Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
The Bakery
We dropped Mildred off at the house and walked the few blocks to Sweet Teeth. The bakery was crammed full of customers and a harried Gracie waved to us from behind the counter.
“Lenni, a free table!” I pointed. “Grab it!”
Lenni darted between the tables and slid into the vacant booth in the corner.
“Go sit with her,” Archer said. “I’ll order for us.”
“You’ll need help carrying everything. Might as well stay in line with you.”
“You just want to hang out with me. Admit it.”
I peered at him. “What’s gotten into you?”
“What?”
“You know what. You’re giving me emotional whiplash. One moment, you’re taking care of me. Now you’re openly flirting with me.”
He smiled. “Good of you to notice.”
I rolled my eyes. “You shouldn’t flirt with me.”
“Why not?”
“Because you’re my boss.”
“Only for another twelve days,” he said. “And then you can’t use that excuse.”
“I still won’t go on a date with you.”
He looked at me and cocked his head to the side. “Why not? You won’t be Lenni’s nanny anymore. What’s the problem?”
“Have you forgotten everything I said to you in the barn?” I demanded.
“No. I haven’t forgotten. It’s all I’ve been thinking about.”
The door to the bakery opened and a harried middle-aged woman blew in like a winter storm. A sigh of annoyance leaked out of her as she glanced at her watch.
“Would you like to go ahead of us?” I asked her.
Relief transformed her expression. “You don’t mind?”
“We don’t mind at all,” Archer said, gesturing for her to go ahead of us.
She smiled. “You’re such a nice couple.”
“We’re not—”
“Thank you,” Archer said as he looped an arm around my shoulders and tugged me into his side. “What are you going to get, sugar plum?”
I looked at him with a tight grin. “Not sure yet, honey bear.”
“Ah, adorable! And if you don’t mind me saying so, you’re a very attractive couple as well.”
“The line is moving,” I said, trying to shrug off Archer’s grip, but he only tightened his hold.
I stepped on his foot on purpose.
Archer finally let me go, but not before throwing me a wink and a sexy smile.
It was finally our turn at the register.
“Hey, guys.” Gracie smiled. “Finally, some familiar faces.”
I looked around. “These aren’t locals?”
She shook her head. “Nope. Another video went viral and people are pouring in from Coeur d’Alene. I haven’t taken a break in three hours.”
“Wow,” I said.
“Tell me about it,” she remarked. “We’re out of the chocolate-glazed and sour cream donuts, and I’m no longer letting people wait for fresh-baked goods because it’s causing a bottleneck in the seating situation.”
“Don’t let them break you,” I stage-whispered.
“We better order so there’s no mutiny,” Archer said.
“Right.” I listed off an arsenal of requests.
Three baristas flew behind the counter, plating baked goods and fixing drinks as fast as they could. Archer paid and then we stood off to the side to make room for more customers.
I turned to examine the full bakery. Lenni was sitting in the booth we’d told her to snag. She’d removed her coat but had left her hat on. She caught my eye and smiled. I smiled back.
A couple at the table haphazardly perpendicular to the booth were attempting to soothe a cranky toddler.
A boy on the verge of becoming a teenager with a mop of dark hair sat with them.
And every now and again, his attention strayed from his family to look at Lenni, who seemed completely unaware of him.
I hid my amusement, not wanting to alert Archer that his daughter might have an admirer.
The baristas handed over our drinks which Archer and I brought to the booth. I slid in on the vacant side and I thought for sure Archer would take the seat next to Lenni, but he surprised me when he took the spot next to me.
Close enough that I felt his thigh against mine.
I looked at him.
He stared at me, almost like he was daring me to say something.
But I refused to give him the pleasure. So, I pretended like nothing was out of the ordinary.
Archer set Lenni’s drink in front of her. She gripped the mug and bent her head down and all but stuck her face in the mound of whipped cream.
I couldn’t help the laugh when she lifted her head and showed a whipped cream mustache.
“Do I have something on my face?” she asked with sham innocence.
Halfway through eating, the door to Sweet Teeth opened and Hadley and Declan walked in.
She waved to me and then awkwardly maneuvered her bulk through the maze of customers and tables. But before she made it to us, she halted, her eyes widening at the couple with the toddler and young teenager.
“Mia?” she asked in surprise.
