Page 92 of Taming the Boss

“No,” Jude said with a growl.

“Yes, you may.” I answered and elbowed Jude.

“Thanks.” Gavin selected a cupcake, and he touched the side to gauge the temperature, unlike his impetuous friend.

I pushed the leftover chocolate ganache toward him that had a thin spatula sticking out of it.

He gave me a grateful smile and proceeded to swipe a dollop of the rich chocolate on top. “These smell heavenly, Maddie.”

Evidently, Gavin really was the one with manners.

He pushed the bowl back toward me. “Looks like the little guy was already into the icing.”

I laughed and grabbed a towel to wipe away the leftover chocolate on Owen’s fingers. “Someone has their father’s sweet tooth.”

“Chocolate!” Owen said bravely before hiding his face in my hair once more. So much for my clean hair for our guests.

“The rest seems to be on you, J.” Carefully, Gavin peeled the wrapper off his cupcake. He proceeded to split the cupcake horizontally, and then he set the bottom on top of the icing to create a little sandwich before he took a very neat bite.

The two men couldn’t be more different.

Xavier was already trying his luck with another cookie.

Jude shook his head and moved to the sink to wash his hands. “If you wanted cupcakes and cookies, you could have just asked. Or hey, even better, go to the bakery in town.”

“So touchy.” Xavier plucked a napkin out of the rooster holder on the island. “We busted our ass all day to get that loan with Max, and then you didn’t sign one of the papers.”

“Sh—crap.” Jude glanced at Owen then he raked his fingers through his hair. “I can’t believe I did that.”

“I can. You were a little distracted. Could this be why?” Xavier plucked up my bag of pregnancy tests while I screeched and made a grab for it.

Jude snatched it away from him and gave him a look that could’ve frozen the whole lake.

Instead of looking repentant, Xavier just grinned. “Another one bites the dust in the Cove.”

“Not that it’s any of your business, but I haven’t taken the tests yet.” The doorbell rang. “Great, now everyone is arriving early.” I handed Owen to Jude.

“Our family doesn’t ring the bell,” Jude said and followed me to the door.

Evidently, his partners didn’t either.

I peered through the skinny window and threw a startled glance at Jude. “Is that your sister?” I’d only seen a handful of photos of her so I couldn’t be sure.

Jude frowned and swung open the door. “Sydney!”

She probably would have looked bedraggled if she was a normal woman. Her red hair was disheveled around her shoulders, half of it clipped back with strands that had fallen forward. There wasn’t a whole lot of familial similarities, which wasn’t as surprising now that we knew about Jude’s true parentage.

Sydney Keller was undeniably gorgeous, making me feel frumpy after hours of running around. She wore a knee-length black pencil skirt with heeled boots in black leather and a crimson sleeveless shirt that matched her wide, unsmiling mouth.

What was it with the glossy, magazine-ready people showing up at my house?

I swallowed hard. Okay, not my house—though it felt like it after the summer spent with Jude and Owen.

Sydney pulled off warm brown sunglasses, and her startling golden eyes narrowed on me. “Who are you?”

Jude gave Owen a kiss on his forehead and handed him off to me. We were playing hot potato with our kid today, that was for sure.

My stomach flipped. Our kid…

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