Page 4 of Cupcake of the Month (Just Add Peaches #2)

“You should be out there exploring chef opportunities. Not working the meat counter at Essie’s all day. Not serving food with me at night.” Barb pointed her butter knife at him. “You have to make opportunities for yourself, Josh.”

Lately, the closest he had come to opportunity was the Friday afternoon cooking demonstrations when he worked his primary job at the big-box store. Leaving that hell wasn’t an option. He needed the steady paycheck Essie’s gave him. “You know why I can’t.”

“You don’t carry the sins of your parents.

Sorry – your mom and stepdad. Just like your brother doesn’t carry them either.

” Barb’s glare bored holes into his body until she turned her attention to the bowl of shrimp.

“You have so much talent in the kitchen. And business has been getting better since you helped me with the financial planning. You’re killing me over here. ”

He was killing himself, too.

Even with him being the cause of her eminent death, Barb had no qualms using his display skills to add the finishing touches to the assembled trays.

Staff continued circulating as mounds of food left the kitchen.

Lana poked her head in once and caught his eye.

Sticking in the toothpick to see if he was done.

He should be disgusted, but if it got his hands on her Porsche, he’d take it.

Finally the night was over. Barb stuffed some leftovers in a bag and zipped it into his worn, grey backpack. “I would offer you a ride home, but I’m thinking you have that taken care of.”

“Thanks.”

“Give Zach a hug for me.”

Josh nodded and grabbed his bag. He inhaled once he was outside again, but he couldn’t detect that elusive citrus scent.

Lana’s gleaming silver Porsche sat under the street lights. The window slid down as he approached the driver’s side door. “Need a lift, stranger?” she asked.

He didn’t say anything, only held out his hand.

She gave a low chuckle and tossed him the keys. He opened the door for her and helped her out of the ninety thousand-dollar car, then escorted her to the other side.

“What a gentleman,” she murmured as he leaned forward to help her into the passenger seat. She placed a hand on his jaw.

He feathered a light kiss on her lips.

“You’re such a tease. I hope you’re not using me for a ride home.”

He didn’t make any promises.

The car handled like he’d expected, purring down the highway and gliding through the streets for the twenty-minute drive to the brownstone.

He checked the review mirror for cars tailing them, but didn’t notice anything.

When he pulled alongside the curb, he turned off the ignition and handed the keys back to her.

“Thanks for the ride,” he said.

She stared at him for a moment before bursting into laughter. “One of these nights I’m going to figure out the secret ingredient, Josh, to get you to bake for me.”

He pressed a kiss to the back of one of her elegant hands. Hands with manicured nails painted a deep pink. Hands that didn’t know the burden of manual labor. Hands that had time to be idle. He exited her car. “Maybe next time.”

He helped her back into the driver’s side, then waved from in front of the building until she drove off and turned a corner.

Once she was gone and he was certain no one had followed them, he crossed the street and jogged another couple of blocks to his dilapidated apartment. Call it ego, call it paranoia, but he didn’t want anyone to know where he lived with his brother.

The building’s front lawn was mostly dirt and the structure was sorely in need of a paint job, but it worked.

It was cheap. And its residents were friendly.

So what if the owners put little time and attention into its upkeep?

They hadn’t asked many background questions, and the building had a roof.

That was all he needed. Since his mom and stepdad jumped bail and the courts froze their bank accounts, he did all he could to keep his half-brother with him and not in a foster home.

It had been a long eight years.

He evaded a cat who watched him with a steady green gaze. “You’re not getting my shrimp.”

The cat meowed in response. Josh wouldn’t have been surprised if it was a call to action for other felines in the neighborhood, and he hightailed it into the building.

Josh unlocked his mailbox, but it was empty.

He didn’t expect much anyway, since the only address he ever gave out was to his post office box.

No way was Zach going to see the letters his parents sent, the ones that proclaimed innocence, that begged for funds after cheating so many other people out of their money, that attempted to use guilt to manipulate.

Instead, Josh had shown every last one of Marian and Clint’s communications to the federal investigators.

He unlocked the door to the lobby, and Berry opened his apartment door as soon as Josh’s shoes clicked on the tile. The man was the unofficial watchdog for the residents. Which was to say, he was nosy. “You’re out late.”

“Hey, Berry. Yeah, I had a job in Macon.”

“Fixed the stove light for you. Zach was a good assistant. Let me know if there’re any issues.”

“I will. Thanks.”

Berry nodded and went back inside. Soon the TV blared from behind his closed door.

He climbed up the three flights to his semi-darkened apartment. Zach had kept the stove light on and it greeted him with a constant hum. His brother had also opened the futon in the living room. For a thirteen year old, the kid was damn thoughtful.

Josh dodged around the heavy punching bag that hung suspended from the ceiling in the kitchen and put the leftovers in the fridge.

Zach had put a dent in the stroganoff and the broccoli was gone.

A note from one of the neighbors sat on the table, saying he had hung out with Zach until about nine when the kid went to bed.

Not a day went by that Josh wasn’t thankful for the other residents.

With Josh acting as mom and dad, having other adults around who willingly volunteered to be with his half-brother while Josh was out was a benefit.

The catered snacks would be his thank-you contribution to the weekly Sunday potluck.

Josh kicked off his shoes and threw his shirt into the hamper in their sole bathroom.

His pants and socks followed and he headed back to the living room in his boxers.

The wooden privacy screen was folded against the wall and he moved it into place.

Its dark brown color and tight weave would shield the futon so Zach could turn on the kitchen light when he got ready for school.

He’d give a sleepy Josh a hug goodbye before he walked to the bus stop with the other children from the complex.

Finally, when Josh’s head hit the pillow and the hard metal support bar ran down the length of his back, he allowed himself to think of Jordan.

No. He needed rest, not a wet dream.

Though he could do both.

Damn, she was gorgeous, with her luminous brown eyes and smooth skin.

But it went beyond that. Every moment he had spent with her had been stimulating.

She had intrigued him from the start. Still did.

Even when she glared at him now with something close to contempt.

Whether for flirting with Lana or simply existing, he didn’t know.

Yes, he did.

Behind her cold look hid a fire he itched to rekindle, but he couldn’t tell her why he’d left her. Better she hate him for it than know the truth about him and his family.

He groped along the floor for the pile of classic books stacked next to the futon and grabbed the one on top.

His escape and personal form of continuing education since dropping out of college.

He banished Jordan from his inner thoughts, ignoring the tightening of his body, and rolled over.

He shouldn’t waste his time thinking about a gorgeous brunette that he didn’t deserve and shattered dreams that would never come true.