The Delicious Series: The First Volume

by Stella Starling

  “It’s dark by eight,” Mace said, still with that not-quite-a-frown on his face as he yanked Danny’s thoughts away from the only unpleasant aspect of his job.

  Danny blinked. “Yes?”

  It was, but the neighborhood was well lit.

  “You walk home alone?” Mace asked, the frown finally touching his lips.

  Danny nodded, trying not to smile as the flutters started up again. “It’s not far. I live over near Riverside,” he said, his heart racing at the hint of protectiveness he so desperately wanted to read into the question. “If I don’t lose track of the time, I’m usually out of there by eight-thirty once I do all the closing stuff. So it’s not that late, really.”

  “Hm.” Mace’s lips tightened almost imperceptibly, but if he had any more commentary about Danny’s schedule, he didn’t get a chance to offer it. The walkie-talkie on his hip squawked, and when he answered, Danny could hear that he was needed in another part of the park. “I have to go,” Mace said. “Thanks for the cookies.”

  “Anytime.” Danny stopped himself from inviting Mace to stop by the bakery again. God. He was pathetic. He’d done that already, and Mace hadn’t come. Danny forced his smile to stay bright, adding, “I guess I’ll see you around.”

  Hoping it didn’t sound too… hopeful.

  Mace knew where to find him if he wanted to make that happen.

  Mace nodded, hesitating for a moment, but then heading off without another word, so… well, so maybe he didn’t want to make that happen.

  Okay then. Enough. Maybe it was best that dreams stay just that.

  “Be grateful you don't have everything you want,” Danny reminded himself as he watched Mace walk away, falling back on the words of Disney wisdom that had never steered hi wrong. “It means you still have an opportunity to be happier tomorrow.”

  It had worked out for Princess Jasmine and her man, anyway.

  Danny sighed, popping in his earbuds and pulling up some Pink on his playlist as he turned to head back to Delicious. He really couldn’t bring Mace any more cookies. Not again. He could not. That would be… well, it would be too much. If the man wanted more, he obviously knew where to find him by now.

  Them, Danny meant, not “him.” Mace knew where to find the cookies.

  “But what do you really think, Danny?” Sherri asked, leaning across the counter as he boxed up half a dozen cupcakes decorated with little sugar-mold purses for her. “Should I switch the logo to pastels?”

  “Hmmm. Probably not. And you know normally I’d be all over that, but for visibility? Here—” He grabbed a pen and flipped the cardboard box closed. Sketching quickly, he outlined a quick version of her logo on the lid, cleaning up the lines and changing the emphasis from the lettering to the abstract shapes in the corner that were meant to represent a dress. He added in some notes and arrows about coloring, then spun it around so she could see it right-side up. “This would look better, design-wise, and also be more noticeable from the road.”

  Her mouth made a little “O,” then she grinned, leaning across the counter and kissing his cheek.

  “You’re the best. If you ever get bored decorating cookies, you could always go into graphic design.”

  “Oh, God. Shoot me now. This is only because I love you.”

  “You should do one for Brenda at Just Because, too. You know her logo is pure shit.”

  Danny laughed, nodding. The other business owner was sweet, but it was true. “She has such cute things in the gift shop, I don’t understand how she ran out of good taste when it came to designing her signage.”

  “I think she said a cousin did it for free. But think about it if you ever have some time on your hands. She’s really down about the robbery.”

  “At Mallory’s place?”

  He still couldn’t believe the tea shop had been robbed. God. It was right across the street.

  “No,” Sherri said. “You didn’t hear? Just Because got hit the other night, too. Same thing as Hot Leaves. No forced entry, so the cops think it must have been someone who has access, but Brenda swears up and down that she trusts those two girls that work for her with her life.”

  “Ugh, that’s horrible.”

  “I know. I triple checked my alarm when I closed up just now. Did Gavin end up getting one installed here?”

