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14

Liam

My stomach was a roiling mass of nerves and guilt, on top of the hurt feelings I’d already had. Fuck. I really hadn’t meant to blab to Jared’s boss about what he’d been up to—what we had been up to—but he was so damn nice! He’d come in with a bright smile, and I had tried so hard to match his energy, but the smile I’d tried for had simply wobbled and fell. From there, it was only a hop, skip, and a jump before tears were burning at my eyes.

Yeah, try telling an alpha that you’re fine after that and expect him to leave it alone. Pfft! Not likely.

I tasted bile as my stomach gave another twist, and I reached for my blueberry Italian soda to wash it back down. My dad swore blueberries helped a sour stomach, but I didn’t think there was any cure for guilt. Did Jared get in trouble? Was he mad at me? Maybe I had ruined any chance of seeing him again, and while I might’ve been butthurt by his last prank, I was suddenly in the forgiving mood. I knew he didn’t mean anything by it, not really. I was sure he never would’ve done it if he’d known how much it would hurt me.

Or maybe I didn’t know him at all …

My sigh was loud in the post-lunch lull. “Fuck,” I muttered, dropping my forehead to the counter and giving it a little thunk for good measure.

I had just made up my mind to go home early and tell Sundar to take over when the front door was pulled open. I stood up straight, trying to appear put together for the customer, only to get a jolt when I saw who it was. “Jared!” I gasped.

He looked sheepish, his shoulders hunched, and he held something in his hand wrapped in green cellophane. Flowers? No, even better. He’d brought me a bouquet of macarons, all different colors, each balanced on the end of a clear plastic skewer. “Hey… Is it okay that I’m here? I can leave if you want.”

“Don’t you dare leave,” I said sharply, which brought out a shy smile from him, with the hint of a dimple.

I had to get this out before I chickened out. “Look, Jared, I’m really sorry I ratted on you. I really didn’t mean to. He was just so… alpha, all persuasive, you know?”

His chuckle was rich and warm as he approached the counter cautiously, as if I were a wild animal about to attack. For all he knew, that was exactly what I was. “You really don’t have to apologize for that. I deserved everything I got from Hugh.”

I winced. “Was it bad?”

“Nah. I just had to clean the entire café top to bottom, plus the toilet.” He held up two fingers. “Twice.”

He didn’t seem mad about it, so I let myself relax a little. My eyes moved down to the colorful array of macarons, their delicate aroma teasing me. “Are those for me?” I asked, though I couldn’t imagine who else they would be for.

“Of course! I stayed up late making them myself. I didn’t know your favorite, so I made a few.”

I’d never been very good at making the fussy cookies myself. I always managed to overbake them. “What’s that one?” I asked, pointing at a brown cookie with a tan filling.

“Caramel macchiato,” he said, plucking the plastic skewer from the bunch and extending it out for me to try.

Biting into it, my eyes closed involuntarily as the flavors exploded on my tongue. It was so fresh, I was impressed it had stayed on the skewer at all. These were way better than anything I’d ever made.

I blinked my eyes open to find him staring at me, eyes focused intently on my lips as I licked off a crumb. There was definite heat in his eyes, and as my cock twitched to life, I knew my cheeks must’ve been getting awfully rosy.

Jared cleared his throat and came back to his senses. “There was a whole… apology to go with these.”

“You don’t have to—”

“Please,” he said, cutting me off. “Let me.” I nodded, so he set the bouquet gently on the counter and then met my eyes with a firm, serious gaze. “I’m really sorry, Liam. For everything, right from the minute I came in here to spy. I never meant to hurt you. It all seemed pretty innocent at first, and I got caught up in it. I just…” He sighed, but he didn’t look away. “My boss, Hugh, he’s been my family ever since my mom left when I was 17. He gave me a job, took care of me when I needed someone the most. I guess I built up these safe little walls around myself, and as unlikely as it was to happen, the thought of him going out of business was more than I could handle. It’s no excuse for what I did, but I wanted to explain it anyway.”

My heart broke for Jared. I never would’ve guessed that he felt so vulnerable, when he always acted like nothing in the world could touch him. I couldn’t stop myself from reaching over the counter for his hand and interlacing our fingers. “For what it’s worth, I’m glad you came to spy on me that day.”

