Page 13 of Thanking Her Brother's Best Friends

He looked like he'd just gotten out of bed and decided today was the day to feature as a fucking GQ model. His hair was wonderfully messy, and the sun rays falling on it illuminated him.

I found myself imagining the sensation of running my fingers through it... pulling him closer... damn my aprons, what the hell was I doing?

"We're closed today," I said, baring my teeth. "Nothing's available."

"Are you, though?" he asked, catching me totally off guard.

"What?"

"Free?" he asked, looking at me hopefully. "Because I wanted to show you our restaurant."

I opened and closed my mouth like a pufferfish. My lack of a response was punctuated by the alarm going off.

Saved by the bell, ping, blaring sound, whatever you would call it.

"I'm not, actually. I have to go pick up my son."

Chloe emerged from the back. I couldn't tell whose smile annoyed me more—because just then, it felt like both of them were running a betting match to see who could do it better.

"I'll hold the fort down," she said, winking at me. "Go get your son."

"Thanks, Chlo. Sorry, Aiden. I'll see you around."

I spent the next hour picking Ollie up from school.

He chattered all the way back home, telling me about a new teacher who taught geography by referencing a wise old wizard and something about flat-earth believers belonging to a cult.

I didn't know whether I should have felt proud about my kid picking things up so quickly or scared that he'd figured out the meaning of "cults". I decided to have a talk with him about it later.

By the time I got him home, made sure Susan was in, and came back to the pastry shop, all I wanted to do was get the pots and pans cleaned for tomorrow and head home.

To my immense chagrin, it was apparent that I wouldn't get to do that anytime soon.

"You're still here," I said, stating the obvious to Aiden, who was sitting at one of our tables with Chloe, apparently lost in a conversation about grills and barbecues.

"And you," I continued, giving my best impression of a very angry boss at her. "Did you finish cleaning up?" I honestly didn't think she had to clean up at all. We always did this together.

I just didn't want her out here chatting with someone who made me feel this uncomfortable.

"I was waiting for you, Sel," she replied with a conspiratorial twinkle in her eyes. "And then I got a bit carried away in discussing the best grills for brisket."

"You... don't... eat... meat."

Chloe rolled her eyes. "But I can still be an admirer, right?"

I wanted to stamp my feet on the ground like an angry little child and break into a bout of crying. So, I decided to just sit down.

"Aiden, what do you want?"

"I just want you to come to Harvest and Hearth with me, Sel. Remember how much you loved our food at the wedding? Wait until you see what we're doing back in the kitchen. It'd be pretty massive to have you there."

"And this is not a joke which will end with me getting trolled somehow?" I asked him suspiciously. He could be hot now, but I'd never forget how he treated me when I was a kid.

"I promise." He crossed his fingers. "I know I was a dick to you in school, okay? It's not just you, I was a dick in general at the time. Let me make it up to you."

"That'll take ten years."

"Okay, so let's start with day one of those three thousand, six hundred and fifty."

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