Page 36 of Because You Rejected Me

“God, you look awful.”

“Wow.”

“Did you sleep at all last night?” Andy straightened, looking over at Ace, who also had dark circles under his eyes. “What were you two doing?”

“We were up late harvesting last night,” Ace replied with a sigh as he pulled another crate from the back of the truck. “That storm really threw off our schedule.”

“Oh.” Andy paused, glancing between the two of us. “I just thought… you know, maybe you two…”

I looked up at Ace, my brows furrowed. “I’m gonna fucking kill Sam.”

“He didn’t mean to tell me,” Andy began.

“Bullshit, he didn’t.”

“No, really! We were just talking about the wolves he’s caring for at the hotel and the food needs he has. He mentioned you liked certain things but wasn’t sure he’d need them because you were spending so much time with Ace here.”

“And then he just casually let slip that we’re involved?”

“Well, he did mention something about having to deal with a couple noise complaints coming from your room…”

“Does everyone in fucking town know?!”

Andy gave me a small shrug. “I… uh… don’t know?”

“Andy…” Ace said in a warning tone.

“Alright. I mean, a few people have noticed. Some have even asked down at the cafe.”

“Oh my god…” I sighed. “This is a nightmare.”

“Here,” Andy said, grabbing a donut from his stand. “A peace offering.”

I snatched the donut from his hand, taking a big bite out of it. “I don’t want your goddamn offering,” I growled, my mouth full of pastry. “I want some peace!”

“Andy,” Ace said again, placing a hand on his shoulder. “I know you and Sam have good intentions, and you’re excited about the happiness we’ve found. But could we have some space?” He pulled Andy further aside, but I could still hear his deep voice clearly. “Matt’s been through a lot. He’s brand new here and needs some time to adjust. This sort of teasing is just going to push him away.”

He wasn’t wrong, but I felt a little embarrassed by him saying it. Heat flushed to my cheeks and I turned my head away.

“I… I’m sorry,” Andy replied, all jest gone from his voice. “I wasn’t trying to–”

“I know,” Ace said with a nod. “It’s okay. But just lighten up on him a little bit, huh?”

“Right.” Andy turned around, grabbed another donut, and put it in my hand. “Another peace offering,” he said. “A real one.”

I glanced down, realizing I was double-fisting donuts. “Thanks,” I huffed.

“Feel free to tell me to fuck off,” Andy said, his hand on the side of his mouth. “Honestly, I won’t be offended. I know I can overdo it sometimes.”

“Andy,” I said with a smile. “Fuck off.”

“Noted, chief.”

“Ugh.”

Even though Andy liked to mess with me, he did listen. Leaving me with my donuts and coffee, he chatted happily away with Ace as they put together the bakery’s booth. I put my food down after a moment and got back to work on Ace’s display. It was important to me that everything looked good for his customers. The vegetables would sell either way, especially if Ace took his shirt off again, but I wanted to help him. I felt like I owed it to him. And, honestly, it was an easy way to be useful to him. Although, if I had my way about it, I would make myself very useful to him later. I needed the release anyway after the past couple of days.

But I pushed the thought from my mind for now. Besides, customers were already starting to file into the farmer’s market, and the last thing I wanted to do was flash my boner at a bunch of old ladies. Although, that might get them going if Ace were the one to do it.

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