  Danny nodded, pointing toward the little box attached to the wall by the bakery’s entrance. “He went for the top-of-the-line model. It alerts the police and does some other magic—flashing lights or dancing girls or putting the intruder in a head-lock or something—the works. As long as I remember the code, I’m golden.”

  Sherri’s lips quirked up, then she sighed, shaking her head. “Well, double-check it when you leave. Two robberies in two weeks has me a little freaked out,” she said, looking like she meant it as she peered out the window at a few pedestrians passing by. She turned back to Danny, biting her lip. “Do you want me to stay with you until you’re done here?”

  “No,” Danny said, appreciating the offer even though he was sure it was unnecessary. “Thanks, honey, but I’m fine. It was a slow day for online orders, so as soon as you leave I just have to tidy up the prep area and then I’m out.”

  For a moment, Sherri looked like she might argue, but then she nodded, giving him a quick hug when he walked around the counter to see her out and then scooping up her box of cupcakes as she headed for the door. Danny locked it after her and flipped the hanging sign from “open” to “closed,” glancing at the clock as he headed back to the prep area.

  It was just after eight, and he was feeling restless. He was truly, genuinely happy that his best friend had been able to make his dream of owning a bakery come true, but the problem—and it was Danny’s problem, not Gavin’s—was that now Delicious took up all of Gavin’s time. Since Gav had to be up before the crack of dawn every day, the two of them never went out anymore. Danny briefly considered calling him anyway and badgering him into getting a quick drink somewhere, but he knew that would just be mean. Worse, it would be selfish. Gavin was working his ass off for Delicious and Danny had other friends he could call if he really wanted to find something to do once he locked up.

  Maybe he should, he thought, flicking the lights off after he finished up the minimal work necessary to get things in order for the next day. He really needed to get his mind off Mace, and Danny should be able to find something to do that didn’t involve pining over a man who didn’t show any overt signs of interest. A distraction was most definitely called for.

  He pulled the bakery door closed, then let his finger hover over the alarm box for a second. God, Sherri had him paranoid now. They’d only had the thing for a few days, and even though Gavin had come through with a code that Danny had no trouble remembering, it also required pressing some other keys to properly arm it.

  Was he supposed to push them before or after he entered the code?

  After.

  No... before.

  Maybe?

  He sucked in his lower lip, forcing himself to concentrate. Okay, it was the pound key before, then the code, then the other keys. That was it.

  “One-two-one-two,” he chanted in a whisper under his breath, punching in his birthday.

  “You should pick a different code. That one’s too easy.”

  The deep voice from behind him scared the crap out of him, and Danny spun around, letting out an embarrassing chirp as adrenaline flooded his system, immediately followed by a hot rush of something even more intoxicating. Mace. God, the man was too quiet. Well, either that, or Danny hadn’t been paying attention, which was also possible.

  But now that he was… damn. Mace Most definitely had his full and complete attention.

  All of it.

  Because just… wow.

  The surge of adrenaline had already set Danny’s heart to racing, and as he drank in the sight of the man he hadn’t been able to get off his mind, his pulse showed no signs of slowing down. The park uniform Danny had seen Mace in before always
looked good on him, but that had been due purely to the man, not the utilitarian clothing itself. But now? In jeans that hugged his thighs like they’d been made for him and a dark blue henley molded to his massive chest? Mace was mouthwatering.

  And he was here.

  He’d come.

  “What are you doing here?” Danny asked once he’d caught his breath, trying and failing to keep the stupidly wide grin off his face as he wished with all his might that the answer would have to do with him. And it had to, didn’t it? It couldn’t just be a coincidence. Mace knew where he worked, so why else would he show up right outside the bakery?

  Well, maybe lots of reasons, actually, and thank God it was dark enough to hide the furious blush he could feel coming on as he waited for Mace to tell him one. At least, he hoped it was dark enough was.

  “I live here,” Mace said, tipping his head to indicate the other side of the street. “Up there.”

  Ah. Right. Okay. Danny swallowed his disappointment and ramped up his smile, which wasn’t that hard to do, actually, because Mace was still here, even if it was a coincidence that had nothing at all to do with the other man wanting to see him again.

