Callum and Ban had then taken over. They’d sat in the café for a while before moving outside to the courtyard, giving me and William room to work but staying close enough should anything bad happen.
Duke was with Lake back at the inn, going over a map of Exalos. They’d said it was a safety protocol to mark seemingly troublesome areas and alternate paths in case of an emergency. Lake had the best intel in that regard since he’d explored the perimeter of town on his own when I was preoccupied with café business.
I liked that Lake had someone to talk to during the day when I wasn’t there. He passed the time whittling a new project or reading, but I knew he got lonely sometimes.
Was Rowan lonely?
Over the past three days, I hadn’t seen him much. He’d popped into the room at the inn each night but hadn’t stayed long. Only long enough to annoy Lake and flash that smile that drove me a little crazy, and then he’d fade back into the night, going who knew where. He didn’t come and whisk me away for another night on the town. He didn’t seek me out when I was alone.
Was he avoiding spending too much time with me? If so, I understood the impulse to create some distance.
Emotions were scary.
William filled and decorated the chocoholic cupcakes before rolling out the sugar cookie dough and popping them into the oven.
The cookies reminded me of Sir Noah. I hoped he was okay. Not only him but all of my friends back in Bremloc. Thane and the evil monstrosity known as Herbert. Miles, Alice, and Peter. Was Kuya still taking his etiquette lessons? Had Prince Sawyer heard from his bride-to-be?
Had Prince Cedric stopped being a dickwad?
I was enjoying my time in Exalos, but I couldn’t wait to get home.
By the end of the day, William had a basic understanding of the entire café menu. The coffee and desserts anyway. We’d startworking on the savory dishes in the morning—mainly, the soups and sandwiches. I wrote down the recipes, as well, so he could reference them when needed. He’d train more bakers after I left. My job was to get things up and running, then hand the reins over to him.
“This is a lot of food,” William said after we’d wiped down the counters and washed the dishes. Cupcakes, muffins, and cookies covered the kitchen island, stacked on platters.
An idea struck. “Hey, this is around the time the minors come home from their shift, right?”
“Yes, I believe so.” He adjusted his glasses in a way that reminded me of Briar.
“Would you wanna hand these out to them? It’d be nice, don’t you think?”
He smiled. “I do.”
“Okay, give me a sec.” I bolted toward the doors that led to the back patio. Callum and Ban reclined in two of the chairs and snapped their heads in my direction. “Hi. Can I get your help?”
Alarm flickered across Ban’s face.
“Nothing bad,” I quickly added. “We have a lot of food and want to give it away, but I need muscle to help carry it all. You’re the muscle.”
Callum smiled. “Anything for you, Ev.”
Ban nodded.
With their help, William and I bundled up the desserts in baskets and left the café with them in tow. The sight of the two armed men carrying wicker baskets was insanely adorable too. Even more so when Ban peeked under the lid of one, his normally hard expression softening with curiosity.
“Try one,” I urged him. “That one’s snickerdoodle.”
He cocked his head.
“A sugar cookie rolled in cinnamon, basically,” I explained.
He grabbed one and took a bite. A deep wrinkle formed in his brow as he chewed.
“Do you like it?”
Ban looked toward the ground and took another bite. My heart damn near exploded when I noticed the flush going up his neck and into his cheeks.
“Eat all the cookies you want,” Callum told him. “But the muffins are mine.” His brown eyes moved to me. “I can say that because the captain isn’t here.”
