Chapter 6 JAMIE
My mom saw the kiss. I wasn’t concerned about me, I’d kissed guys in here before, but Logan was different. Logan was not only Daddy material, he was probably going to be recognized by my father, and that could be an issue.
“Is this one going to stick?” my mom asked.
The chocolate shop had counters with a curve, and she was tucked away inside one of the inward curves, polishing the glass after all the people had been leaning against it to watch the demonstration.
“I don’t know yet,” I said, walking to the inside of the counter to get to her.
Logan was still turned around, as if he’d frozen on the spot, with the exception of his fingers going through the box of chocolates.
I knew I’d put him in the sticky situation of being around my family when the kiss came, but in my defense, his lips were puckered and he should’ve been making the move if he wanted to keep being my Daddy.
My mom cocked a hand on her hip and smiled. “What have I told you?” she asked in a whisper. “I know you say you can’t help it, but—”
“I can sleep with whoever I want, Mom.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about the fact you’ve given away stock,” she said. “I won’t tell your father, but you know he’ll kick up a stink if he sees you doing it.”
I shrugged. “He’s far too busy in the back already grading,” I offered up with air quotes.
“My perfectly fine chocolates. Even he says so.” At even the slightest mention of Logan in that way, he looked over, one of the chocolate truffles in his mouth and the melting chocolate covering his kissable lips.
“Well, are you going to introduce us, or is he one that you’ll throw back?”
In my mom’s world, I was some type of man-eater, chewing up these out-of-towners and then throwing them back into the wild, never to be seen again.
She didn’t know I was auditioning them to take on a certain playful role in my life—but nobody’s mother deserved to know about what was going on in their kid’s bedroom, especially mine.
“Maybe,” I said. “I like this one.”
I headed back over to him, slipping out of the side counter on my way. We were standing together now, staring at each other for a quick intense moment before I hooked an arm through his.
Logan licked his lips clean and then pressed them tight as if trying to be more masculine or firm. “What happened?”
“You’re meeting my mom,” I said, and attempted to do a jolly little skip, which was met with the weight of him anchored to the spot.
“Jamie,” he said. “I’ll make sure to give you a spank later.”
“Oh my god, you’re naughty,” I whispered, my body tensing with an intense tingle.
He slipped his hand down my side, sliding it in at my waist, and then dipping it down to my ass where he cupped me and squeezed. “Naughty boy.” And without anyone seeing—I think—he gave me a light spank.
My mom was already back to cleaning the glass counter when we got to her. Logan said hello first, and my mom looked him up and down. I’d not seen that expression on her face much, but there it was, a look of question—definite curiosity.
“I know you,” she finally said.
“I probably just have one of those faces,” he said.
“Yeah, Mom,” I said, realizing this is where it would come out about Logan working for the Maple Kings and he’d probably end up being booed out of the store.
I knew they were on a losing streak, and my family were fans.
“I’ve clearly got a type, and I think he’s probably got a spa to enjoy—or those hot springs. ”
She huffed. “Well, whatever the two of you are doing, be safe about it,” she said.
“Will do,” Logan said, his hand fussing around my waist as if he didn’t know what to do with it, when all I wanted him to do was grab me. “Those hot springs do sound nice.”
“Jamie, you’ve still got work to do,” my mom said in a quieter voice now. “You know it’s best to just do it rather than have your dad come down hard on you again.”
“Fine, I know that,” I said. “Plus, Logan was just leaving, with his sweet treats, and yes, they’re on me.”
We looked to each other—the double meaning of being on me wasn’t lost on either of us.
I wouldn’t mind him eating from my body, or seeing those lips in action again.
After all the effort it took for him to get here, and throwing that snowball at him .
. . I suppose I’d seen him, I’d got my fill, and that would feed me until closing.
He kissed me. “I’ll text you,” he said.
“Okay, oh, let me wrap those back up for you,” I said in my best sing-song customer-service voice as we headed back to the counter.
I knew this place wouldn’t be mine when Dad retired, and that probably added to the reason why I didn’t put in as much effort as my older brother.
But I knew I needed to train, especially if I was going to open up a rival place and begin a feud with Peter.
Okay, so that would never happen, but those were the types of thoughts that helped me get through the day.
* * *
We texted back and forth for the rest of the day.
Daddy Logan had been to the hot springs, claimed they were too hot for him, and had explored some more of the town, finding a cafe and acting like he’d just discovered real food for the first time in his life.
