it again on the workbench to seal the edges together. I set it aside and repeated the process with another, and another—these were the kinds of tasks Dante called me in to help with, tedious tasks for unexpected big orders. Someone had to shape these fifty bagels, and Dante certainly didn’t have time to do it. He was across from me, working on shaping the sourdough loaves for tomorrow.
“How are things at the motel?” Dante asked. “Anyone report any problems with the upgrades?”
“No complaints at all,” I said. “For such a quick turnaround, they really did a good job.”
“Benefits of having an in with the construction guys,” Dante said with a grin.
Raven, Brennan, and Dawson had worked together to get the security upgraded quickly, with cameras and alarms, and they even replaced all the windows with new ones, with heavier-duty locks.
“Gotta say,” he said, “I was pretty surprised you moved back in right when the construction was finished.”
“Why wouldn’t I?” I asked with faux ignorance. “I missed my apartment.”
And that was true. I had missed my apartment and waking up to the chaos of the members in the motel. But at the same time…
“No reason,” Dante said with a shrug. “Only that you seemed pretty comfortable crashing with Priest. I thought you might ride that wave a little longer.”
“Didn’t want to overstay my welcome,” I said simply. “He got that cabin for a reason. He deserves a little privacy.”
“Hm,” Dante said, clearly not buying it. “How are things with you two?”
I turned my attention to the bagels I was shaping, mostly to avoid meeting Dante’s gaze as I pondered that question.
“They’re good,” I said, before I could think too hard. “Really good.” I glanced up. “Not sure how much detail you’re looking for here, son.”
It was true, though. Things were going well. I’d spent every night during the motel construction in Priest’s bed, but we hadn’t fooled around every night. And that’s what we’d been doing—fooling around. We hadn’t had full-on sex yet, and neither of seemed to be in a hurry to do so. It was nice just to have someone to hold close at night, and kiss in the morning.
And that was one of the reasons I’d been eager to move back into the motel as soon as I could. Priest had said I was welcome as long as I wanted to stay with him, if I didn’t feel safe in the motel—and part of me had considered staying longer, just because I could. And that was dangerous. It was dangerously easy to fold Priest into my life—to get used to sleeping in his bed and sharing lazy kisses over coffee in the kitchen.
Every time something like that happened—something familiar and domestic—I remembered what we’d discussed before we got involved with his. We were friends first, and not fucking up this friendship was my top priority. I didn’t want to get too emotionally entangled. Priest was still grieving Ankh, and the worst thing I could do was start wanting something he wasn’t prepared to give me. I’d been abandoned once before, and I didn’t want to go through that pain again. It was better for us both if I put a little distance between us, so we could keep taking care of each other without getting overly close.
“You know me and the guys are just teasing when we say we don’t want to hear it,” Dante said. “You can talk to me about anything—including Priest.”
“Well,” I said, still focused on the bagels, “we’re just friends with benefits. That’s working really well for us. We both like to have our own space, so of course once the motel was ready, I moved back in.”
My phone buzzed and pinged in my pocket, and I hurriedly wiped the flour onto the apron I was wearing before fishing it out of my pocket.
“Right,” Dante said, sounding unconvinced. “For a man who likes his space, you sure do go for that phone fast.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m simply trying to stay on top of club business.”
“Sure,” Dante said, then laughed and went back to shaping his loaves.
I opened the message.
It was from an unknown number. My heart immediately sank, and my stomach twisted with nerves.
“How could you do this to us?” it read. “I know we have something special. I miss you.”
“What is it?” Dante asked, looking suddenly concerned. “You don’t look so good.”
I sighed and walked around the bench to show Dante the message. His face immediately fell. “It’s him, isn’t it?”