Page 47 of Not That Ridiculous

“Boys,” I said, “will one of you please order?” Neither of them were going to back down. We’d be here all day, or at least until either Craig came up to ask Kevin what was taking so long, or Ray arrived. “Kevin?”

He looked at me at once.

“What can I get you?”

Something in his calm brown eyes turned over, and that was when I realised my mistake.

“Well, Charlie,” he said. “I think I’ll have a quick look at your pastry selection first.”

I was still holding the spray bottle of cleaner and the cloth. At the reminder of last night—and when I’m staring at the croissants, I’m not thinking about pastries at all, he’d said,and then he’d rubbed my dick—I tensed and inadvertently pulled the trigger.

A small burst of spray shot out onto the counter.

“Oops,” Adam said after a moment of silence. “Don’t worry. Happens to us all.”

“Why are you like this?” I demanded. I wiped it up then set the bottle and cloth at the back by the clean cups.

“I don’t know what you mean,” he said lazily.

Kevin, meanwhile, was busy surveying the pastry case. He’d bent a little at the waist, had his hands on his thighs, and was solemnly contemplating every single offering.

“Ray’s here,” I said when the door opened and the bell chimed.

After Kevin had hauled him up, Adam hadn’t gone back to lounging. He’d leaned a hip against the counter and had his arms crossed over his broad chest, looking every inch the model he’d once been. At the magic word,Ray, he immediately swivelled to face the door.

“Ready to order now?” I said dryly.

“Yeah. Cappuccino and a brownie for Ray and an Americano for me, thanks.”

“Are you sure you want the brownie? It’s Tuesday.”

Ray did love his brownies. A little too much—we had an arrangement, in that he’d made me promise only to offer him brownies on Mondays and Fridays. He had no self-control. If he wasn’t stopped, he’d have one with every cappuccino. Since he came in for a cappuccino six days out of seven, that added up to over three hundred brownies. Not a healthy choice.

“I’m sure,” Adam said. “He deserves a little treat.”

More like he wanted to watch Ray squirm while he attempted to resist the brownie.

I rang him up and left him to do his thing with his fancy watch and the card reader while I quickly made the drinks and put them on a tray. I slid the tray over to Adam and grabbed a plate for the brownie, adding a fork and a napkin. I selected a brownie from the display and glanced at Kevin as I set it on the plate, because I couldn’t help myself.

I’d expected him to be watching me, but he was busy contemplating the cinnamon buns.

“Here you go,” I said, adding the brownie plate to the tray.

“Thanks.” Adam hesitated, as if he was going to say something else. I narrowed my eyes at him. He gave a short huff of laughter, said, “See you, Kevin,” and strode off.

Craig Henderson was still slumped at the table by the window, frowning down at his phone. I checked the clock and realised that even though it felt as if it was hours since Kevin had come up to the till, it wasn’t even five minutes.

Good grief.

When I looked back at Kevin, he was still bending down. His eyes, however, were on me.

My stomach dropped, rebounded off the floor, and tried to exit my throat.

No more coffee for me today.

“Made your mind up?” I asked, more than ready for the morning to be over.

He shook his head.

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