Sweet Buns (Cedar Falls Book 1)

by Shea Balik

  “Now kiss me like you mean it,” Zane said.

  Among catcalls, hollers, and clapping, Aidan did exactly as he was told. As soon as his lips touched Zane’s, the rest of the pub dimmed to a dull roar as his entire world zeroed in on the man in his arms.

  “You know, as always, I appreciate the exhibition, but I think you’ve proven your point,” Ethan said from right next to them.

  Slowly, Aidan pulled back, but his eyes never left Zane’s. “Is there a reason why Ethan is always breaking us apart?”

  “Is there a reason you always have your tongue shoved down my best friend’s throat when I walk into a room?” Ethan snapped back. “If I didn’t know better, I would think you wanted me to watch.”

  “Boy.” Bram’s eyes were on Ethan even though he was across the room.

  “What?” Ethan asked. “I was just making an observation.”

  Aidan and Zane laughed as Bram pointed to the spot in front of him and Ethan immediately went to the man. When Aidan looked around he didn’t see Betty Sue anywhere. “Not that I’m complaining, but where did Betty Sue go?”

  Jesse grinned. “Let’s just say, she had to go home.”

  Aidan didn’t know what Jesse did, nor did he care. He was just glad the guy was on his side. “Did anyone else leave after watching me kiss Zane?”

  It wasn’t something he would have changed, for he planned on kissing Zane in public whenever he wanted. Nothing like what they just did, but PDAs were a part of dating, and he wasn’t going to hide it because he was gay.

  “Naw. We don’t care that you’re gay,” Noah, the owner of the tavern down the street, said.

  “Yeah, none of us want to have Zane’s momma give us another lecture about tolerance,” Charles Donovan III from the local bank said.

  The group laughed.

  “Okay then. Why don’t we all have a seat and I’ll get started.” Aidan was really glad he’d decided to stay in Cedar Falls. Sure there were a few assholes, like Betty Sue and Bobby Joe, but overall the people were really welcoming.

  CHAPTER 23

  Zane had to admit, he was impressed with what Aidan had to say at the meeting. He let everyone have their say and really seemed to be listening instead of railroading people to his way of thinking, not that it would have been necessary. Everyone there was desperate to bring in more business.

  “I called all of you here to discuss what we could do as a community to bring in more visitors,” Aidan told them. “After driving around several towns near Cedar Falls, they seem to sponsor festivals, celebrating just about everything.”

  Andrea Hancock, who made rocking chairs and swings with her husband Vincent, spoke up. “The mayor doesn’t allow us to have more than the Christmas Festival. Says it costs the town too much money to hold these events.”

  There were several people complaining that the mayor was too stuck in his ways. Quickly, the meeting started to deteriorate as some loud objections to the rigid mayor were raised.

  “Okay, Okay.” Aidan held up his hand to quiet everyone down. “Believe me, I understand about the mayor, but there are ways we can go around him.”

  Zane knew Aidan didn’t understand just how stubborn Mayor Donald Murphy could be. But he most likely would soon find that out.

  ◆◆◆

  “Thanks for agreeing to come with me,” Aidan told Zane as they waited for the mayor to see them after twiddling their thumbs already for an hour.

  Not that Zane was the only one there. Several of the business owners were with them in solidarity to try and convince the mayor to help them bring in more revenue.

  Zane reached over and took Aidan’s hand. “I’m happy to help. Even though my parents warned me about how bad Cedar Falls was doing, I hadn’t taken the time to look around for myself.” Then again, that was likely because Zane had been too busy worrying about his mom and trying to get his bakery up and running.

  “Exactly how long is this jackass going to make us wait?” Jesse complained as he tapped his platform boot against the marble flooring. “I mean, I get it, he’s the mayor, but it’s not like he’s running New York City. This is Cedar Falls for fuck’s sake. I can’t imagine there is enough business in this town to keep him busy an hour out of the entire day, much less all day.”

  “If you knew Donald, you’d know it could take him three days to do an hour’s worth of work,” Wes Travers said. He owned the diner on Main Street and had lived in Cedar Falls as long as Mayor Murphy had.

