“Well hello, you beautiful thing,” Stevie called out from behind the counter. Once he noticed my face, he frowned. “What’s wrong, sweetie?”
I shrugged. “Just tired from the weekend. How are you?”
His eyes narrowed at me while he reached for the largest paper cup they had. He knew what I wanted to drink without asking.
“Lying McLyerson. Tell pookie-bear what’s wrong.”
“Do you have something chocolate?”
He tilted his chin down and looked up at me like I was insane. “No, cutie pie. We don’t serve sweet things at Sugar Britches. This here’s a bakery.”
I let out a pathetic whine. “Gimme chocolate and a hug dammit. I’m having a day.”
Stevie’s smile was full of commiseration. He came out from behind the counter and pulled me into his arms. I couldn’t help but compare his petite hug to Hudson’s big strong one. Stevie smelled like blueberry muffins and caramel while Hudson smelled like sporty deodorant and, more recently, sex.
“Seriously though,” Stevie said quietly, even though we were the only ones in the shop at the moment. “What’s wrong?”
“I have a crush on the wrong guy,” I admitted.
Stevie put a hand on either side of my head and tilted it down so he could kiss my forehead. “Well, bless your heart. Join the damned club.”
“You too?” I asked, hoping like hell it wasn’t me. I didn’t think it was. Despite his flirty nature, I’d gotten the distinct impression on our date he’d been just as happy as I was to end the night with a hug.
He shrugged and smiled. “Oh yeah. This one’s a doozie. Been crushing on the wrong guy for quite a while.”
“Is he straight?”
“No,” he said, moving back around the counter to finish my order. “I’m pretty sure he’s bi, but he’s way out of my league. Treats me like a kid.”
“You ever had it bad for a straight guy?”
“Haven’t we all?” he asked before using a thin pair of tongs to select a powdered sugar brownie from a tray in the display case. “I had a particularly strong crush on one of my friends’ dads once. He was divorced and lived in a house with a pool. Whenever my friend had us over to swim, I had to hide my stiffy in swim trunks. That man was like a Greek god.”
“Have you ever gotten one to let you kiss them?”
“Honey, if I could have convinced him to kiss me, I would have let him kiss me as much as he wanted for as long as he wanted. I would have taken anything that man was willing to give me.”
He handed over the drink and held onto it until I met his eye. “And if Hudson Wilde ever kissed me, I’d grab onto him with both claws, and if anyone tried to wrench him away from me, I’d cut a bitch.”
When I left the bakery with my drink and treat in hand, I’d decided I quite agreed with Stevie about the situation. If I was going to be possessive and upset over Hudson once our time together was over, I might as well push that time off until the far future and enjoy him while I could.
After all, I’d told my sister I was the king of casual sex.
There was no reason for her to know that deep inside my heart, Hudson was mine and I was his. Even if that only lasted a few more months and only truly existed in my mind.
Luckily, the rest of the workday went by quickly, and I was able to head home to the ranch shortly after six. I still hadn’t heard from Hudson, so I turned up at the farmhouse to see if Doc and Grandpa had anything on for supper.
As had become my habit over the previous weeks, I knocked and pushed the door open, calling out “hullo” through the house to make sure I wasn’t interrupting anything.
Mama came careening round the corner from the kitchen and wiggled herself into a frenzy of greeting. I’d had to leave her behind today because of some wet paint at the pub.
“’At’s my girl,” I murmured, scratching her under the chin and on the chest. “Good girl.”
“There he is. Come on in. We’re making curry chicken and rice.” Doc’s arms were outstretched, and I walked right into them. My dad was a hugger, so Cait and I had grown up as huggers too. I’d felt so comfortable with the senior Wildes from the outset, by now it was easy to take the comfort Doc offered. I hugged him tightly before letting go and following him into the kitchen.
Grandpa was checking something in the oven but waved a free hand in welcome.
“Glad you’re here, Charlie. I made enough to feed an army. I figured if no one showed up, it would make good leftovers for Liam and me this week. But of course, it’s better to have your company than a fridge full of Tupperware. Come in and grab a beer.”