  “So you rent one of the apartments over Hot Leaves?” Danny asked, deciding that as coincidences went, that was actually a pretty amazing one. The kind that might just mean running into Mace on a regular basis.

  “That’s right,” Mace said, his expressionless face somehow managing to look… nervous? Mace cleared his throat, adding, “I saw you leaving.”

  Danny’s stomach started to flutter.

  Mace held out a small… something. “Wanted you to have this.”

  Danny took the little container, reading the label out loud. “Pepper spray?”

  Mace’s eyes skittered away. “It’s easy to use,” he mumbled. “You should carry it with you.”

  “Oh. Okay. Um, thank you,” Danny said, hefting the little canister as he tried to keep his mouth from running away with him.

  Impossible.

  Mace had said he wanted Danny to have the pepper spray.

  Which meant he’d been thinking about Danny.

  Which meant… well, it meant something, right?

  “I should probably warn you that I’m really bad at keeping track of things sometimes,” he blurted, rolling his eyes at himself because hello, that was a massive understatement and probably didn’t paint him in the best light, but not only was it true, Mace was still standing in front of him making him feel like he had all of the man’s attention. Which felt kind of amazing. And since Danny really, really didn’t want him to walk away quite yet, the words just kept pouring out of him, spilling too much truth to someone who had no reason to care but was still… well, here. “I’m always putting things down and then forgetting them,” Danny babbled, still smiling too wide. “Like the earbuds you found.” And his car keys. And a million other things. “Gav likes to tease me about not being good with details, and unfortunately he’s right.”

  Danny finally made himself stop talking, and Mace’s eyes crinkled at the corners, just the tiniest bit. “No,” he said after a moment of silence that for some strange reason didn’t feel awkward at all. “He’s wrong.”

  Danny’s breath hitched. He’d swear he’d heard a smile in Mace’s voice, even if it hadn’t made it onto his face. “Excuse me?” he asked, feeling decidedly breathless.

  “He’s wrong about you and details,” Mace said, pushing his hands into his pockets. “You’re good with them when it’s important to you. When it’s art.”

  “Yes,” Danny said, his pulse racing again. Or maybe racing still. He wasn’t sure it had ever actually slowed down. “Um, right. That’s… that’s what I try to tell Gavin.”

  Mace made a quiet sound of acknowledgement but didn’t add anything else. He also didn’t walk away, though. He was standing close... but not too close. And he was looking at Danny, but not letting his eyes roam over Danny’s lips and hands and face. Mace had sought him out, he noticed things about him, but Danny could not for the life of him read the other man. He wanted it all to mean something and the flutters in his stomach made it feel like it must, but Mace being attracted to him seemed so supremely unlikely that he was afraid of the disappointment if he were to actually let himself read too much into this chance encounter.

  No, not chance encounter. Mace had sought him out to give him the pepper spray.

  Danny’s smiled spread again before he could stop it. He held up the pepper spray. “Have you ever used this stuff?” he asked, mostly just for something to fill the silence.

  “No.” Mace’s eyes darted down to the small canister and he hesitated for a moment before adding, “I… got it for you.”

  “Oh.” Oh God oh God oh God. For him. “Why?”

  Mace took his hands out of his pockets, then put them in again. Then took them out and rubbed the back of his neck as he looked away and mumbled his answer. “I don’t want anyone to bother you.”

  The tips of Mace’s ears were red again, and Danny was not imagining it.

  The man was flustered.

  He didn’t want anyone to bother Danny.

  It did mean something.

  Maybe?

  “Um, maybe you should walk me home, then?”

  Mace’s eyes snapped back to meet his, and Danny bit his lip as he fought the nerves that had sprung to life along with the hopeful suggestion. Not just flutters, but full-on stomach roiling nerves.

  What if he was wrong?

  “I can do that,” Mace said, looking down at him with a slow smile. A real, honest-to-God, curving of the lips that was so fucking gorgeous it took Danny’s breath away.

