Page 75 of Knot That Serious

Eli glared at him until he lifted his hands. “I promise, it’s only out of curiosity, not so I can plan the demise of whatever alpha has upset you.”

It was nice to have someone in her corner, she realized. “I run Heat Treats.”

Raj arched a single brow, pausing with his mug lifted to his lips.

“Do you know it?” she guessed.

His mouth curled in a half-smile after he took a sip of steaming coffee. “I do, actually. You make those halloween donuts, with the cherry filling and the spiderweb glaze?”

“Made,” Eli supplied. “We removed that item from the menu in the winter revisions.”

“I know,” he said, voice monotone, paired with a stare across the table.

Eli smiled. “Ah. I see. Your favorite?”

“Not only mine. The boys were very upset with me when I showed up to work without them.”

“The boys?” Eli questioned.

“Right,” he said, and waved a hand. “I’m an architect. Would bring some treats to the construction site. It was a riot the day I told them the menu had changed.”

Eli snickered, imagining a bunch of men in hard hats irate with this alpha for not providing them with adequate baked goods.

“What did you do?”

“I had to resort to the regular glazed donuts.”

Eli hummed, trying not to grin down at the dark surface of her coffee. “And did it appease the masses?”

“For the moment. Any plans to change the menu?”

Eli pursed her lips. “I’m not in the habit of sharing bakery secrets.”

Raj groaned. “Come on, give me—” He pinched his two fingers together. “—just a crumb. Something I can take back to them to get in their good graces again.”

“I think…” Eli dragged out the word, lifting her gaze to study his earnest expression. A man as devastatingly attractive as this alpha, with those big, brown baby cow eyes staring over the table at her…

Dangerous.

“I think we could work something out,” Eli settled on finally.

“Now we’re talking,” Raj said, and sipped his coffee smugly.

The waitress returned with the single plate of food for Eli, and she grinned at the huge stack of French toast dusted with powdered sugar.

“Look okay?” the waitress asked.

“It’s perfect,” Eli said dreamily.

Raj chuckled and dutifully held out his mug when the waitress lifted the carafe of coffee.

“Thank you,” he said softly, and the beta winked at him before turning on her heel.

Eli would have spared the energy to glare, maybe, except she was focused on dousing her plate in syrup.

“I take it you like sweet things?” Raj asked, nodding to the pool of amber liquid.

“Yeah, I like baking as much as I like testing the stuff I bake,” she said, and cut off a corner of the fried bread. She hummed happily as she chewed. “I love this place. It’s so good,” she moaned.

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