Page 23 of Zeke

A spark of hope reignites in my belly, and I look at her with a newfound intensity.

“So…” I say, “what do you think?”

“About what?” she asks innocently, in a way that means she knows exactly what I’m referring to.

“About me and Eli,” I answer.

“About the two of you fighting over me?” she asks. “About how both of you have feelings for me and neither of you is willing to give me up?”

“Yes,” I murmur, my voice tight and strained. “About that.”

“Well,” she says slowly before draining the rest of her coffee and looking at her watch.

It didn’t feel like we’d been talking long, but she stands and walks over to me. My heart jackhammers against my ribs as I wait to see what she’s going to do or say. It nearly explodes when she leans down and kisses me on the cheek with her soft, full lips. Does this mean she picked me?

“I think… may the best man win.”

With that, she turns and walks back into the kitchen, leaving me alone with the memory of her lips on my skin and the firm knowledge there is something to fight for.

Even against my brother.

CHAPTERELEVEN

Kira

Julia is right on time on her first day, and I hug her as she walks in. She’s really pretty and looks much more feminine without her cut on. When she comes in, my dad tries to take her order until I explain she’s here to fill the cashier position he’s been trying to hire out for over a month. He’s surprised and a little annoyed I didn’t tell him prior to her showing up, but he keeps it to himself and returns to the back to work on the breakfast pastries.

I spend the hour before we open teaching Julia how to ring things in and where everything is. She eats a free croissant while we go over pricing and how to box up an order. Before we know it, a small line has formed outside, waiting for us to open.

We are about halfway through the morning when a lull hits. Julia and I are cleaning up and telling Dad what needs to be refilled when I can’t take it anymore.

“You know about the whole Zeke and Eli thing, right?” I ask.

She crosses her arms and leans against the counter. “What Zeke and Eli thing?” she asks, but her tone and the way she doesn’t meet my eyes are the giveaway. She knows exactly what I mean, but she doesn’t want to admit it.

“The way…” I start, feeling thrilled and confused. “I overheard them yesterday. Fighting over me. Apparently, they’re both into me, but neither wants to give up so the other can pursue me without a fight. I don’t know what to do.”

“Do you like either of them that way?” Julia asks.

“I… think so,” I say, the unsure tone of my voice thick as molasses.

“Which one?”

“I don’t know,” I reply honestly. They are wonderful in their own ways, and they’re both incredibly hot. It’s hard to believe someone like me, the town baker’s daughter, would get half a glance from someone so cool and sexy, but I have two of them unable to get along because of me. Zeke is sensitive and soulful. Eli is smart and witty. They are twins, so they look alike except for their hair, which they wear differently, and the way their expressions sit on their faces. Their smiles are totally different, and I could stare at either of them all day.

“So, what are you gonna do, then?” Julia asks, breaking me out of my stream of thoughts.

“I don’t know,” I repeat. I can’t pick yet. I don’t know which one I prefer, or if I have a preference yet. I could see myself with either.

“Do you want either of them like that?” she asks.

“I… think so.” I glance toward the back room where my dad is. “I don’t think it would go over that well with my dad, but there is something exciting about it.”

“Well, if you want my two cents…” she offers slowly, giving me a chance to reply.

“Please,” I say, my eyes wide with desperation. Maybe she knows something about them that I don’t, considering she lives with them and works with them. She would see the sides of them I might never get to until it was too late.

“I don’t have any love for that family,” she says bluntly. “It’s not important why, but Eden and I will never get along. And that extends to her brothers. But…” She takes a deep breath. “My issues with them aside, you can’t do much better for loyalty than an MC guy. Once they decide you’re one of theirs, they’ll go to the grave protecting you and making you as happy as they can.” She shrugs, then gives me a half smile. “You could do a lot worse than one of the Ruthless Kings. Even if I don’t care much for them.”

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