Page 9

Sacha dragged himself from bed, feeling thirty years older.

His head hurt. It felt like the desert lived in his mouth and his eyes were on fire.

Somehow, he made it through a shower, but he didn’t bother trying to look pretty.

As he stepped from his bedroom, he spotted the flowers.

They were everywhere. Sacha turned in a circle.

Baba sat on the couch with Dana, smiling.

“They haven’t stopped coming all morning.”

Sacha didn’t know how to react. He didn’t want to tell Baba about Bandit’s cheating and break her heart, but neither could he find an ounce of forgiveness.

“You don’t look happy. Are these the gift of a guilty conscience?”

Sacha worked up a smile he didn’t feel. “No. I’m just overwhelmed and not feeling great.”

Baba nodded. “Okay. I’d hate to curse the boy. It’s been a long time since I dragged out my magic, but I would for you.”

Sacha’s smile turned genuine. “I know, Baba.” The doorbell rang, saving Sacha from their conversation.

If it was more flowers, he would tell them to take them back and not darken his door again.

Bandit didn’t mean it. Flowers were a cheater’s gift.

They made Sacha’s chest hurt. Baylor and Chipper stood on the steps, waiting.

Sacha suddenly wished he had bothered a little with his appearance.

“Hey. This is a nice surprise.” He hoped. Damn. It was possible this had to do with Bandit and he might be fucked.

Baylor flashed a bright smile. “Hi, gorgeous. It’s so good to see your face.”

Sacha waved them inside. “I know. It feels like we’re always missing each other.”

Baylor nodded as he stepped inside. “To be fair, I barely work anymore.” He paused halfway to the kitchen. “Holy shit, Sacha. Is there a reason you have a flower shop in your house?”

Sacha waved away the question and rushed the pair to the table before Baba butted in. “It’s a project.”

“Oh.” Baylor blinked. Chipper pulled a chair out for him. “I’ll admit I haven’t kept up with things the way I should.”

Sacha waited until Chipper sat before joining them. “It’s okay. You’re still newlyweds. You’re allowed to bask.”

Chipper winked.

Everything inside Sacha sighed. Some people really got it all.

Baylor shifted nervously, setting alarm bells clanging in Sacha’s head.

“Actually, that’s kind of why I’m here. When Chipper and I got married, we already knew we wanted to adopt.

With Zander’s help, it’ll probably happen very quickly and we’ll be dealing with what’ll likely be a special needs child. ”

Fuck. He was about to be given even more work. His chest felt like it might cave.

“So, I’ve made one of the hardest decisions of my life to dissolve my business.”

It was worse. He couldn’t breathe, but Baylor kept talking like he hadn’t ripped the rug out from beneath Sacha.

“I don’t want to split my time and travel with a child who’ll likely have a lot of separation issues already. It wouldn’t be fair. Plus, after losing Micah, I don’t know if I can handle being away from another child.”

Everything he said was fair, but not to Sacha. He tried not to hyperventilate.

“But I also don’t want you to think I’d just leave you like this, so Chipper and I have a proposal for you.

We’d like to fund a startup. You’re the most talented cake artist I’ve ever seen in my life, and in my business, I’ve seen a lot.

We already have thirty orders lined up for you at two thousand a cake. ”

Sacha blinked. He couldn’t breathe for a new reason.

Baylor didn’t seem to notice. “Don’t worry. You know I’m good at scheduling. There’s no time crunch. I calculated plenty of time for each creation. I also left plenty of space for you to take on more orders. So, what do you say?”

Sacha was stunned speechless. “I don’t know what to say. There are so many details. How much percentage will I get of these orders?” Sacha hated to be all about the money, but he kind of had to be.

Baylor made a dismissive motion. “I won’t be taking a percentage. Plus, I’ve already deposited a severance check of seven hundred and fifty thousand into your account. That’s five years' pay. Hopefully, that’ll be enough to get you started.”

Artem burst through the door and threw his backpack away as he ran toward Sacha.

He skidded to a stop and didn’t bother saying hello before shoving his phone beneath Sacha’s nose.

Sacha’s chin dropped. His hands shook as he reached for the device.

He felt the final pieces of his heart shatter.

There it was. Tip kissing Bandit. He supposed it was some sort of gossip article, but the proof was still the same.

Sacha passed the phone back to Artem. “I’m sorry. Please excuse me.” That was all he managed before he darted for his bedroom. He couldn’t deal with anything else today.

Sacha sat on the edge of the bed and wrapped his arms around his stomach.

He felt like he would fly apart if he took too deep of a breath.

A light knock sounded before Baylor walked in without waiting for an invitation.

He sat next to Sacha and squeezed him against his side.

Sacha lost the battle. Tears flowed down his cheeks as silent sobs racked his body.

He had known, but seeing it was more than he could take.

Sacha had honestly thought it was love. He was so fucking ridiculous.

Of course, Bandit wouldn’t love someone like him.

Baylor kissed his temple. “Let it out. Do you want to break something? I could drive you to go slash his tires.”

Despite everything, a watery laugh escaped Sacha. “I’m sorry. You shouldn’t be in the middle. I know he’s your best friend.”

