The Delicious Series: The First Volume

by Stella Starling

  The irises were suddenly brought into stark relief, the deep purple of their petals illuminated by the flash of headlights as a car pulled into the lot. Gavin got out. And then… Danny.

  Something surged in Mace’s chest, and he clamped down tightly on the painful stirring of hope that sprang to life inside him at the sight of the man he’d been trying not to think about losing. He needed to remember that Danny had come with Gavin, and Gavin thought Mace was guilty. The bakery owner must have brought him in to give a statement. Danny would feel obligated to support his friend by telling the truth, and all the individual brushstrokes—the alarm code, the cash, Mace’s history—would paint a false picture of Mace’s guilt.

  Letting himself hope for anything else was too dangerous.

  Mace moved away from the barred window, pacing the small cell restlessly. Tad’s complaints had tapered off to the occasional angry mumble, and there was nothing else to distract himself with. He was usually good at keeping still, being self-contained, but knowing Danny was in the building filled him with a restless anxiety that he couldn’t seem to quell. Time dragged, and every so often he’d let himself go back to the window to check whether Gavin’s car was still there.

  It was still early yet, not quite morning, but the sky was already brightening with the promise that it would come soon. The light’s slow progression told him it couldn’t have been all that long since the two men had arrived, even if it felt like forever. Gavin had parked directly in front of a small grouping of blue hyacinth, the flowers that stood for constancy… loyalty… devotion. Promises he’d expected from Kelsie. Things he had no right to hope for from Danny. Words that ran through his mind in an endless loop, reminding him of the heliotrope that Helen had given him.

  No matter how exhausting helping her move the night before had been, Mace had secretly loved doing it. Spending time with the librarian and her wife and being welcomed into the warm circle of their friendship had been a revelation. The evening had been filled with evidence of the quiet, steady love they so obviously had for each other—twinkling eyes and saucy looks, little stolen touches, private words whispered to each other in passing that made their cheeks bloom with color—nothing flashy, just a cascade of tiny moments that spoke of how happy they were together, even after twenty years. Mace had never seen examples of relationships like that, but as soon as he had, he’d known it was part of the better life he wanted.

  He’d been staring blindly at the hyacinth for so long that his eyes had started to blur again. The sound of his name startled him, and he swiped at his cheeks roughly before turning around to face the officer who’d just addressed him. He hadn’t heard her come in.

  “You’re really taking the right to remain silent seriously,” she said, her lip quirking up once she had his attention. “It’s lucky for you that your friends are more talkative.”

  Friends. Danny. And Gavin. It couldn’t be anyone else.

  He cleared his throat. “What does that mean?”

  She was unlocking the door to the holding cell, beckoning him forward.

  “It means you’re free to go, for tonight at least. You’ll need to stay in the state until we finish our investigation, but we don’t have enough to press charges, and the bakery owner is urging us not to.”

  “Gavin told you not to press charges?” Mace asked, frozen in place. “Why not?”

  “Do you want us to?” she shot back, shaking her head. “Come on, there’s still paperwork to do and I’ve just spent the last hour taking your boyfriend’s statement. An hour during which my shift should have ended, I might add, so I’d appreciate if we could move a little faster here.”

  He exited the cell, trying to make sense of it. Trying to contain the thing that was bursting open inside him, because maybe he’d misunderstood. Maybe her words hadn’t really meant what Mace wanted them to. Hope was dangerous, but even knowing that, he couldn’t stop it from taking root inside him.

  “You’re letting him go?” Tad asked, surging forward aggressively inside his cell. “What about me?”

  The officer glanced back at him, her face going from mildly impatient to outright annoyed. “You’re a different story, Mr. Cruise,” she said. “That statement I just took? It also included some interesting details about you that we’ll be following up on. You’re not going anywhere.”

  “You’re seriously going to take the word of that little…” Tad’s voice sputtered out when Mace whipped around to face him, but then he rallied. “What about the fact that he assaulted me?” Tad screeched, pointing at Mace. “Twice! I definitely want to press charges. You’re a witness! You saw what he did! Just look at me.”

