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He narrowed his gaze and took an almond croissant instead. “These are my favourite anyway,” he sulked, and I smiled.

“Who’s a lying fucker?” Alec landed at the bottom of the stairs and slid in behind Hunter, snaking his arms around his fiancé’s waist. “Mmm, is that an almond croissant, babe?”

Hunter groaned and handed the pastry over his shoulder, repeating the same gesture with a coffee a few seconds later.

“Oh my god, real coffee.” Alec hummed in pleasure as he swallowed a mouthful.

Rhys shook his head at Hunter. “In all our years of friendship, you never once offered your almond croissant to me.”

Hunter snorted. “You never woke me with an epic blow job.”

Alec smirked and saluted Rhys with the croissant before his gaze landed on me and coffee snorted from his nose down the front of his rumpled T-shirt. “Holy shit, Kip. What happened to you?”

“Tequila,” Rhys explained, and Hunter and Alec both winced.

“Damn.” Hunter’s grin reached both ears.

“Shut up,” I grumbled, pointing to Alec’s black briefs. “Don’t you possess any trousers?”

He shrugged. “The word coffee was mentioned.” As if that explained everything.

I rolled my eyes. “All right, all right. If everyone’s done taking the piss, I have a store to get ready for opening.”

“Not looking like that, you don’t.” Alec held out his hand. “Come on, Cinderella. My model bag is upstairs. I’ve got enough concealer and makeup fuckery in there to make even this disaster look good.”

I narrowed my gaze, then sighed and took his hand, because he was right. “I’m bringing my coffee.”

Ten minutes later, I studied a much-improved reflection in Alec’s mirror and gave a low, satisfied whistle. “Youhaveto teach me how to do that. My eyes still look like someone swapped them out from a dead fish, but at least the black bags are gone. You’re a magician.”

“You won’t find a model who isn’t.” Alec brushed a final swathe of whatever the fuck across my cheeks and studied me with a critical eye. “Yeah, you’ll pass.”

“I’ll pass?” I feigned horror. “I’llpass?”

Alec grinned. “Whoops. My mistake. What Imeantto say was that you look gorgeous, as usual.” He peered over my shoulder into the mirror. “Better?”

“Much.” I kissed him on the cheek, then grabbed his hand and headed for the stairs. “Come on before those ungrateful bitches scoff everything I bought.”

We were still working our way through the pastries when Drew arrived five minutes later. I handed him the chocolate doughnut, which earned me another glare from Hunter.

“How come he gets special treatment?” Hunter whined.

I patted a grateful Drew on the cheek as he waved his doughnut in Hunter’s face. “Becauseheworks hard and makes my life easier. Whileyoudo little more in this shop other than stand around and look pretty.”

Alec snorted. “But you have to admit, he’sreallypretty.” He pressed his sugary lips to Hunter’s, and I stuck a finger down my throat.

Drew studied the two men kissing, looking them up and down like he’d only just twigged that Alec was in his underwear and Hunter was shirtless. “Was there a twunk and bear party I missed the memo for?” he deadpanned, giving them another once-over.

Hunter almost choked on his tongue and Alec hooted with laughter and slapped his fiancé on the back. “He nailed you there.”

“Fuck off. I’m not a damn bear,” Hunter blustered, red-faced. “I’m just... well-insulated.”

Which sent everyone into peals of laughter again.

I held my fist out to Drew, wiping my eyes. “You make me proud, grasshopper.”

He tapped it with his and shot me a sly smile. “Want me to open up?”

“Nah, I’ll do it when this lot clear out. But you could steam those new shirts that came Saturday.”

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