And by real food, I meant the stuff that had actual taste instead of whatever he’d been eating before his vacation.
As the chocolate shop closed and I prepared to leave, halfway through zipping up my coat my father pulled me aside, a strange expression on his face—similar to the one my mom had earlier.
This is when they were going to give me an intervention for the mini-dates I’d been having with the guests in town.
“You good?” I asked, taking my scarf from the hook in the staff room.
“Was that—”
“What’s what?” I asked, looking around like he was talking about an insect. “Is it on me?”
“Logan Pierce,” he said slowly.
In a giggle, I couldn’t help myself. “So, it was on me,” I said.
“He’s one of the assistant—”
“I know, I know,” I said. I’d spent a while looking at his profile on the sports websites last night once I got home.
I knew all about him now, and it didn’t seem quite fair that he had all his information out there for the world to see, and I was just a picture on a website about a family of chocolatiers.
My mom just giggled. “How could you not tell us?” she asked.
“Does this mean you’re not mad about the free box of chocolates I handed him earlier?”
“Free,” my father huffed. “No, that’s coming out of your money.”
I rolled my eyes. “What money? I’m on an apprentice’s wage, it’s practically pennies.”
“Anyway, why isn’t he out at the away game?” he asked. “And does he know they’re on a losing streak? What is he doing here?”
My eyes were getting more of a workout than they had in weeks. “He’s on vacation, he’s stressed, and if anything, I’m helping to relieve some of that.”
They both shook their heads, my father using his hands to hide his eyes. “We don’t want to know,” he grumbled.
It was their fault completely. When I came out as gay, they wanted to know everything about it.
They’d raised two straights—my brother and sister—so raising me, a gay, now that was new for them.
They had a whole dictionary of terms they wanted to know about, and then quickly wanted to forget.
And now, whenever possible, I liked to tease them and remind them they asked for it originally.
“Okay, well, if you’re seeing him now, tell him we want a better season after Christmas,” my father said.
“I’m not telling him that.”
“Have fun and stay safe.” My mother’s favorite stock phrase.
“Don’t worry, I will,” I said, biting my tongue a little.
Logan was waiting me for in the cafe. It was supposed to be dark out, but with the wattage on the Christmas tree in the town center, we could probably be seen from space. I walked towards the cafe, and that’s when I was hit—on my back.
He was standing beside one of the winter festival snowmen. It equaled him in height, and made for the perfect cover.
“I thought you were waiting for me,” I said, dipping to collect snow in my mittens. Not ideal for collecting or even compressing snowballs.
“Oh, I was waiting, right here,” he said. “You don’t get to throw a snowball at me without getting one back in return.”
“You’re starting something you’re not gonna win,” I said.
As the youngest sibling, fighting talk was in my DNA.
I tried with both hands, pushing the snow together, and when I thought I had it, I pulled my arm back and catapulted it at him.
It disintegrated almost immediately, showering him with nice fluffy chunks of snow, which only made him look more attractive.
“Okay,” he said, raising both hands up. “You win this.” We walked toward each other.
“Good.”
And as we connected, his deep breaths fogged up the air around us. “I think I actually win everything else,” he whispered. “I’ve kinda got you a gift, but we’ve got to wait until we—”
“Logan,” I interrupted him. “My folks actually recognized you. I had to tell you, in case this is like not something you wanted to happen, and I also want to say sorry for kissing you out in public earlier.”
He smirked and rubbed the tip of his pink nose. “Don’t apologize,” he said. “That’s the most normal I’ve felt in a long time. I forgot we were even in a public place.”
“Okay, but I—”
“I leaned in for it,” he said.
“They also said, since you took my virginity, you’ve got to marry me.” I couldn’t keep a straight face. We laughed, and he pulled me into a straight-jacket kinda hug before planting his warm lips on the cold of my cheek.
“I guess we’ll have to search for the person who took it,” he said. “But what I was gonna say is, we’ve got to wait until we’re back at the resort—assuming you’re still coming, you said you were packing a bag.”
I nodded. “I was, and then my parents got in the middle of it and I wanted to get out of there immediately, so I figured I’d go back for it before we head up to the resort.
” I kissed him on his nose, just because it looked like it was in need of a little warmth.
“Also, I know I can be a bit of a brat, but tonight, I do want you to take care of me.”
He kissed me and squeezed me just the right amount of tight. “Say less. I’m doing it.”