“You’re my friend too, and I love you. There’s nothing, not even this, that you can’t bring to me. I’m sorry I introduced you two. Not once did I think Bandit would do something like this.”

Sacha let Baylor hold him. “Me either, but here we are.” He straightened. Sacha had too many people depending on him to fall apart. “Thank you for helping me get started on something new. I pray I don’t fail you.” Or his family.

Baylor rubbed his back. “Don’t worry. Chipper knows literally everyone on the planet.

He’ll keep orders headed your way. We never would’ve made this decision at your expense.

But it’s okay to focus on yourself for a bit.

You’ve existed for everyone else for years.

Take a minute to breathe. I promise money isn’t something you’ll have to worry about. ”

Baylor was right. Chipper knew everyone. He would probably be swamped with orders. Sacha should be thrilled. He never thought he would get to live his dream. But this was his life and that meant he wouldn’t get to enjoy a single moment of happiness over it. He didn’t know where to go from here.

Bandit’s chest hurt every second of the day.

He had wanted to show up on Sacha’s front porch first thing this morning, but he had mandatory team practice.

This wasn’t a job from which he could call out sick.

Bandit was contractually obligated to be here.

Thankfully, it was over, and he was five minutes away from being out the door.

While bent and tying his shoes, a silence fell over the locker room. It was followed closely by some rumblings about it being a long time and condolences. Before Bandit could figure out what happened, a very enraged-looking Baylor hovered over him.

“Never in our entire lives have I been so goddamn mad at you. What in the hell were you thinking? If you didn’t want Sacha any longer, you should’ve broken things off before landing online kissing someone else.”

Oh, fuck. Surely not. “What?”

“Don’t play dumb.” Bandit had never seen Baylor like this, and he had seen a lot of sides of Baylor.

“I’m not trying to. I just genuinely don’t know what in the hell you’re talking about.”

“Um.” Tip shuffled closer and flashed his phone Bandit’s way. There it was. A picture of Tip kissing him. His gaze shot to Tip. Tip looked as shocked as him. He wouldn’t want this either. This was their career. More than anything, this definitely destroyed his relationship.

Bandit stood and grabbed his bag. “It’s not what it looks like. I have to get to Sacha.”

“Not what it looks—what? Surely that’s not the bullshit you’re about to feed Sacha. You’ve decided to fucking gaslight him?”

All eyes were on them. Bandit wondered if he would faint. His world was crashing down on him, and he couldn’t breathe.

“It genuinely isn’t how it looks,” Tip cut in, bringing Baylor’s wrathful look his way. Tip held up his hands in surrender. “Seriously. Go with Bandit and let him explain.”

Bandit took Baylor’s arm and steered him from the room. He didn’t meet anyone’s stare or say a word until they were outside. He saw Chipper waiting, but he didn’t approach. That was good. Bandit was on his last string.

He spun and focused on Baylor. “I didn’t cheat. Let’s get that out of the way.”

Baylor gave him a sharp nod, proving he would listen.

Bandit took a breath. Baylor believed. That mattered as much as Sacha believing.

“Last night, I just thought a teammate was asking me to drinks to celebrate. It never occurred to me it might be more. Sacha tried to tell me Tip had a thing for me, but I wouldn’t listen because I’m just me. Why would anyone have a thing for me?”

“Because you’re gorgeous and nice,” Baylor said, cutting in.

Bandit ignored him and kept talking. “Anyhow, we went to get drinks, and I spent the entire time trying to get Sacha to answer my texts. I stepped outside to try to call him, and Tip followed. He kissed me before I saw it coming. I immediately jumped away, but apparently, someone had been taking pictures of us at the exact right time. I set Tip straight, but Sacha won’t speak to me to let me explain and apologize. ”

Baylor pushed him toward his car. “Then go now while he’s still home. Beg for forgiveness.”

“You seriously believe me?”

Baylor’s face screwed up in confusion. “Of course I do. You’d never lie to me, but just like you giving Chipper the keys to your place so he could talk me down from my bullshit, I have to call you on yours.

I knew you two were dating, but I didn’t say anything because I’d never seen either of you so happy.

I figured we’d talk about it when you were ready to let me into your bubble.

Seriously, I love you both and I can’t watch either of you hurt.

With Sacha, I do what I can while letting him keep his pride, but he needs you.

I think you two genuinely love each other, so don’t lose that, okay? ”

“You think Sacha loves me?”

For a moment, Baylor stared at him in silence before shaking his head. “I swear I have never met another person as completely blind as you. You never see when people want you. It would be funny if it didn’t end up hurting people.”

Bandit winced. “I don’t ever want to assume.”

Baylor swiped his hand across his lips, as if fighting back a smile. He shoved at Bandit’s arm. “Go. Don’t fuck this up.”

Before he got away, Bandit snagged Baylor around the waist and kissed his forehead. “I love you. Thanks for being my friend.”

“Forever and always, twin flame, or whatever the fuck that street psychic screamed at us.”

Despite the pains in his chest, Bandit chuckled. They were good. Baylor always had his back.