Chapter 12 Summer
SUMMER
The quiet end to a bakery day always caught me by surprise.
The tidal wave of the lunch rush would trickle to a steady stream of the afternoon crowd, and one blink later it was just Mercer and me.
The receipt machine gurgled out the day’s summary into his waiting hand as I scribbled restock notes for myself.
My pen was topped with a giant glittery cupcake that lit up with rainbow lights as I wrote.
When Mercer first saw it, he’d given it a very long look before wisely deciding it was best to keep his clever comments to himself.
“I’m staying back so I can lock up tonight,” I said, not looking up from my notebook.
Suspicion flattened his expression. “Why?”
“So I can invite all my friends here for a sexy pajama party,” I said, shimmying my eyebrows.
Mercer didn’t take the bait. “Try again.”
“I have to prep for the Fourth of July potluck.” I rubbed my grainy eyes. On top of a busy day, I’d been dealing with my property manager. Claudia’s helpfulness was only a step above a chatbot, unable to really tell me anything concrete over the phone about my landlord’s plans to fix the building.
“Can’t you do prep tomorrow? It’s not until the evening.”
I shook my head. “Lina, Alvin, and I always help my parents in the morning. Ba likes to break his record of spring rolls made every year. I wish I could say it was excessive, but the town keeps eating them all,” I sighed.
Mercer undid the top two buttons of his chef whites and stretched his neck with a tired grimace. Thank god he stopped at two. I thought he was about to start undressing. “Let me help then,” he offered.
“It’s really not a big deal. I—”
The door chime jingled, someone clearly in violation of the CLOSED sign.
“It’s us!”
Us was Jae and Lucien. It was already hard enough, seeing them all sweaty after a day of manual labor when I got home. I wasn’t sure why they had to come into my place of work and flaunt it here, too. One time I saw Lucien using the hem of his shirt to wipe his forehead, the hussy.
Jae went to lean his elbow on the counter and accidentally slipped off, nearly braining himself. “Hi, Summer,” he said, his voice all high and squeaky.
If his brothers hadn’t suspected that something happened between us before, then they sure as shit were going to now.
“What are you doing here?” Mercer asked.
Jae brushed himself off. “Helping you eat whatever is left for the day.”
“Helping? Or stealing?”
“I mean, I can pay if you want me to.”
I whacked Mercer on the arm. “Don’t let your brothers pay.
What the hell is the matter with you?” The thought of not automatically loading up a family member with as much free food as possible when they came to my place of business was so foreign to me.
It was definitely a trait I inherited from my parents.
“I wasn’t going to,” Mercer grumbled. “I mean, I’ve already settled the register.”
“Unbelievable,” I said, pushing him toward his glass display.
Lucien hung back, even quieter than usual. His eyes flashed upward at mine before swinging away.
Mercer was oblivious, but Lucien definitely suspected something. I don’t think Jae would’ve been the most discreet covering up the blend of our scents after what happened yesterday. Alphas were far more sensitive to that sort of thing.
“How has your day been?” he asked rather formally.
Mercer cut in before I could answer. “She’s staying back and won’t let me help.”
Lucien pinned me with an appraising look, X-ray-like and unnerving. “Is that right?” he asked good-naturedly.
I have no idea how Lucien did it, but somehow Mercer did end up helping me and we left in time for dinner, where I was invited to put my feet up and relax while Lucien cooked.
I conceded—privately—that this was much nicer than staying back alone.
There was chilled wine and pesto pasta. I was a very happy girl. The long day caught up with me, and I was content to sit back and listen to the brothers chatter.
They were quite funny without meaning to be.
At least to me. Jae and Mercer’s nonstop back-and-forth and Lucien like their aggrieved referee.
Individually they were very different. Different temperaments, with different paths in life.
But when the three of them were together, their similarities knitted together.
I wondered why they never decided to be a pack again. They still behaved like one. All the wordless ways they communicated as they made dinner, the easy flow of the conversation now. Newly formed packs took years to get to this kind of effortlessness that was like breathing for them.
Jae smoldered after a glass of wine, loose and easy in his chair as his hand wandered beneath the table. I took a strategic sip as I felt him slip between my legs and palm my bare inner thigh.
“I’m really looking forward to the fireworks tomorrow,” he said innocently, right before he gave me a possessive squeeze. I was going to perfume if he wasn’t careful.
“Mm-hmm,” was all I could manage, trying not to choke on my wine.
I was very quick to offer to clean up once we were done. Lucien followed me into the kitchen, and I brandished a fork at him.
“Get out of here. You cooked,” I ordered.
“It’s really not a big deal,” he chuckled.
The alcohol plus his earthy, sun-warmed citrus scent was making it difficult to stay rational. “Then…shoo,” I finally said, the air completely deflated from my words.
Lucien gently took the fork from me and placed it in the sink. He stayed close. Shoulder-to-shoulder with me. Shoulder-to-forearm, actually. His height was comforting rather than overwhelming. “Don’t hurt him,” he said quietly.
The sultry evening heat trapped inside the house grew thick.
“I wasn’t planning on it,” I said slowly.
“You should be careful, too.”
I was surprised and showed it, stepping back. “Worried about us?” It wasn’t really his business.
“You know we’re all leaving eventually, right?”
Okay, now I was annoyed. “Yes, I’m aware.
And I’m leaving, too, as soon as my landlord can track down whatever ancient code-compliant pipe he needs.
” I yanked open the cupboard where the dishwashing liquid was kept with a little too much force.
“Don’t worry. You won’t have a crazed obsessed omega on your hands. ”
“Wait.”
Lucien grabbed my arm.
“I’m sorry, that’s…not what I meant.”
It started to feel less like he was holding me back and more like he couldn’t let go. I’d never been this close to him before.
“I think you would be very hard to forget.”
The way he said it was lush. Loaded with memories we hadn’t made yet. The perfect eldest Beaufort brother veneer fractured, a little bit of that control slipping. The pull between his alpha and my omega was undeniable. Overwhelming. A little frightening.
“Careful, Lucien.” I slipped my arm from his grasp. “I almost think you’re talking about yourself.”
Lucien blinked and receded into himself. “It was worth mentioning. I trust you two are adults about it.” He nodded at the sink. “Thank you for cleaning up. I’m sure Mercer and Jae will come help you any moment now.”
The kitchen still felt full of his presence long after his scent should’ve dissipated.