Chapter 44 Summer #2
A twinkle of amusement lit up his gray eyes. “I expected nothing less from him.”
The unlocked door was still waiting for me. What would Mercer think of me moving back into my bakery? It wasn’t like I could stay at his patisserie forever.
I threw a sidelong glance his way. “Suns Out is ready,” I murmured.
“They’re finally letting you back in, huh?” His mouth tilted, tentative but earnest. “Want company?”
“I’d like that.”
The chemical scent of paint and sealant lingered in the dusty air. Light glinted off the occasional screw littered on the floor. Plaster crumbs were swept into corners and ignored. I’d have to give everything a deep clean before I brought anything remotely edible back in.
“Jeez, those contractors left a mess.” Mercer was unimpressed as he swiped a finger along the counter, creating a clean path in the fine powder on top. “We can grab cleaning supplies tonight and the four of us can get started tomorrow.”
“Lucien and Jae will be thrilled you volunteered them for that.”
“You think they won’t be? Guess we have to get better at convincing you we’d do anything for you.”
I was a gooey cascade of caramel inside. Unsure of how to respond, I checked behind the oven instead, focusing hard on where they had repaired the water damage. Despite the state they had left my bakery in, I had to concede that the work at least looked professional.
“I meant to thank you as well,” I said shyly. “You never told me you contacted Florence and my other suppliers to pause my deliveries while I was in heat.”
He coughed into his fist. “It was no problem. You had, uh, other things on your mind.”
Our eyes met. A flash of being pinned in place, his relentless rhythm, and that spot beneath my ear he knew how to kiss just right. I had to look away before I perfumed.
“It’s been hard taking so much time off.” I swallowed hard. “I don’t even want to think about how far in the red I am.”
“You’ll bounce back. Everyone is practically frothing at the mouth waiting for you to open back up again.”
I wanted that, too. Despite the film of dust over everything, all I wanted was to see my workstation back up and running and the glass displays filled with baked goods once more.
“At least when I set everything up again, I’ll know where they go.
I spent forever trying to figure that out when I first started. ”
“I’ll help you move everything back from next door.”
He was being so un-Mercer-like. I needed to irritate him. Just a little.
“You’re going to let me order you around? Hold heavy things while I take forever telling you where they go?” I asked innocently.
Mercer shut his eyes, gathering patience. “I will…tolerate it.”
So much better. There were some things I didn’t want to change between us.
“Wow, you must really like me.” I batted my lashes at him.
“Unfortunately, it does seem that way,” he sighed. But his hand was finding the small of my back, the distance between us shrinking. There was uncertainty in both of us. In his touch, the way I turned to him. Navigating this new version of us that wasn’t afraid to show how deeply we cared.
His thumb stroked the bare skin above the waistband of my shorts. “I had a thought.”
“Seems dangerous.”
He ignored me. “We should buy this property. Pack investment. Unless, of course, you want it as a courting gift, then we can just put it under your name.”
Hey, Summer, we want you to be our omega. Have a building.
I did my best to hide that my soul had just vacated my body.
“Why do you want to buy the building?” I asked faintly.
Mercer looked around, taking in the potential of the space.
“Well, it’ll open up more options for us, won’t it?
Since you won’t be living upstairs, we could look at renovating the apartment.
It could be a seating area. You could hold private events.
Maybe even a space to run baking classes.
Hell, if you want to turn the whole thing into a cat cafe ruled by Felix, do that. ”
It was almost too easy to envision Felix in full regalia, draped in velvet and jewels with a crown on his squashy head.
Mercer’s thumb traced my jaw, tipping my face up toward him. “We can take our time and figure out what would be best for this town together.”
He wanted to build something here. With me. My heart swelled. Three times its normal size, at least.
My arm slung over his shoulders, my fingers finding the short curls along his hairline. “What about the next store you’re supposed to open?”
“Camille will take over setting up Hartford. And the next few after that.”
“Yeah?”
“She doesn’t need me. I just get in her way.
And maybe…” Mercer turned us both so we were facing the wall I shared with the patisserie.
“We could open that up. Have you noticed how people come in for one thing and end up getting something from both of us? They pick up a birthday cake from you and decide they want macarons, too. Grab a croissant for breakfast and come back because they need a bánh mì for lunch. The whole town’s been doing it for weeks.
It would just be making that permanent.”
I loved Suns Out, but I also loved working alongside him. He made my days better. If he wanted me around to infuriate and turn him on, then who was I to argue? I would happily make that vein pop in his temple any day.
A smile curved my lips. “We can put a new sign between our shops. But under no circumstances can we call it the Artisan Quarter because then Stanley would win.”
“Fuck no, we’ll come up with a better name.”
I cradled his cheek, and he leaned into my touch. Mercer’s mellowed beta scent was content but open. Inviting me with an outstretched hand to explore meandering market lanes and winding seaside paths.
“You’ve certainly been busy plotting while I’ve been away, haven’t you?” I commented.
He pulled me closer. “You can’t leave me alone, Summer. I want this too much.”
“This?”
“A life here with you.”
My nose grazed his before our lips met. In some ways it felt like a first kiss. That fizzy joy. The undercurrent of nerves.
He tasted like mine.
“The sign between our stores should say Bánh Appétit ,” I said after we broke apart.
Mercer stared. “Did you just come up with that?”
“Yes. Why?”
He sighed, my jaw cradled in his palm. “Just…kiss me again before you realize you’re too good for us.”