  “Why?” Jesse frowned. “Is he stupid?” Then Jesse’s eyes got really big and he leaned forward as if he were going to whisper even though Wes was on the other side of the room. “Does he have a learning disability? Because I’m not sure we should confront him if he does. It’s not like it is his fault and I don’t want to make him feel bad.”

  Wes chuckled. “No, Jesse. Donald Murphy is just lazy and incompetent. The man wouldn’t know how to work a full day to save his life.”

  Jesse straightened in his chair. “Oh. Then I say we storm into his office.”

  At first the group thought Jesse was just saying that, but when he stood up and strode right past the secretary’s desk, they all realized he intended to do just that. Isadora tried to stop Jesse, but he ignored her and opened the mayor’s door.

  Zane, who had been the first to realize Jesse had meant what he said, was right behind him. What they expected to see, Zane couldn’t say, but it wasn’t for the man to be playing solitaire as if he had nothing else to do.

  “What is the meaning of this?” the mayor yelled when he saw the group pouring into his office. “I didn’t give you permission to come in here. I’m a very busy man and I don’t have time to deal with your problems.”

  “Clearly,” Jesse quipped. “Because the fate of the world rests on you playing cards. Tell me, if you lose, do we all die?”

  Mayor Murphy sputtered as his face turned red with anger. “You have no right to speak to me like that.”

  Jesse rolled his eyes. “Sorry, you obviously haven’t met me. Let me introduce myself.” In typical Jesse fashion, he put his hand out palm down. “I’m Jesse Grant. Welcome to my brain. You may wanna buckle up.”

  Mayor Murphy stared at Jesse’s hand as if unsure what to do with it. In the end, he disregarded it, choosing instead to lean back in his seat and stare at the rest of the group as if they were nothing more than bugs he wanted to squash.

  “I think it’s time you all leave before I’m forced to have you all arrested.” The smug look on the man’s face had Zane itching to be as bold as Jesse and wipe it off.

  Then again, with Jesse around, Zane didn’t have to do much.

  “For what?” Jesse waved a hand toward the cards on the man’s desk. “Interrupting an important game of solitaire? Or would it be because we’re asking you to do your damn job. You know, the one you were elected to do. Or would it be because you’re just an ass who thinks you have the right to do whatever you want?”

  Jesse put one arm across his chest, and placed the elbow of the other arm on top of it so he could tap his finger against his lip in a casual, yet somewhat thoughtful pose. Which, for Jesse, meant trouble. The man was never thoughtful, only devious.

  “You know what? I bet if you arrested the entire town, you wouldn’t have to worry about pesky things like what the people want, or how businesses are closing because you can’t be bothered to interrupt your games.” The room was a mix of laughter at the way Jesse was mocking the man and anger at the truth of his sarcastic words.

  Sensing things were getting out of control, especially since the mayor was beet red and Zane could swear there was actual steam coming from the man’s ears, Zane quickly pulled Jesse back, while Aidan moved forward to take Jesse’s place.

  “Mayor Murphy, my name is Aidan Dempsey. I’ve been trying to get an appointment with you to talk about how the casino could help to bring in more revenue for the businesses in town.” Aidan gestured to the people in the room behind him. “I’ve spoken with both the
business owners in town as well as the artisans and they would like to work with us to bring in more events into Cedar Falls.”

  “No.” There was no wavering in the mayor’s tone. He had no intention of doing a thing.

  His parents had warned him the mayor was unwilling to bend when it came to making the town prosperous, but what Zane couldn’t figure out, was why?

  “But Mayor Murphy, the citizens of this town are struggling,” Aidan stated as if that wasn’t already obvious whenever one walked down Main or Peachtree. Half the storefronts were completely empty. The rest were in serious trouble of closing their doors permanently.

  The only way the artisans made money was by going to the craft fairs in neighboring towns, which, admittedly, would have been true no matter what, but the fact that they didn’t have a steady flow of people coming into their shops made it more challenging to make a living.

  “Cedar Falls is doing just fine,” the mayor insisted.