“You are?” He looked so damn hopeful.

I nodded and gave a self-conscious shrug. “It’s a little hard to admit, but… I had fun with our pranks. They made me feel…”

“Alive?” Jared offered, and I nodded. “Until the last one.” He seemed to be sagging under his own guilt.

I squeezed his fingers. He’d told me about his past, so now it was my turn to show him mine.

“Please believe me when I say I don’t want to hurt Hugh’s business. My goal was never to be bigger or better than anyone’s café. I just wanted to open a business where I could share my grandfather’s recipes and love of good food, good coffee. He… died recently, and I felt so empty without him. I guess it just felt like if I kept making his favorites, that a part of him was still here. It’s the inheritance he left me that gave me enough to start the business in the first place.”

Jared groaned, dropping his chin to his chest. “Shit, now I feel even worse. Please tell me I didn’t ruin your business. What can I do to help? Do you want me to wear a giant foam cookie costume and stand out front, waving at cars?”

The mental picture had me laughing, and the pain in my stomach started to ease. “As much as I would love to see you in that outfit, I promise it’s not necessary. I’m doing pretty well, actually.”

“Good, I’m glad.” He looked much more relaxed now too.

I walked over to the display case and plucked a butter tart out from the rack. “Truce?” I asked, offering it to him.

His grin was everything. Jared took the butter tart, and I took another macaron, this time a pale green one with pistachios crumbled on top, and we tapped our treats together. “Truce,” he agreed, and I watched as he bit into the tart, anticipating the look of rapture as he moaned around his mouthful.

I could watch him eat all day.

“So,” he said, getting serious again. “Would this truce of ours extend maybe to dinner?”

Oh, how I wished I could say yes. “You don’t have to do that, Jared.”

“Do what?” he asked, frowning.

I shook my head. “Look, it’s sweet and all, but I don’t want your pity date out of guilt or because you’re sorry my pops died.”

Jared’s jaw dropped. “What? No! I mean, yes, I’m sorry he died, I really wish he hadn’t, but that’s not why I asked. The best part about pulling all those pranks was the time I spent with you. Not directly, exactly, but for a while, I felt like our lives were overlapping in a way, that I was learning so much about you, and I really liked what I saw. Please, let me take you to dinner and see if we can’t get to know each other without all the retaliation and potential hurt feelings. Dating, the old-fashioned way.”

There was no holding back my smile. I grinned so hard my cheeks hurt. “Okay. The old-fashioned way.”

I was about to suggest we have coffee right then and there, but a short bus pulled up out front, with Golden Years Retirement Center printed across the side in gold cursive. As the bus door opened, a tall, dark-haired man climbed down the steps first. “No pushing!” he called to the seniors as they unloaded the bus, loud enough for us to hear through the glass. “Don’t think I don’t see you, Davis.” He pointed at a man throwing elbows to be first through the door.

“Oh,” I gasped. Looked like I was about to get busy.

“Need help?” Jared offered.

“I actually have help today, but thank you.” I called Sundar up front, and Jared backed away toward the door .

“Call me later,” he said, because of course I already had his phone number in that prank email that I totally hadn’t deleted.

It was a good thing it stayed busy for the rest of the afternoon, because it kept my mind off the total giddy excitement I felt as soon as I let myself realize what happened… I had a date with Jared!

I needed to tell someone, so as soon as I got home, I jumped into the Lonely Alpha chat.

CreamyJoe: Hey, guys, remember when I said sometimes enemies are just enemies? Well, I take that back. CHAT, I HAVE A DATE!

MuffinTop: Hey, me too! Do tell!

BottomsUp: Yessssss I need all the juicy details, the more skin the better.

Dripdrip69: Plz tell me theres skin

CreamyJoe: No skin… well, there was skin, but that’s another story, and don’t ask. Anyway, I thought maybe he hated me, because we kept pulling all these pranks on each other, but then he came in and apologized using COOKIES! Cookies he made himself! Who does that?!

MuffinTop: Wait… LIAM?

CreamyJoe: JARED???