The brunette turned her head, a wide smile appearing on her lips. “Oh my God! Hi!”
She shot up from her chair and foisted the toddler at her husband before wrapping her arms around my friend.
“What are you doing here?” Hadley asked, pulling back, her gaze bouncing between Mia and her husband.
“We bought a place in the area,” Mia announced. “And we just spent Thanksgiving with my dad in Coeur d’Alene. We’re hanging out here for a few days before heading back to Waco. Oh my God! You’re about to pop!”
“A few more weeks to go,” Hadley said as she placed a palm on her swollen belly.
Hadley grasped Mia’s hand and gestured to me. “Come meet my friend. Wyn, this is Mia. Her husband Colt and their two kids. Silas and Scarlett.”
“Damn. Good memory,” Colt said with an amused chuckle.
“Nice to meet you,” I said, my gaze bouncing from Hadley to Mia. “How do you guys know each other?”
“We met at the mushroom festival this past spring,” Hadley explained. “Colt and Declan bonded over their motorcycles.”
“You ride?” Archer asked, with a raise of his brow.
“I do,” Colt stated as he held the baby to his chest.
“Why don’t you guys join us,” I suggested.
“You don’t mind?” Mia asked. “We’re a rowdy bunch.”
“Not at all,” I said.
Colt handed the toddler to Mia and then Archer got up to help Colt push the table toward ours and the guys grabbed the chairs.
Lenni slid over on her side of the booth to make room for another body. Silas took the spot next to her.
“Hey,” he said, shoving dark hair off his forehead.
“Hey,” she replied.
“I’m Silas.”
“That’s nice,” Lenni remarked dryly.
“What’s your name?” Silas asked, unperturbed by Lenni’s lack of enthusiasm.
“Lenni,” she replied.
“Cool.”
Hadley settled her bulk in the seat next to me and Mia perched diagonally across from us, leaving three chairs for the men once Declan finished ordering.
Silas looked at Hadley. “How’s your goat?”
“A menace.” Hadley smiled at him and then turned her attention to Mia. “Did you guys buy in Huckleberry Hill?”
“Silver Springs, actually,” Mia said. She glanced out of the corner of her eye at her husband, who was already in conversation with Archer. “Silver Springs is more Colt’s style. Huckleberry Hill is cute, but it’s a little too . . . polished.”
“Ah,” Hadley said, nodding in understanding. “And he likes the grittier vibe of Silver Springs. Got it.”
Colt lifted his mug to his lips and it was impossible to miss the ink on his knuckles.
“You’re shitting me,” Archer said loud enough for everyone in the bakery to look at him.
I turned in confusion as Colt’s booming laugh filled the space. “Mia, you’re never gonna believe this.”
“What?” she asked, bouncing Scarlett on her lap.
“Archer’s from the South Dakota chapter,” Colt announced.
“Was,” Archer corrected. “Been out for a few years now.”
“The South Dakota chapter?” I asked in confusion. “What are you talking about?”
“They’re part of the same motorcycle club,” Mia said. “Colt is President of the Tarnished Angels in Waco. We have guys from Archer’s chapter who joined up with us a while back.”
“No kidding,” Hadley murmured. “That’s a small-world story if I’ve ever heard one.”
Declan joined the fray, and Mia turned her attention to me and Hadley, though the two of them got lost in a conversation about all things baby related.
And because I didn’t have much to contribute to the conversation, I surreptitiously watched Lenni and Silas interact.
Silas had a paper napkin in front of him. He pulled a pen from his pocket and doodled on it. He slid the napkin to Lenni who stared at it for a moment and then she folded it up and placed it in her jacket pocket.
I turned and caught Archer staring at the two of them, his gaze narrowing. And then he saw me watching him.
I flashed him a look of understanding.
His jaw clenched, and so did his hand that was resting on the tabletop.
I lifted my half-drunk cup of hot chocolate to my lips, but it didn’t stop my smile.
“What’s got you grinning?” Hadley asked, knocking her elbow against mine.
“Tell ya later,” I said under my breath, but subtly angled my chin in the direction of Lenni and Silas.
She’d played it cool for a few minutes, but now Lenni had her head bent toward Silas, like the two of them were sharing secrets.
Mia smiled in amusement. She looked at me and mouthed crush.
I nodded.
Oh yeah.