Page 39 of In Step

Huh.Someone had been talking.But also, wow. What the fuck? I felt ridiculously touched.

Leroy shuffled on his feet, looking all kinds of awkward. “Martha baked it, but it’s from all of us.”

I arched a disbelieving brow. “Allof you?”

Leroy winced. “Well, Judah didn’t say itwasn’tfrom him.”

Fox appeared at Leroy’s shoulder and pressed a kiss to his boyfriend’s temple. “Yeah, miracles take a little longer.”

I opened the lid and peeked at the cake, then gave Leroy a sly grin. “Chocolate with coconut frosting? Isn’t thatyourfavourite, Leroy?”

He blushed furiously. “Huh, what a coincidence.”

Fox stared at his boyfriend. “Leroy?”

Leroy turned a fetching shade of beetroot and returned a scowl. “What? Martha asked for a suggestion, and since none of us knew what cake Kane liked, I gave her one. I mean, who wouldn’t love that? It’s fucking delicious.”

Fox shook his head. “You’re impossible.”

“I’m sure it’ll be delicious.” I shoved the Tupperware under one arm. “And I’ll make sure to pack leftovers for the boat tomorrow.”

Leroy waggled his eyebrows at Fox. “See, it was an awesome idea.” Then he turned back to me. “But seriously, Kane, happy birthday, man. I mean it.”

“Yeah, happy birthday,” Fox added. “Weallmean it.” Then he not so discreetly elbowed Leroy, who shot him a glare.

“Okay, okay.” Leroy rubbed the back of his neck, looking like he wanted to be anywhere else. “I know I didn’t exactly welcome the idea of you working with us at the start—”

“The part where you almost punched him,” Fox qualified.

Leroy rolled his eyes and huffed. “It was one time, but yeah, okay,thatpart. But Iamreally glad we got through that. You do a good job and we... oh man.” He groaned and threw a panicky look at Fox who simply nodded. “Fine.” Leroy sighed and continued. “You do a good job and we all like you. And we wished we’d known... about the birthday... thirtieth... thing.” He shot a desperate look at his boyfriend.

Fox pulled him close and nuzzled his hair. “Good work, grasshopper.”

Leroy grumbled something in reply, and Fox winked at me before pulling Leroy back inside the house.

Still speechless, I stared at the closed door, a lump the size of White Island lodged in my throat and tears welling in my eyes.

* * *

I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to come down there tonight. The boathouse is too busy. Sorry.

I stared at the text, felt a lingering pang of disappointment, and pushed Send. With Judah laid up in the boathouse and half the family checking on him, it was too damn risky. Any one of them could pop into the studio without warning. I sighed and shoved my phone away. That was that. It was probably for the best, anyway.

Dinner was an excellent farro and grain medley cobb salad that I’d picked up while in Whangarei, and after I’d stacked the dishwasher and set it going, I grabbed a quick shower. Then I pulled on some sweats and a warm jersey Fox had given me, on the pretence it was too small, and spooned a hot chocolate mix into a mug.

As I waited for the kettle to boil, I replayed Leroy’s stumbling words of what sounded like friendship, and a flush of warmth spread through my chest. Even if they’d been said with Fox’s encouragement, they meant so fucking much. I could only hope he felt the same way after I’d talked to him in a week’s time. The thought alone was terrifying. I had the fleeting notion to ask Abe if he’d be my support, then dismissed it just as quickly. We weren’t like that to each other. We weren’t... anything to each other.

You could be.Abe’s offer repeated in my ear as it had for the last two days. Just the thought of saying yes had my cock stirring in my sweats. Like the possibility would ever seriously be on the table, even though the idea of it made my skin itch with want. But I was way too complicated for a six-week fling.

I leaned on the countertop and watched Tank and Bossy eye each other warily from opposite sides of the room. Introductions hadn’t gone quite as well as hoped for, Bossy’s enthusiastic greeting being met by a cuff around the ear, sans claws, from the unimpressed older cat.

Bossy had then tried his luck a couple more times only to be rebuffed at each attempt and had finally settled for eyeing the large newcomer longingly from a safe distance, which got Tank’s seal of approval.

Bossy wasn’t the only one on Tank’s shitlist. I quickly made it to the top after offering him a restrained amount of diet cat biscuits, which went down about as well as expected. He tasted a couple, then sat and stared at them for a long minute before returning to his chair with a hoity-toity swish of his tail, and the stand-off had begun. But if the armoured vehicle masquerading as a cat thought I was a soft touch like his owner, he was about to get the shock of his life.

Hot chocolate in hand, I leaned against the countertop and wagged a finger at him. “Not a chance, buster. Think of this place like your own personal weight-loss spa, minus the yoga and a happy-ending massage.”

Tank narrowed his eyes and flicked his tail.

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