Page 14 of Sugared

He was still reeling with those thoughts when Robert stood at the head table and tapped his knife on his glass. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he said. “Could I have your attention, please.”

Leland glanced to a smiling Ean, his heart feeling fragile enough to break. He’d just found Ean again and was still coming to terms with what Ean meant to him. He wasn’t ready to let that go yet, but it felt like he couldn’t stop it.

SIX

Hawthorne House wasthe most magical place Ean had ever known. For the last several days, he’d felt like he was living in a dream there with Leland. He felt safe, warm, and cared for, which he hadn’t even felt growing up. He’d had enough to eat every day, and no one had shouted at him or told him off for hanging around and basically taking Leland’s cooking classes for free.

And now a man he’d never met before was offering him a job? A real job?

“Ladies and gentlemen, could I have your attention, please,” Mr. Hawthorne called out, tapping his glass.

Ean’s thoughts continued to spin as the room went quiet. A real job working in a kitchen. If it was anything like the last couple days had been, he knew he could do it. Cooking wasn’t something that required a ton of reading. Not once he knew and understood the recipe. And if the people in the kitchen at The Chameleon Club were half as nice as Leland, they would help him.

Leland. All of Ean’s hopes flattened when he thought about leaving Leland.

Maybe it was a good thing that Mr. Hawthorne’s speech snagged his attention and cut his thoughts short.

“We’re so pleased to welcome you all here to Hawthorne House for our first annual Valentine’s Day supper,” he was in the middle of saying. “This year has brought a lot of changes to Hawthorne House, but one of my favorites is this trend we’ve started of hosting delicious suppers.”

A few people laughed and a few others applauded.

“Rest assured, we definitely have plans to continue this tradition,” Mr. Hawthorne went on. “We might even expand it to hosting suppers once a week, or at least once a month.”

“We haven’t talked about this yet, dear,” Mrs. Hawthorne said from where she was still seated at Mr. Hawthorne’s side.

A few more people laughed.

“Whatever the case,” Mr. Hawthorne went on, “we couldn’t do any of this without our amazing chef, Leland Page.”

He extended a hand to Leland and everybody in the room applauded for him. Ean applauded for him, too, but his anxiety was back in full force. Now that he had a job offer, maybe Leland would want to get rid of him. He didn’t have to feel responsible for him anymore. In fact, Ean didn’t want Leland to feel any sort of obligation to keep him around because he couldn’t take care of himself.

“Thank you,” Leland called out in answer to the applause. “But I couldn’t have done it without help from someone very special to me, Ean Jones. Ean and my teen class are responsible for the amazing cakes you’re enjoying.”

Ean sucked in a breath as the applause started up again. Only this time, everyone was looking at him.

Never in his life had a room full of people looked at him with smiles and appreciation, and no one had ever applauded for him. He didn’t know how to feel about it, and he definitely didn’t know how to react.

For a second, he thought he might pass out. But Leland reached for his hand and held it tightly. That gave Ean the courage to smile and wave at the room.

“I’d also like to thank Rhys’s painting class for the colorful artwork on the walls,” Mr. Hawthorne went in.

Ean didn’t have enough working brain to pay attention to what he was saying. Not only did he need Leland to give him the strength to keep standing, the man at the table who said he would hire him pulled out a business card and handed it to him.

“Give me a call when you’re ready,” the man said.

Everything was a whirlwind from there. Mr. Hawthorne finished speaking and Leland nudged Ean into motion. They had more cakes to deliver to people, and once that was done, they returned to the kitchen to eat their own suppers before the massive clean-up began.

“Truly, you’ve done an amazing job,” Mr. Hawthorne said when he came into the kitchen half an hour later, as the clean-up hit full swing. “I don’t know if it’s Leland’s teaching prowess or your natural talent, but those cakes were amazing. The biscuit you made for Janice earlier was incredible as well. You do amazing things with sugar.”

“It’s all Ean,” Leland said, wiping his hands on a towel as he moved to stand by Ean’s side. He slipped an arm around Ean’s waist, smiled at him, then continued with, “I don’t know what I’d do without him.”

“Interesting,” Mr. Hawthorne said, rubbing his chin. “You know, if we continue to host these suppers, we might need regular help in the kitchen. It might even become a staff position.” He glanced to Leland, raising his eyebrows a bit, like he was asking an even deeper question.

All Leland said in return was, “We have a lot to talk about.”

Ean’s heart plummeted again and stayed in his stomach after Mr. Hawthorne left and they continued with the washing up. If his life had taught him anything, it was that he should never trust it when things seemed to be going well. Chances were Leland’s talk would involve telling him to go away because he wasn’t wanted anymore.

Then again, Leland had kissed him. On the cheek, but still. He’d been flirting earlier, Ean was sure. And that was without taking the sexual tension in the air between them.

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