  “I’d rather not,” she said under her breath, making Mace choke back a surprised laugh. She shot him a guilty look, then grinned. “Self-defense?” she asked, cocking an eyebrow.

  “If you say so, ma’am.”

  “Works for me. Let’s hurry up and get you processed so we can both go home.”

  That sounded good to Mace. Unbelievably good.

  Except that he was starting to think that this time, it might just turn out to be safe to believe, after all.

  Danny was the brightest thing in the bland lobby of the police station—bouncing around with an overabundance of energy, nibbling on his lip, running his hands through his adorably messy hair—and as soon as he saw Mace, his face lit up, just like it always had. Danny rushed over to him, and Mace let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. The seed of hope that had been growing inside him bloomed into something bright and beautiful, filling his chest in a way that was almost painful. But it was the best kind of hurt, a radiant light that burned away the old to make way for the new.

  “Are you okay?” Danny asked, his hands flitting over Mace as if he needed to reassure himself by touch as well as words. “Why didn’t you call me? I’m sorry I couldn’t get here faster. I couldn’t find my keys, but I’m going to make sure I keep track of them from now on, I promise… um, I don’t know how. But I will. And, God, Mace, I can’t believe they locked you up! They wouldn’t let me see you until I did that statement thing. They wanted to know—” Whatever Danny had been about to say was lost when he found Mace’s swollen hand. “Oh my God, what happened?” he asked, wincing in sympathy.

  “It’s nothing,” Mace said as Danny’s fingers stroked lightly over his raw knuckles. The familiar buzzing sensation from Danny’s touch overrode the pain he’d already gotten used to ignoring, and Mace smiled down at him. Happy. Happy. So fucking happy to see him that he couldn’t stop it from showing on his face.

  “Did the police do this?” Danny asked, frowning fiercely.

  Mace laughed. “No. It was Tad—”

  “Oh my God!” Danny cut in indignantly. “I know, right? I can’t believe it was him. I mean, no, I totally believe it—the guy is such a creeper—but I don’t understand how you knew? Did he say something the other day? Did you see him? Did—”

  “Excuse me.” It was a different officer than the woman who’d released Mace. This one was addressing Danny. “Can we have you for another minute, sir? We just need you to confirm some of the dates on the statement you gave earlier.”

  “Now?” Danny asked. His hand tightening on Mace’s before he let go. “I mean, sure. Okay.”

  It was only after Danny walked away that Mace realized Gavin was there, too.

  “How did you know it was Tad, Mace?” Gavin asked, repeating one of Danny’s stream of questions. But before he could answer, Gavin shook his head, smiling ruefully. “Actually, what I meant to say was thank you,” he said. “However you knew, I’m just really grateful you stopped him. And I’m sorry I didn’t realize what was happening earlier. Why didn’t you say something?”

  Mace shut his face down, locking away everything out of long habit. But then he huffed out a breath, remembering Helen’s words. You don’t live there anymore. And he didn’t want to.

  Gavin wasn’t accusing him. He’d thanked him. And he was waiting on an answer
, a look of confused curiosity on his face.

  Mace gave him the truth. “Didn’t think it would make a difference. Not to the cops. Not to you. You had no reason to believe me. What changed your mind?”

  Gavin laughed ruefully. “What do you think?” he asked, jerking his head in the direction Danny had left in. “Delicious wasn’t the first place Tad hit. Danny told the cops you were with him on the dates of some of the other robberies.”

  “Lucky for me the timing worked out that way,” Mace said, still amazed that Danny had come forward at all.

  Gavin raised an eyebrow, as if he was waiting for Mace to add something more. When he didn’t, Gavin said, “Danny knew you didn’t do it, you know. We only figured out the alibi thing on the drive over. He also realized it must have been you who triggered the alarm tonight, which the police confirmed based on fingerprints, and he gave them some other details that proved you couldn’t have been involved.”

