of our life in the future?” I murmured.

She sighed, then nodded, tipping her forehead against my shoulder. “He’s still my father. I guess I keep hoping I’ll be able to make him proud of me one day.”

And Gods below, if my heart didn’t break a little at that.

“Laney, love, you are strong, brave, and have the biggest fucking heart of anyone I’ve ever met.

Anyone in Harmony Glen.” I straightened to send a pretend glare down at her.

“You have not only built a successful business, but you’ve made this town a better place by giving everyone someplace to gather.

If your father isn’t proud of you, that’s his own fucking fault. ”

To my surprise, behind me I heard someone call out, “Hear, hear.” Another voice muttered, “Yeah, his own fault,” and a third said, “I love hanging out here.”

My grin wasn’t big, but it was there. “See, dkaar ? The whole town is proud of you. ”

Her little huff of laughter sounded sad, but at least she was trying. “Thank you, Dorvak.” She blew out a sigh. “But still, you didn’t have to lie to my father for me.”

“Lie?” I frowned again, trying to remember what she was talking about. “What did I lie about?”

She nudged me. “When you told him we were Mated, you said…” Her chin dropped. “You said you loved me.”

Horror slammed into me.

Oh hells no.

Had I really been so stupid?