said, coming through the door. “I haven’t seen her in weeks.”
“You talk to her every day,” Ollie said.
“It’s not the same.” Cam grinned. “She’s awesome all the time, but so much better in person.”
“Thank you!” Piper called from her desk outside the office.
Grant had to admit that Piper was a force of nature even via text, but there really was something about seeing the woman in person. She could put you in your place and make you laugh about it at the same time. And she was a knockout.
“But I definitely think I deserve a pussy cupcake for driving all this way,” Cam said, dropping onto the couch near the window and stretching his legs out.
“You drove in last night,” Aiden said. “It’s not like you got up at the crack of dawn.”
Cam had been the only one of the five partners to stay in Chicago. He’d come to Appleby briefly when Aiden had needed to break the news to Cam’s family—Aiden’s adoptive family—about their purchase of the company that was the McCafferys’ archrival. But Cam had hightailed it back to Chicago shortly after their town hall meeting announcing the purchase and introducing themselves to the town. The town knew Cam after all, and he’d moved on to bigger and better things. Or so he claimed.
His four closest friends knew that his reason for keeping a healthy distance between him and his hometown was the woman who’d broken his heart over a decade ago. Whitney Lancaster. The granddaughter of the Hot Cakes founders.
Aiden had been very happy with Cam’s choice to stay away. Cam was a troublemaker. Always had been. Not a happy, have-an-adventure-take-a-stupid-risk type like Dax and Ollie but a cause-a-bar-fight-take-people-down-in-court type.
And he had a chip on his shoulder about Whitney. And Hot Cakes. And Appleby, Iowa to some extent.
According to the story Aiden had told Grant, Dax, and Ollie—because Cam didn’t talk about it—Cam and Whitney had fallen in love in high school, but because their families had been feuding for two generations, they’d kept their romance a secret. As graduation approached, Cam had asked Whitney to run away with him. She’d said no. He’d told her he’d stay in Appleby rather than go off to college on the full-ride football scholarship he’d been offered. She’d broken up with him.
She’d gone to work for the family company. He’d gone to the University of Chicago, and he’d long believed that she’d chosen her family business over him.
“That pussy cupcake?” Ollie asked. “It’s from your sister’s bakery.”
Cam made a horrible face. “Ew. What the hell, man?”
Dax laughed. “Josie made it, not Zoe.”
“Jesus, that’s an important distinction.” Cam scowled at Ollie. “You’re a dick.”
Ollie nodded. “Sometimes.”
“Anyway,” Dax said. “Grant’s not sharing the cupcakes. Josie’s cupcakes are all his.”
Cam looked over at Grant. “Is that right?”
“Not all of her cupcakes,” Grant said mildly. Not her literal ones anyway. “I want no part of the caterpillars.”
“Guessing you’re not into the ladybugs or the rainbows or the high heels and hair bows either,” Aiden said dryly.
Ollie laughed. “Nope. Just her pussies.”
“Well, he’s not sharing her butt, mouth, or tits either,” Dax said.
He absolutely fucking wasn’t. Thankfully, he didn’t say that out loud.
Grant wondered why he didn’t have better friends. He chose to stick around these guys. He could have made just as much money in a number of other businesses.
“What about the cock?” Ollie asked. “I specifically saw a cock.” He looked at Grant.
“All of the above are between Jocelyn and me,” Grant said, refusing to rise to their bait and give them any kind of reaction. Well, any further reaction. “You all knock yourselves out with the high heels and hair bows.”
Cam shrugged. “Once it’s in my mouth, I don’t really care what it looks like.”
Dax snorted. “That attitude can lead to a lot of bad, contagious things.”
“Your sister’s bakery,” Ollie reminded Cam.
Cam shook his head. “Now I know we’re talking about Josie. That’s different.”
Grant felt his grip on the bakery box tighten again.
“Is it?” Dax asked, casting a sly glance at Grant.
“Josie’s the best,” Cam said with a nod. He crossed his arms over his chest, his huge biceps bulging, the tattoos that decorated one arm from shoulder to wrist and the other arm from shoulder to elbow, jumping as the muscles flexed. “And she’s always been cute, but she’s definitely turned out hot.”
Grant gritted his teeth. He needed to not react.
Cam had known Jocelyn for years. She’d been his little sister’s best friend since they were kids. They were probably more