  Facts. There’d been some that should have exonerated him the first time around, too, but none concrete enough for his overworked public defender to do much with, especially not without anyone to back them up. This time, though, he was grateful that Danny had connected the dots.

  “Those facts convinced him I was innocent,” he mumbled, scrubbing a hand over his face. Thank God Danny had thought it through. Made those connections. It could so easily have gone differently. Mace had truly thought he’d lost him, and it still felt a little unreal that he hadn’t.

  “Danny?” Gavin said, his eyebrows shooting up. “No. Those facts convinced me you were innocent. Danny didn’t need convincing. He believed in you all along.” The last word disappeared into a mammoth yawn, followed by a sheepish “Sorry.”

  Mace’s heart pounded. Danny hadn’t doubted him? His eyes stung, and he turned away before Gavin could see, grateful when Gavin looked away, too.

  It was like Mace couldn’t contain his own emotions anymore. They insisted on spilling out where others could see, all the damn time now.

  Gavin glanced at the clock on the wall, groaning as he added, “Jesus, I haven’t pulled an all-nighter in years. I was supposed to start the baking at Delicious a couple of hours ago.”

  “You should definitely take the day off, Gav,” Danny suggested, returning just in time to hear the last statement and slipping his hand into Mace’s, lacing their fingers together as naturally as breathing. “Perks of being the boss. You’re entitled.”

  Danny’s touch shot warmth through Mace’s body, reminding him of the way the colors outside had returned when the sun had started to rise.

  “You know I can’t do that,” Gavin said to Danny, covering his mouth to hide another yawn. “I’ve got a business to run.”

  “Yes, you can,” Danny insisted, rolling his eyes at the stubborn look on his friend’s face. “Okay, fine. But you can at least let yourself open a little later today, honey. You need to go home and take a nap.”

  “I can’t,” Gavin said stubbornly. “I’ll manage.” Then he gave a rueful smile as another yawn split his face, adding, “But oh my God, do you know if they’re done with you here yet? Because when I said I was ‘fine,’ what I really meant was that I need to find some coffee that isn’t served in Styrofoam cups, like, immediately.”

  “We can leave,” Danny said, tugging Mace’s hand. “The cops just needed me to add a little more detail to some of the things in my statement.”

  Gavin snorted, shaking his head.

  “What?” Danny asked, smacking Gavin with a little laugh. “I’m good with details.” Then he looked up at Mace, giving him a smile much too intimate for the setting, and added, “When they’re important to me.”

  The look on Danny’s face had the same buzzing effect on Mace’s heart that the man’s touch always did on his skin, and he pulled him closer, just because he could. And then he kissed him, because he had to. And he ignored Gavin’s muttered “PDA” comment and the fact that there was a roomful of eyes on them and just about everything else that wasn’t the beautiful man in his arms, because as far as Mace was concerned, Danny was the only thing that mattered.

  Mace loved him, and that was one feeling he didn’t ever want to hide away. Not when Danny had come for him. Believed in him. Been there, even after Mace had convinced himself that he was alone.

  Not when, finally, it felt like it just might be safe to trust that Danny really did love him back.

  19

  Danny

  “Oh my God,” Danny said, collapsing onto his couch with a melodramatic sigh. Which, in his opinion, was entirely warranted after a full week of dealing with online orders that all asked for the Same Exact Thing. “If I never see red, white, or blue again it will be too soon.”

  Mace laughed softly, locking Danny’s apartment door behind him and hanging the keys on the little hook next to it before joining Danny on the couch, and Danny held in a much too swoon-ish squeeing sound. Not just because Mace was near, although that alone still sent his heart racing every single time, but because Mace’s laughter and smiles were still slow to come and far between. Danny had been getting a few more of them lately, but still, every single time, it set the flutters racing through him all over again.

  “No more red, white, and blue, huh?” Mace asked, a teasing glint in his eye. “Does that mean I should tell Helen that you’re not going to bring cookies to her Fourth of July barbecue this weekend?”

