Page 24 of Fighting Fate

Bandit appeared with more champagne. “This turned out amazing. Of course, my two favorite people pulled it off, so of course it turned out perfect.”

Sacha blushed and accepted the fresh glass.

Baylor eyed the pair on the sly. He knew Sacha had a huge crush on Bandit. Sacha didn’t hide it very well. The thing was, Bandit had always been an oblivious idiot. He never recognized when people liked him. Baylor didn’t know how to help things along or if he should. They were his friends. If things went south, he would be stuck in the middle. Still, he felt good about love tonight.

“Oh. Do you two think you could do the honors of wheeling out the cake? I don’t think I trust anyone else to get it in here safely.”

Sacha didn’t hesitate. “Of course.”

Baylor kissed his cheek again. “Then I guess I should face the firing squad about allowing over a hundred people in Chipper’s house without him knowing.” He laughed as he walked away, but he actually was a little nervous. Chipper looked happy, but Baylor lived with a constant sense of dread in the back of his mind. He knew that was trauma and PTSD, but he was who he was. Now, he needed to see if it was warranted.

Discomfort settled in the moment Baylor walked away. Bandit had always taken Sacha a little off kilter. He was accustomed to being the most confident person in the room. Bandit was different from everyone else he dealt with. He was a strange mixture of too serious and yet silly. Sacha couldn’t explain it. It was almost as if he stayed at war with himself, and Sacha didn’t know what battle he fought.

Their gazes met. His unique blue eyes always caught his attention and held it. They looked so strange with his bright red hair and freckles. Sacha had actually looked up the stats. Blue eyes with red hair were the rarest combination in the world. Sacha wanted to ask how he had turned out this way—like the guy would know. He was tall and lanky—just like Sacha. Sacha always thought they would look good together. It was just wishful thinking. Bandit only thought of Sacha as Baylor’s employee. He might as well not exist.

Bandit motioned toward the dining room, where the cake waited. “Shall we?”

Sacha tore his gaze away and headed in the direction he’d indicated. He would keep his head down and this gigantic cake safe. This was his job, and Bandit was Baylor’s oldest and closest friend. The dining room light was off, hoping to deter people from wandering in. He had marked the room as off limits, but people never thought signs applied to them.

Sacha flipped on the lights.

“Whoa!” Bandit set his champagne glass aside and circled the cake, inspecting it. “Holy shit. This is cake? It’s amazing.”

Sacha twisted his fingers and stared at the intricate design. It was a cage surrounding an MMA ring. There was a tiny guy inside with his arms lifted in victory. He had also made one that was two fighters shaking hands. He planned to quickly switch them out if Chipper lost. Sacha hadn’t told Baylor that. “Do you really like it? I made it.”

Bandit’s chin shot up. He held Sacha’s stare. “You did this? Seriously?”

Sacha nodded. “My cake designs are how I met Baylor. He hired me to make a wedding cake and everything kind of took off from there. The entire thing is edible.”

Bandit shook his head and eyed the cake again. “Damn. I hate for it to get eaten. It’s too awesome.”

Sacha couldn’t stop smiling. He didn’t get to design cakes very often any longer. It was his biggest passion. He missed it. Bandit’s praise filled his chest with warmth. “Thank you. This was the one dream I had for myself.”

Bandit watched him like he saw too much. “Why aren’t you doing it, then?”

Sacha shrugged. “It isn’t the dream that came true. This position with Baylor is the next best thing and pays way more than I ever thought I would make. It definitely pays better than making cakes ever would. The economy beat me,” he added with a nervous chuckle. No one ever asked about his dreams.

“You never know. Life has a way of leading you exactly where you’re meant to be. I think you were meant for this.” He motioned toward the cake. “You’re not given this much talent for nothing.”

He was so fantastic. It hurt Sacha’s chest a little. While it was one thing to have a small, secret crush, it was a whole other to see him like this—flawlessly supportive. “Thank you. Maybe it’ll happen someday.”

Bandit’s gaze never wavered from Sacha. “I believe in you.”

Fuck his life. Sacha was a goner.

To say Chipper rode cloud nine would be the understatement of a lifetime. Hell, he was on cloud twenty-nine—a type of cloud that hadn’t even been discovered yet. It was all due to Baylor. He thought he would scream before the final guests finally left. Chipper closed the door behind Zander and his bunch and leaned against it. He held Baylor’s stare.

“I can’t believe you did this.”

Baylor shifted from foot to foot. “You deserve to be celebrated.”

Damn. He wanted to shout his happiness at the top of his lungs. “This is the most amazing thing anyone has ever done for me.”

“You matter to me.”

Chipper crossed the distance between them and hauled Baylor into his arms. He squeezed him against his chest. “You make me stupidly happy.” He had so many things he wanted to say to Baylor. Chipper didn’t know where to start.

Baylor kissed his chest. “You said you needed to talk to me about something, which almost made me regret this party. This has been the longest fucking night, waiting to hear what you have to say.”

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