  Danny couldn’t help it, he started to fall just a little bit in love. He wanted to reach up and lick him, but instead, his mouth ran away from him again, the way it always did when he was nervous.

  “Are you sure?” he asked, putting his own hands in his pockets so he wouldn’t reach for Mace as he turned away from the bakery and they fell into step with each other. “I mean, it’s Friday night. I’m sure you can think of a million other things to do besides walk me home. I mean, not that it takes long to get to my place, so even if you do have other plans, you’ll still have your whole night to do, um, whatever it is you want to do. Because I don’t live that far, like… well, like I already said.” Oh, God. He sounded like an idiot. Not that that fact had any hope of stopping the torrent of words. “I’m not taking you away from any plans? With… anyone?”

  “Nope,” Mace answered, the smile still hovering over his delectable-looking mouth as he cut a glance at Danny out of the corner of his eyes.

  Danny wanted to roll his eyes again, but valiantly restrained himself. But seriously. “Nope”? That was all Mace was going to give him after his embarrassingly obvious fishing attempt?

  Fine, then.

  Well, no, not fine, actually. Not nearly good enough or… or informative enough. Mace seemed perfectly content to just walk along in silence, but it was driving Danny crazy. He wanted Mace to tell him why he was going out of his way to make Danny feel safe. He wanted to know why the other man’s smiles were so rare, and what was going through his head in those moments when they were absent. And he wanted—desperately—to know how dangerous it would be to get his hopes up, despite his assumptions about everything from Mace’s sexuality to what his dating preferences would be if, by some miracle, the man were actually gay.

  Would Danny be too much for him?

  Too… colorful?

  They were already halfway to Danny’s apartment, passing a little cafe with outdoor seating, and if he didn’t say something soon—anything—it looked entirely possible that this entire unexpected, ten-block window of time he’d been granted would pass without a single word exchanged.

  “Do you know what this flower is?” he asked instead of all the other things he really wanted to know, brushing his hand over the bright purple blossoms in the low planters that bordered the seating area at the edge of the sidewalk. />
  Mace looked over, his eyes tracking the movement of Danny’s fingers as they skimmed the velvety petals.

  “Calibrachoa,” he said. “They’re called ‘Million Bells.’”

  “I can see why they’re called that,” Danny said, giving the flowers an extra pat of gratitude for helping him break the silence. He looked back up at Mace. “They’re pretty. Um, so, do you like flowers?”

  Oh, God. What a stupid question.

  Mace’s lip twitched.

  “They’re delicious,” he replied, his voice so dry that it took Danny a minute to realize the man was teasing him. He meant the cookies. Danny’s cookies.

  He laughed, suddenly feeling much happier than Mace’s little joke had warranted. Almost giddy. Because even though it was like pulling teeth to get Mace to say anything, he was here. With Danny. And they were having a conversation. And that was… something.

  “But you like the real ones, too, right?” he asked, more than willing to work for it now that the cone of silence had finally been broken. “I mean, obviously, because you work with them. And you know all about them. Their meanings, and how to take care of them, and… and all of that.”

  “Yeah. I like them,” Mace answered, slanting an indecipherable look at Danny out of the corner of his eye.

  “So, have you always liked them?”

  “No,” Mace said, clearly not afflicted with Danny’s runaway mouth disease. “Not always.”

  “I have,” Danny said. “Always. Not flowers, I mean, but art. I mean, not that I don’t like flowers, because… well, they’re flowers. Who wouldn’t like them? I mean, gorgeous, right? And the meanings are…”

  Danny blushed, thinking about how romantic they were, something that made the flutters start up all over again, even though he knew darn well that when Mace had told him what they meant, he hadn’t actually been saying those things to Danny.

  But a boy could still dream.

  And babble, apparently. Danny was definitely again. And worse, he couldn’t seem to stop. Especially since Mace made no effort to step into the conversational gap, even when Danny’s moment of swoon had made him trail off into silence.