Page 70 of Flake It Til You Make It

“You’re welcome.” Rocco could hear the smirk in Taylor’s voice. “And here I thought you already thanked me.”

The way Rocco had blown him this afternoon—slow and wet and deep—had had nothing to do with the flower delivery and they both knew that, but Rocco still smiled against Taylor’s skin. “Mrs. Lil was here when they showed up.”

“Ah, so the prodigal daughter returns,” Taylor teased, but Rocco could hear the deep pleasure in his voice, and he knew it was all for him.

“Yep,” Rocco said. He knew he should keep going and say,so if you were wanting to keep this under wraps, it’s not gonna happen. And by the way, what are we doing here?

Rocco’s heart thought it knew the answer, but his brain was working overtime, worrying that maybe he didn’t.

But before he could figure out how to phrase the question less bluntly, Taylor’s phone dinged, and he disentangled himself, rolling over with a groan.

“Shit, I gotta go,” he mumbled.

Rocco stared at the ceiling, the bubble of happiness inside him too solid to burst, even if the questions peppering it threatened its integrity.

“Sorry,” Taylor added, with a little bit of a wince as he slid out of bed. “I wanted to stay, but Mona wants to meet last-minute with Harvey about something.”

“No worries.” Rocco shifted his focus to where Taylor was pulling on his work clothes. “Watching you get re-dressed isalmostas fun as undressing you.”

Taylor flushed. “Maybe one of these days I can make it twenty-four hours before Ihaveto have you again.”

Rocco smiled. “Ditto. But it’s alright. Rebecca only gives me a little bit of shit about holding down the fort during our ‘community development meetings.’”

“Is that what you told her we’re doing?” Taylor laughed as punctuation.

Rocco groaned a little, sliding out of bed and sorting through the clothes on the ground, looking for his briefs. “She knows the truth. I think the pretense is more for me than for her,” Rocco said. “We’re friends but not good enough friends for me to say,by the way, I really need Taylor’s dick. Like right fucking now.”

Taylor straight up cackled as he finished buttoning his shirt. “I was pretty sure the flowers were a pretty obvious example of that.”

Rocco had thought so too—but he’d also thought they were a statement that also said more, likeI was thinking about you and I hoped you were thinking about me, too.

And maybe Taylorhadmeant that, butugh, Rocco thought as he headed downstairs, lips still flushed from the last deep kiss Taylor had given him before he’d left, why hadn’t he said so?

Nothing stopping you from asking. Rocco ignored this voice that sounded too much like his cousin Luca for comfort.

Because yes, thatwastrue.

But Rocco wassogoddamned happy. Every moment with Taylor pure perfection that he was increasingly worried about bursting that bubble.

On Wednesday, he took the afternoon, after Taylor had texted that he couldn’t make it over—there’d been another emergency, this one about the upcoming holiday lights tour that required his intervention—to test the almond cookie recipe that Rocco was sure had been Teresa Hall’s.

He wanted to surprise Taylor with them. A personal gift that he hoped might express how much he was feeling these days, maybe without actually saying the words.

Say the goddamn words, Moretti. This voice sounded suspiciously like Oliver’s, and Rocco wanted to ignore it, like he’d ignored all the others, but it was becoming harder and harder.

Especially when Wednesday evening, as he was just coming back from Rudolph’s after eating a chicken salad wrap for a quick dinner, Rocco saw Taylor leaning against the closed and locked door at Jolly Java.

“Wondered where you’d gotten to,” Taylor said, greeting him with a warm arm wrapping around his middle, tugging him close enough to kiss.

Rocco tilted his head back and pressed his lips to Taylor’s. Taylor didn’t hesitate, just leaned right into the kiss. It got intense fast, Taylor groaning in the back of his throat as his arm tightened around Rocco.

“You could’ve texted.” Rocco was breathless when they finally broke apart, his fingers trembling as he pulled his keys from his pocket.

“I didn’t mind waiting for you. Knew you’d be back sooner rather than later. And maybe,” Taylor added with a grin that made Rocco’s heartbeat accelerate even further, “I was hoping to surprise you.”

“You accomplished your goal,” Rocco admitted. He unlocked the door and Taylor followed him up the stairs. He’d considered grabbing a decaf cappuccino when it had been just him, but the almond cookies were cooling on the kitchen counters downstairs, and he still wanted to preservehissurprise.

Taylor nuzzled into his neck as he unlocked the door to his apartment, at the top of the stairs. “Missed you this afternoon,” he murmured into Rocco’s skin.

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