Page 22 of Dante
Sean’s eyes widened. “Sorry. It’s only for a weekend, and I already have it off, so I didn’t think it would be an issue.”
“Oh. Yeah, that’s not an issue. Not that it would be if you were going to be gone. I just didn’t know.”
“I told Beau. But I guess he forgot to mention it to you?”
Lewis sighed. “Yeah, probably. He’s busy with the twins, and I’m honestly surprised he comes in as much as he does.”
The bell on the door chiming stopped our conversation, and when Lukan walked in, I wanted to groan. He wasn’t a bad guy. I just didn’t like feeling as if I was constantly being judged by him because of everything that had happened with Felix. I wasn’t Felix’s mate, and we both knew it. We were friends, but for some oddball reason, Felix had pulled away since he’d learned that Dante was my mate. I’d asked Dante about it, and he swore he’d not said a thing to the fae enforcer, but he’d still decided to only answer back when I reached out to him.
“Banner, could you go in the back and check on the cupcakes that are cooling? I need to frost them for tonight, but they’re still warm.”
“Sure thing,” I said. I sent Lewis a smile on my way by. I knew exactly what he was doing, and I was grateful. Lukan was nice, but he definitely seemed to be one of the more protective fae alphas. I know he had taken in Beau when he and Roman were first figuring things out, and Beau’s brother seemed to be against the pairing. Thankfully, that all seemed to have gotten worked out.
I went into the kitchen, and it didn’t take but a moment to locate the cupcakes. I snorted as I walked up to them. They were obviously already cooled because there was a piping bag that was magically placing perfect swirled frosting onto them. Behind them, silver and gold edible sugar glitter was being sprinkled onto the wet frosting.
Unable to resist, I pulled one off the counter and peeled the paper. I knew it was going to be amazing, and it was just as delicious as I figured. I didn’t feel even an ounce of remorse at swiping the treat. Moments later, Sean joined me, and he did the same thing.
“How is it that Lewis’s cupcakes are so much better than anyone else’s?”
“Magic,” I said. It had to be. I knew there were no secret ingredients. I’d seen him make them from scratch on more than one occasion. But even those had to have had some sort of magic about them because they just tasted better. “What’s happening out there?”
Sean snorted around a mouthful of cupcake. “Lewis being awesome. He’s talking to Lukan and telling him to knock off whatever the passive-aggressive bullshit he’s doing with you because everyone knew all along that you and Felix weren’t mates and nothing was going to happen.”
“Is there still a problem with us being friends?”
Sean sighed. “Look, I don’t know for certain, and I’d say that you two were both going into things as just being friends. But it sounds like maybe the others in their group thought there might be more to it.”
I blinked several times. “But he’s not my mate. And he’s fae.”
Sean nodded. “I know that. You know that. Felix knows that. I’m not sure the others didn’t know that though. I think maybe some of them thought that one of them had found their mate, and they were really encouraging Felix to win your affections because of your past time in captivity.”
I sighed and shook my head. I really needed to talk to Felix, I guess. “I’ll have to message him later.”
The door swung open again, and Lewis came in, rolling his eyes. “I swear, fae alphas can be so dense at times.”
“Should we ask?” Sean asked.
“You can. Lukan is a good guy. He really is. He’s from our village, and he’s always been really nice.” Lewis looked at me, his expression becoming serious. “I guess Noel and Griffen were teasing Felix about your budding romance. They implied that you were Felix’s mate.”
I was confused. Felix knew he wasn’t my mate. “He and I both talked about that at the very beginning that we weren’t mates, and we knew that. But we were happy to have a new friend.”
Lewis sighed. “Yeah, some of them can be a bit cliquey. I think Felix finding a friend outside of them might have made them a bit jealous.” Lewis looked to Sean and then back to me. “They absolutely are safe. Now, I’m not sure how long it will take them to find mates here in this realm, but we’re all used to finding our mate by the time we’re mid to late twenties at the most. And until then, we usually don’t have relationships that are romantic.”
Sean held up his hands. “Don’t look at me. I’m straight, and if I was to be paired with a male omega, I’m not saying it is the end of the world, but I’ve always thought I’d end up with a female. I’ve never been attracted to anything other than girls.”
Lewis and I chuckled. We were both male omegas, and we knew from a young age that we’d end up with a male mate.
“You should go,” Lewis said. “Sean is here now, and you said you were going to the festival. I just need to get these cupcakes over to the booth, and then we’re closing up for the weekend as well.”
“Are you sure? I can help you get things to it? It’s not like I’m in a huge hurry to go to the festival.” I shrugged. I was most likely going to go for a little while, but I’d end up spending most of my time at home, waiting to hear from Dante.
“You know I don’t need help getting things there,” Lewis said. He waved his hand toward the counter, and all of the delicious cupcakes were suddenly gone. The chocolate-dipped cookies as well. I sighed. “Sean is here, but even he’s going to be leaving within the hour.”
“I am?”
“Yep. We both are. The festival starts at five. We’re out of here by four to give us time to get ready, and the bakery is closed tomorrow. Don’t forget.”
I nodded. “Are you sure?” Lewis nodded in return and then pointed. I smiled before I waved. “I’ll see you there, then.”
