Page 19 of Crushes and Confections

“I owe you an apology,” I admitted. My stomach was in knots at the mere thought of having this conversation, but if Adrien could put his guard down, so could I.

“An apology? Whatever for?” His eyebrows drew down in confusion and I had to take a breath before launching into my explanation.

“I judged you off of one interaction. It felt like you didn’t like me from that first moment we met and avoided me since. I should have made more of an effort to make you feel welcome."

He stepped into my space, so close I should have been able to smell him. I longed to know what his scent was but now wasn’t the time to ask. Just his presence alone had me swallowing hard, my thighs clenching together. I’d never reacted like this to anyone outside of Riley before.

“It was not that I didn’t like you. In fact, I liked you too much,” he admitted in a husky voice. “Your scent is like heaven, and I wasn’t ready.”

“Oh.” My response was not the most eloquent but it was all I could manage. This alpha managed to surprise me yet again.

“And never apologize for how someone made you feel, mon chou.” With that, he took my hand and brushed a quick kiss over my knuckles, before hurrying to set the table.

I stood there for a moment processing what the hell happened today. The pipe bursting seemed so far away right now and I was, in a strange way, thankful for it. It gave me an opportunity to get to know Adrien from a different perspective.

In truth, I don’t know how I would have reacted had I walked into this house and saw him there.

“Claire Bear?” Riley’s voice was gentle as he came back over. “We can still go.”

“Nope,” I said quickly. “Absolutely not.”

“You’re not acting like yourself,” he argued. “If something’s wrong, you’d tell me, right?”

“I’m just a little overwhelmed. It’s been a long day. But I’m glad I came and I’m starving. What did you two whip up? Can I do anything to help?”

His grin was back at full force. “Italian tonight. And no, just come have a glass of wine and breathe.”

Following him into the kitchen we made our way over to where Vance was stirring a delicious smelling pot of sauce chocked full of fresh herbs, garlic, and tomatoes.

“I take it things smoothed out with the kitchen situation?” From Vance’s grin he knew all about mine and Adrien’s afternoon together.

“Yes,” I said with a smile. “Thanks for your help today. The plumber should be out tomorrow morning and Adrien was a godsend. He even made sure I had morning prep done and got ahead on a few of the auction items I hadn’t gotten to yet.”

“Oh, it was for a very selfish reason,” Adrien admitted as he swept into the room again, pouring us both a glass of wine and topping off the others. “I wasn’t ready to end our afternoon together.”

“Now your kitchen is a mess,” I said with a grimace. “Or cluttered at least.” He was going to bring over our stock in the morning so his counters were still covered in tomorrow’s confections. He gave a tight smile at the reminder.

“Once we get it shifted back to yours, it’ll be back to normal. Though it won’t smell as sweet tomorrow,” Adrien noted. Seeing him here at home, relaxed and flirting, was so crazy. He was an entirely different alpha, and I had a feeling this wasn’t a side many saw of him.

“I’m almost jealous. I’m not as smooth when I flirt with her,” Riley teased, giving me a wink.

“You don’t flirt with me,” I scoffed, rolling my eyes. It was a knee-jerk reaction, one that came from too long thinking he wasn’t interested. Then his words from the other night replayed in my head and for a moment I couldn’t help but wonder if I was wrong.

Riley moved into my space, looking down at me with a smirk.

“Oh Claire Bear, you know I flirt with you,” he teased. The heat behind it had my brain short circuiting. “I’m a flirty person.”

“That you do. You’ve never been one for being the calm, collected beta,” I agreed. The man was basically smoldering at me and I took another quick sip of my wine.

“I’ve never admitted to being conventional.” The pride in his voice had a chuckle escaping.

“Apparently we’re not the only ones,” I said in teasing admiration. It slipped out before I realized what I was saying. He’d broken my brain and taken my filter, and for a split second I worried they would take it the wrong way. But both alphas laughed, pulling us apart and leading us to the table.

“If you get her more worked up, then dinner will never happen,” Vance teased playfully. “Your scents are intoxicating.”

“I wish I could say the same,” Riley deadpanned. “At the risk of being completely pushy. Can I ask why you smell like… nothing?”

“Blockers,” Adrien answered simply. Riley rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair until the alpha let out a nervous laugh. “We’ve used them so no one truly knew we were a bonded alpha pair. I love Vance and I’m not ashamed of what we have. But the world? It’s not always a kind place and our love is, as you said, unconventional.”

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