“Barely,” he replied.
He had me there so I didn’t respond and Joey knew what this meant. I wasn’t going to make a big deal of it because, really, there was nothing to make a big deal of.
And anyway, my boys had my baked goods for breakfast on a regular basis.
He grinned, ripped the paper off and shoved half the cupcake with its mountainous swirl of frosting in his mouth as he wandered out.
“Hello? I’m still on the phone,” I heard Martha call and I went back to her at the same time I saw Rex wander in and grab his own cupcake.
I let Rex’s pilfering go without a word. Martha and a sit down dinner at her wedding to DEA Agent Calhoun took precedence. I had a slim chance I could talk Martha out of a sit down dinner. I had no chance I’d talk my boys out of eating my cupcakes.
Martha was wavering when Brock walked in, leaned a faded jeans clad hip against the counter and grabbed his own cupcake.
I watched him eating it and I felt his silver eyes on me but I didn’t lift my eyes to his because I was fascinated by the movements of his mouth. Therefore, during the show I lost all focus on Martha.
“Hello? Tess? It’s only my wedding we’re talking about,” she said in my ear. “Nothing important, like, your guys eating your cupcakes which they do every… freaking… day.”
“Sorry,” I said into the phone as I watched Brock grin, swallow his last bite and toss the used cupcake paper on the counter which made me roll my eyes. But I wouldn’t make a big deal out of that either. All my boys did this all the time too. I found them everywhere, the living room, TV room, bedrooms, even the bathroom. Living with three men, I picked my battles.
After he tossed his cupcake paper, I watched him head to the fridge where I knew he’d drink milk straight out of the carton. Luckily, he had his very own carton so when I needed a splash for my coffee, I didn’t have cupcake backwash in it.
“Okay, a buffet,” Martha said in my ear and I heard the fridge open at the same time I heard Brock’s cell ring.
“I think that’s a good call, honey,” I replied as I heard Brock answer his phone. “But with that amount of guests, we’ll need to make certain there are two, with two sides for the lines to go down or it’ll take a year for everyone to walk through the buffet.”
“Agreed but we’ll still need to do the taste testing,” she told me.
“Absolutely,” I replied, my lips curving.
Something to look forward to.
The fridge closed.
“I’ll schedule it. Let you know at the shop when we’re doing it,” she told me.
“Great.”
“Fuck, you shittin’ me?”
That was Brock and it was said in a tone that made my head whip toward him.
And he had a look on his face that made mine go pale. So pale, I felt it.
“Martha, I have to go,” I whispered into my phone as Brock’s eyes lifted from the floor and locked to mine.
I did not like what I saw.
Oh God.
“What?” Martha asked.
“I have to go, honey, now. I’ll call you later.”
“Is everything –?” she started but I cut her off by disconnecting.
Then I stared at Brock as he talked into his phone.
“Has the call gone to Lawson?” Brock asked, his eyes not leaving mine. “Kane Allen and the boys?” he went on. “What about Allen’s woman, Tyra?”