  “Yeah, if you call starving doing fine,” Jesse blurted out. “Maybe it’s time you get paid like the rest of us do. You bring in new revenue to Cedar Falls and we’ll pay you a percentage of that. Otherwise, you get nothing.”

  The room cheered, which only pissed the mayor off.

  He stood up and pointed to the door. “All of you need to leave or I will call the police and have you arrested.”

  Jesse let out a snort of derision. “We’d be out before dinner. Try threatening us with something that matters.”

  The mayor gave them a twisted smile. “Fine. Get out, or I’ll triple the taxes on the downtown businesses.”

  That had the people in the room doing two things. Some started to leave, but most started yelling that the man couldn’t do that.

  In the end, it was Aidan who calmed everyone down. “Look, the casino is bringing in an event coordinator. We’d like your support with any of his ideas to host activities in downtown Cedar Falls.”

  “No,” the mayor said once more before Aidan was even finished.

  But Aidan didn’t give up. “Like I said, we would like your cooperation, but the casino is willing to take matters into its own hands by holding events on its property.”

  There was a calculating look in the mayor’s eyes that said he was trying to figure out a way to block that. The thing was, the casino’s lawyers had already gone over everything. There was nothing the mayor could do to stop them.

  Aidan leaned his hands on the mayor’s desk and looked him in the eye. “That means any money raised from those events would go to the casino. You, as well as Cedar Falls, wouldn’t see a dime of that revenue and believe me, there is nothing you can do to stop us from hosting anything we want.”

  Than Aidan straightened. “Again, we’d prefer, since we want to work with the businesses in Cedar Falls to help them succeed, that you will listen to the event planner’s ideas. But that’s up to you. Either you make the money off our plans, or the casino will.”

  Then Aidan turned to the crowd and said, “I think it’s time to leave.”

  Zane was smiling like a loon. He’d never had a chance to see Aidan go toe to toe with someone like the mayor. Now that he had, he couldn’t wait to get the man home and naked.

  EPILOGUE

  Aidan walked into the back of Sweet Buns to find it a complete disaster once more. Flour covered every surface, including Zane as he swore up a storm while punching a glob of dough. Aidan smiled at the familiar sight.

  Since the Pumpkin Festival, Zane’s sales had soared. People drove from several towns away to try his various creations. Not to mention he was now shipping all over the United States. He’d had to hire two more people just to keep up but he still did the majority of the baking.

  “Trouble?” Aidan went over to his lover and gave him a peck on the lips.

  Zane gave him only a brief smile before scowling again. “Yes. I’m trying to figure out how to work bagels into the menu, but I think I’m going to have to put in another set of ovens.”

  Aidan glanced around and saw the area Zane was thinking about using for the ovens. He didn’t see a problem. It was currently only used for storing two of the wheeled carts right now. They could be put somewhere else. “What’s the problem?”

  “Money.” Zane huffed. “I mean, I’m making enough to put them in, but it’s a big outlay of cash. It will take nearly four months to recoup, assuming sales continue. With winter coming, that may not happen. People aren’t as willing to travel so far in the snow.”

  “So? You still have new shipping orders that have been doing fairly well.” Since the suggestion at the festival to ship his baked goods, Zane had found a way and his name was getting out across the country. “Maybe it will take six months instead of four, but in the end, if you think the bagels will sell, I don’t see the problem.”

  Aidan hadn’t even realized Zane didn’t sell bagels. With all the amazing pastries, he’d never even missed them. “Why didn’t you make bagels before?”

  Zane had gone back to punching the dough, so Aidan moved out of the way. “Hazel Yantz owned a bagel shop on the four lane. I met her when I was looking around at the various businesses in the area that sold pastries. She was so nice and helpful when I told her what I was doing.”

  Small towns had an odd way of naming things. Like the main road that led in and out of Cedar Falls might be called highway 64/74, but the locals called it the ‘four lane’ because it was the only four lane road in town.

  His lover’s shoulders lifted. “I guess I didn’t want to pull business from her. But she’s closing, so I thought I’d go ahead and add bagels to the menu.”

  Now he understood why Zane was punching the dough like he was going to kill it. His man hated to see other businesses fail, especially when he was friends with them. “I’m sorry about Hazel.”