  “Of course not,” Danny said instantly, waving off the suggestion. “Those ones I can add a little more flair to. I’ve already got them planned. Edible glitter is involved.” He grinned, hopping back to his feet as. The chance to be creative? Yes, please. It renewed his energy better than coffee, and also reminded him... “Speaking of which—well, not the glitter, but flair at least—I made you something.”

  He darted away, back in an instant with the “something” he’d been wanting to surprise Mace with. He’d finally gotten around to replacing the cookie jar that Mace had broken back in May, and in his possibly-not-so-humble opinion, it had turned out gorgeously. He’d written the word “Someday” on the front—a nod to the original—but for this one he’d copied the same handwriting style used for Mace’s tattoo. He’d also embellished it, adding a garden of flowers that he wondered if Mace would recognize.

  He handed it over with a smile, and as usual, the man did not disappoint.

  “These look like mine,” Mace said, running his hands over the designs painted onto the smooth canister as he rotated it to see all sides. “You’ve got everything from my apartment here.”

  Danny grinned, tapping the red camellia he’d used in place of the “O.” You’re a flame in my heart. “This one is my favorite.”

  “Mm,” Mace agreed, his lip quirking up to prove he remembered the first time Danny had seen it.

  “I still think you should put your savings in the bank where it can earn some interest,” Danny said, channeling his inner Gavin. “But if you do decide to keep it in cash, at least this way you can do it with more style.” He bit his lip, hoping that hadn’t come out wrong. “I mean, if you want to use it for that. I know the old one was important to you, and this one is different, but it’s kind of an improvement? Or at least, you know, it’s more… you. Not to say that what you had before wasn’t working, of course, but since it’s gone anyway—”

  “It is an improvement,” Mace said, cutting off his babble with a look that made Danny feel like the man had just kissed him even though their lips hadn’t touched. “It’s beautiful, Danny. Thank you. It’s what you do. You take everything I had before and make it into something better. Something beautiful.”

  Danny’s breath hitched, his heart fully taken over by the flutters. God, he could happily spend all his waking hours with the man. And the sleeping ones. And most definitely the not-quite-sleeping ones, too.

  Well, okay, maybe not all hours, because he did need time for other things, but at least it was fair to say that he could happily spend a good portion of his time with his boyfriend
. Which, lately, he had been, and it had been... nice. No, better than nice. Being with Mace was pretty much perfect.

  “Have you seen the new apartments they just built near the library?” Mace asked, breaking into his reverie.

  Danny nodded, curling his legs under him on the couch. “Sherri and I were talking about those this morning. God, they’re gorgeous. She brought in one of their brochures just so we could drool over the vaulted ceilings. And did you see the balconies? You could fit my entire bedroom on one.”

  “They do have a lot of space,” Mace said, his eyes crinkling a little at the corners.

  Not quite a smile, but still… damn. Talk about gorgeous. Danny didn’t expect that his boyfriend would ever fully lose his reserve—that just wasn’t Mace—but ever since he’d been officially cleared of the robberies, he’d definitely been more light-hearted. The police had even formally thanked him for his part in helping to put Tad away.

  “…and good light, especially the south-facing ones.”

  Danny blinked, trying to figure out what he’d missed. Oh, right. The new apartments.

  “Oh my God, are you thinking of moving there?” he asked eagerly. “That would be amazing! I’ve totally got some ideas if you do. I mean, they’re already really nice, of course, but you could do a lot with the interior. Your plants will look incredible, and then you could also paint… you’ll definitely need a new couch. Not to say that anything’s wrong with yours, but if you’re going to upgrade, then maybe you should go all the way, right?”

  He could totally picture it. It would be gorgeous.

  “I’m open to that,” Mace said, proving once again that he had excellent judgment.

  Danny bounced up and grabbed his sketchbook, flipping rapidly to a blank page as a million and one decorating ideas flooded through him.

  “Okay so, if I remember how the layout is… well, there were a few different floor plans, I think, so you’ll have to tell me which one you’re going to pick… but you could do something like… wait, before I get excited, is this for sure? When would you move?”