Page 280 of Labor of Love

A muffled curse came from the storage room, and Milo appeared, hand on his chest. “Shit, Noah. You scared the hell out of me.”

“Sorry. I brought you breakfast.” I held up the bag from Nico’s bakery. The bakery was named Josefina’s after his grandmother, but Nico had been running it for the last ten years.

“If there’s a cinnamon roll in that bag, I’ll kiss you.”

I shook the bag and waggled my eyebrows. “Come see.”

Milo was across the room in two seconds flat. He snatched the bag from my hand and tore it open, an obscene moan spilling from his lips as he pulled out the confection. “Oh, god. It’s still warm.” He brought the cinnamon roll to his mouth and took a huge bite, an expression of bliss taking over his features, and I had to will my dick to stand down. His sinful little noises weren’t for me, even if I wished like hell they were.

“Good?” My voice came out a little strained, and I cleared my throat to try to cover it.

“So good.” Milo licked frosting from his fingers, and my cock twitched. There was nothing I could do about it.

“I’m glad. Are we still on for the beach today?”

“Yeah.” He looked away, moving to the counter and setting his cinnamon roll down on it. “I have a confession to make first.”

My heart flip-flopped in my chest, unsure where he was going with this. “Okay…”

“I, uh…I can’t swim. If that’s a dealbreaker for you, I totally get it.”

“Why would you think I can’t be friends with someone who can’t swim?”

He shrugged, his cheeks going pink. “I don’t know. You’re a stingray shifter. Swimming is kind of your thing, and I can’t swim with you.”

“A couple of things. First, there are other things to do at the beach besides swimming. Second, if you want to learn to swim, I’m more than happy to teach you.” A look of panic twisted Milo’s features, and I held up my hands. “No pressure. But if you do want to learn, I promise I will keep you safe.”

There wasn’t much I wouldn’t do to keep Milo safe and happy.

Milo shook his head. “I don’t think I want to learn how to swim right now, but thank you for the offer.”

“Let me know if you change your mind.”

Milo smiled. “I will. You’ll be the very first to know. So what else did you have in mind?”

“We could go for a walk and look for seashells.”

“That sounds great.” He picked up his cinnamon roll and took another bite, his tongue darting out to lick a smear of icing from his top lip.

“Perfect. I’ll swing by after work to pick you up.”

“I’ll be here.”

I looked around. The space had really come together. Fresh white paint covered the walls, and the floors had been polished to within an inch of their lives. They glowed in the natural light spilling in through the wide front windows. “It looks really good in here. You’ve done an amazing job.”

Milo’s cheeks darkened again, and I wondered if he blushed like that whenever he received praise.

“Thank you. I can’t wait to get art on the walls.”

“Did you ever get in touch with Matteo?” I’d talked to Charlie early last week and he’d passed along his mate’s contact information.

“I did! I have a meeting with him on Friday.”

“Cool.”

Milo finished the last bite of his cinnamon roll and closed his eyes, another moan slipping from his lips. “God, that was just what I needed.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

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