  Another punch.

  Unfortunately, most business didn’t make it for long in Cedar Falls. Although, Aidan hoped that would change once Ryder Monroe arrived after the first of the year.

  With the meeting at the pub, he’d managed to convince the others of the advantages in hiring a tourism consultant. It had taken the entire group to put enough pressure on the mayor to agree to work with this person on various events that would help bring more tourists to Cedar Falls.

  The casino agreed to pay Ryder’s salary for the first year, until he could prove what he could do for Cedar Falls. From what Syn had said, Ryder was one of the best at what he did. He currently worked for a small town in Oregon, but he’d been wanting a change.

  “What’s she going to do now?” Aidan wasn’t sure there was anything he could do for her, but she’d seemed like a nice lady when he’d met her at the meeting.

  A blush crept into Zane’s cheek, but he kept punching that dough. Aidan chuckled. “Let me guess, you hired her.” His lover was such a good man. Aidan should have known Zane would hire Hazel.

  Zane’s chin set as if he were bracing himself. Determination flashed in his blue eyes. “I need someone who can help me back here, and it would be nice to have someone else who knows the ins and outs of running a bakery. Megan’s great, but she’s busy running the online store and shipping.”

  Aidan held out his hands, palms out in surrender. “I was just asking. I think it’s great you hired her.”

  Red crept up Zane’s neck. “Oh.”

  Fuck, that was sexy. He strode back over to where Zane stood and pulled the man in for a heated kiss. Soft lips parted for him. Aidan thrust his tongue deep into that wet cavern, tasting every inch of Zane’s sweet mouth.

  A moan of need from Zane amped Aidan’s desire for his lover. His hands ghosted down Zane’s strong back until his fingers squeezed that firm ass. Zane gripped Aidan’s upper arms as if trying to keep himself from sinking onto the floor.

  When oxygen became necessary, Aidan pulled back and kissed a trail along that strong jawline to his ear. “I want you.”

  Zane nodded. “Office.”

  Not needing to be told twice, Aidan half-carrie
d, half-dragged Zane to his office. He kicked the door closed with his foot before taking Zane back into his arms.

  Aidan was already on edge. His cock was hard and throbbing at the feel of his lover’s body rubbing against his. “This is going to be embarrassingly quick,” he warned.

  Before stripping off his pants, Zane put a tube of lube in Aidan’s hand. Now that Zane had moved in with Aidan, they found it easier to keep lube in every room of their house, Zane’s office, Aidan’s office, and even the car. Both of them had trouble keeping their hands off each other.

  When Zane turned, planted his hands on the desk, and stuck his naked ass in the air, Aidan nearly swallowed his tongue. This man was everything to him. When Aidan didn’t move fast enough Zane reached his hands back and pulled the cheeks of his ass apart to show Aidan his tight pink pucker.

  “This is what you need to fuck. Now get to it.”

  The need and desire in Zane’s voice had Aidan shoving two lubed fingers deep in that hole. He stretched his lover quickly. He just hoped it wasn’t too quick. Aidan shoved his own pants down to his knees. “Condom.” It was something he was hoping they’d be able to do without soon. They’d both gotten tested and were just waiting for their results.

  Zane handed him two sheets of paper. Confused, Aidan just stared at them, not able to read a word of what was on the page. “What?”

  “We’re both clean. Now shove that hard cock deep in my ass.” Zane had looked back at him to give Aidan a smile at the announcement.

  The knowledge that he was about to feel all that hot, velvety flesh against his own, nearly had Aidan spurting. He placed the tip of his cock against Zane’s ass and stared for just a minute at the gorgeous sight. Then he pushed forward slowly, staring at Zane’s hole gobbling up his cock.

  “Fuck,” he moaned at the way all that hot flesh encased him.

  Once he was fully seated, he looked up and found Zane’s eyes on him. Lust burned hot in those blue orbs. Aidan leaned over Zane’s back until his lips touched his lover’s in a wet, sloppy kiss that matched the wildness of their fucking as Aidan slammed his cock into Zane over and over again.