Chapter Thirty-Six #2
Calder laughed. “That obvious, huh?”
“It’s tough to justify why you needed to know whether Wes and I like our jobs in order to bake an eight-year-old’s cake.”
“Yet you answered.”
“We have a history. And a rapport. I figured it was your way of trying to be friends.”
Assa assumed that was what Calder wanted to discuss.
Remaining friends. The three of them got along well, plus Calder and Assa had that tether from the past. Assa doubted the alpha would proposition them.
The attraction was undeniably there, but they were wrapped up in Valentin, and Calder was plainly stuck on Zinn.
But he was open to being friends. That was why he’d answered all of Calder’s questions so readily.
Deep down, he’d known they were coming from a good place.
Exactly where that place was, he couldn’t say. But he wanted to find out.
“You’re welcome to hang out after the party. Although fair warning, we may put you to work cleaning up,” Assa said.
Calder chuckled again. “Happy to.” He placed the cake stand on the table. “Now, let’s see about getting this masterpiece set up.”
Ryde’s cake resembled a pile of colorful books, all with whimsical names for travel guides highlighting the different provinces.
The top layer was a book opened to a page of text and pictures discussing ancient castles of the state.
The script was hand-drawn, and Assa could only imagine how much time Zinn had spent on it.
“Impressive, isn’t it?” Calder said proudly.
“Amazing. It’s one thing to see the sketches, but this might be too beautiful to eat.”
“No, you should definitely eat it. The strawberry buttercream will change your life.”
“I’m counting on it.”
Besides the stack of books, an artist’s palette created from fondant topped the cake.
Each patch of “paint” on the palette encompassed its own intricate drawing representing Ryde’s other interests—a soccer ball, a basketball net, a camping tent, a swimming pool, a zebra, and a scene from a video game. The level of detail floored Assa.
“Zinn had a lot of fun with it,” Calder said. “I’m very grateful he got to do this for…your son.”
“Not as grateful as we are.”
“Shoot!” Calder exclaimed.
“Everything okay?”
“There’s supposed to be a fondant paintbrush that rests on top of this. It was in its own little box.” He smacked his forehead. “I left it on the counter at the bakery.”
“That’s alright. It looks great how it is,” Assa assured him. “No one is going to miss—”
A knock at the door interrupted them.
Assa looked at his watch. “Alrighty, then. One of our guests has decided to be twenty minutes early. Apparently, the party starts now.” He shrugged.
“I was hoping to show Ryde his cake before all the craziness began. I’ll do that as soon as I let this kid in, so you can tell your designer how much he loved it. ”
He opened the door expecting to find a child and his father. Instead, he did a double take.
His mouth gaped.
An adult-size version of Ryde—an omega version—stood on the porch.
“Hi,” the man said, holding out a small box. “I’m Zinn, from Felton’s. Calder brought over the cake, but he forgot the top piece, and I wanted to make sure it got here. I hope it’s okay that I pulled your address from our system.”
Assa’s eyes widened as his palm landed on his chest.
“Oh, no. My bad. I didn’t mean to startle you just showing up at your door like this.”
Assa couldn’t breathe. His lungs forgot how to operate. All he could do was stare at the man in front of him. Oh, stars. Oh, fuck. He finally took a gulp of air, feeling it burn down his windpipe.
This wasn’t happening.
But it was. The little mole. The curls. The golden-brown hair growing out behind the dyed locks.
“Hey, are you alright?” the omega asked, reaching out to steady him.
“Zinn?” Calder appeared from the dining area.
“Cap? Yeah, it’s me. You forgot the paintbrush for the cake. But this client might be having some kind of episode.” He squeezed Assa’s forearm gently. “Do you need water or something?”
“Sorry,” Assa finally ground out. “Please come in. I’m Assa, by the way… Welcome.”
Zinn gave Assa a sympathetic look. “I guess kids’ birthday parties are pretty stressful, huh?”
Calder volleyed his eyes from Assa to Zinn, and Assa realized the alpha already knew about his cake designer’s resemblance to Ryde.
Assa’s gaze bored into Calder’s. “This is what you wanted to talk to us about?”
“Yes. After I saw Ryde at the bakery, I had to make sure, of course, but yes. It obviously isn’t something I could keep to myself.”
“Why does it sound like you guys are talking in code?” Zinn asked anxiously.
Assa felt nauseous when he noticed the little crease popping up between the omega’s brows was exactly like the one his son got when he worked out a math problem.
“Actually, nevermind. You can explain it to me later. Right now, I have to make an eight-year-old’s cake perfect.
” Zinn padded over to the cake and put the paintbrush on top, securing it with a small toothpick. “There. All done.”
“We can come back after the party,” Calder said to Assa. “I still think that’s the best plan.”
Assa nodded just as Wes came in from the backyard. “I told Ryde I needed to grab a plate, but I really wanted to make sure the cake was set up for the big reveal—Hey, Calder,” he said, walking over to the dining table. “Whoa. This looks even better than I imagined.”
Zinn spun around and extended an arm to Wes. “Nice to meet you. I’m Zinn, the designer.”
Wes’s Adam’s apple bobbed as his jaw clenched. His gaze darted to Assa before he shook Zinn’s hand. “Wes,” he gritted out.
The silence grew suffocating, but Assa couldn’t bring himself to speak.
Zinn looked at Calder. “Is everything okay? I feel like I walked in on something?”
“Nothing for us to worry about fifteen minutes before the party,” Calder said. “We need to talk to Assa and Wes about some other stuff. But we can come back later to do that.”
“Was something wrong with the cake?” Zinn asked. He turned to Assa. “I promise I did my very best. I mostly do wedding cakes, but I really tried to make this one special for you.”
“The cake is beautiful,” Assa whispered, finding his voice. “And so much more special…now.”
He felt the urge to touch Zinn, to rub his thumb across that little mole on his cheek.
He should have been scared, worried that this man was about to upend their lives.
But how could he feel that way about someone who was so genuinely concerned with making Ryde’s cake perfect? Especially when he didn’t even know.
Assa experienced a wave of compassion for this gentle, creative omega.
He’d endured unspeakable pain and betrayal to bring Ryde into the world.
And after everything that had happened, he’d arrived at their door.
Exactly where he belonged.
But peeking at his husband, Assa wasn’t sure Wes felt the same.
Wes looked at Calder. “You’re coming back?”
“I’ve waited three weeks. Waiting longer won’t make it easier.”
As Wes grunted in reply, Zinn put his hands on his hips. “Okay, what is going on? Why do you all sound so cryptic? If it isn’t the cake, why do we need to come back?” Again, he turned to Assa. “No offense. You seem lovely, but this is all very weird.”
“I’m sorry,” Assa hushed out, not knowing what else to say.
Calder placed a palm on Zinn’s shoulder. “It’s a long story, sunshine. I’ll tell you in the car, so you have some time to sit with it. But we’d better leave now so they can have this party.”
“Okay. You’re lucky I lo—like you so much that I’ll put up with this mysterious stuff.”
Calder’s face softened. “I lo—like you too.”
Zinn and Calder headed toward the door just as Ryde came racing into the house from the backyard. “Dad, the hot dogs are burning!”
Assa and Wes looked at their son standing in the archway.
Next to them, Zinn gasped, collapsing into Calder’s arms.