Page 34 of Bear Creek Valentine
“Do you recall your first crush on a guy? Well, you’re it for Toby. Be gentle with him and don’t tease too much. He’s still kind of fragile. I’ll explain more later.”
They got back to work as if nothing had happened, not even looking up when Toby hurried past them and went up front to check in with Serena. Within a few more minutes, the candies were finished, and Aiden instructed Leo to place the full rack of trays in the cooler for ten minutes.
“Use a timer so you don’t forget. The cold air helps them to set properly, but chocolate does best at room temperature and low humidity. Our next project is a special order of dipped strawberries, but I’m going to let Toby show you how it’s done.”
Leo looked surprised but made no comment when Aiden went out front to get the teen. When they returned, Toby was all fidgety and avoided looking at Leo. Aiden explained what he wanted.
“Toby, we have a special order for five dozen fancy dipped strawberries that needs to be finished before six o’clock. The customer wants a wide variety of looks and flavors, so give me your very best. Leo has never done this before, so I want you to teach him everything from prep to cleanup. I’ll be up front if you need anything.”
Serena confronted Aiden with crossed arms and a frown, quietly expressing her concern.
“This is a bad idea. Toby came out here to getawayfrom Leo, and you threw the two of them together—alone!”
Aiden drew her farther away from the doorway and lowered his voice.
“Trust me, he’ll be fine. This is the job Toby enjoys the most. Teaching Leo will distract himandgive them a chance to become acquainted. We both know Leo’s a good man, and I warned him to be careful.”
By the time Aiden left for the post office with the last batch of online orders, they could hear easy laughter coming from the kitchen. His little gambit worked, and Serena gave him a thumbs up on his way out the door.
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Shortly after five o’clock, a United Packaging Service truck pulled up to the shop. Serena watched as the driver got outto check the address on the door. He was a cute, curly-headed brunette with a rangy muscled body and a nice butt. Yum! Naughty thoughts of checking outhispackage fluttered through her mind as he strutted inside carrying a clipboard and a large manilla envelope.
“I have a special delivery for Aiden Romero. This the right place?”
Oh crap, the green-eyed hunk was even more attractive close-up, and Serena checked to make sure she wasn’t drooling.
“Yep, Aiden is the owner ofDelicious. Let me get him for you.”
All hot and bothered, Serena poked her head into the kitchen.
“Hey, Boss, we need your signature on a delivery.”
Aiden wasn’t expecting anything today but turned off the mixer he was using to make his way up front. The driver handed him a clipboard and pen, waited for Aiden to sign, and then exchanged it for a large envelope. What? Why would he have to sign for an envelope?
“Is this everything?”
The driver smiled and shook his head.
“No, sir, that’s just the paperwork. I have six good-sized cartons in the truck. Where do you want them?”
Aiden didn’t even know what he’d signed for yet.
“Hang on. I need to see what this is first.”
Aiden opened the envelope to scan the contents for clues. The shipment came from a California distributor called World Best Cocoa. The packing list showed three hundred pounds of organic roasted criollo cocoa beans from Peru and an industrial-sized grinder for making cocoa powder. Aiden’s jaw dropped when he saw the sheer cost of the shipment. It could only have come from one person, and he found the evidence on the lastpage under “ordered by”—Dashiell Hawthorn, Bear Creek, PA, USA.
Keeping his emotions under wraps, Aiden was forced to re-direct the shipment.
“I don’t have the space here for all of this, but I do at our production facility. It’s only a block away, so can you take it there instead?”
The driver agreed and Aiden asked a dreamy-eyed Serena to give the man directions. Meanwhile, he hurriedly drafted Leo to come with him, and they took off in Aiden’s car. When he teared up on the way, Leo wanted to know what was wrong.
“Dash just sent me what I need to make my own cocoa powder from the most expensive beans in the world. I told him once that I would love to experiment with them but couldn’t afford to. It’s the most generous gift I’ve ever received.”
Leo chuckled, happy that his old friend finally found a man who appreciated him. Maybe Aiden’s luck would rub off, and Leo could find someone, too. He’d never even considered dating a shifter, but if Dash represented his people well, Leo wouldn’t mind a bear of his own.
They pulled up to the rear entrance of D2 about the same time as the truck and went inside to find a good place to store the beans. Aiden turned the thermostat down further, as the beans were best kept in a cool, dark, dry place. The delivery driver wheeled in the first two boxes, and Leo helped Aiden stack them on the tile floor in the old server station just outside the kitchen. Three more followed before the driver brought in the last box containing the grinder machine. That one went into the kitchen, next to one of the prep tables.
