the notebook down and removed his gloves, tossing them into the trash. His phone started to ring and he groaned. He didn’t even need to look at it to know that it was Jack calling. He could leave another voicemail.
"Why are you ignoring his calls?" Jace raised a brow.
"Because," Eli simply replied. He turned around and walked into the freezer as if he had reason to be in there, but it was mostly just to escape Jace’s probing questions. But he couldn’t stay long since it got chilly in there really quick, so of course he had no choice but to walk back out to the kitchen. And, of course, Jace was still waiting for him.
"Figure you’d come back out.” Jace’s tone was dry. “And ‘because’ is so not a good response,” he added, not missing a beat.
"I feel guilty…okay," he said. "I just need a day where I don’t see him, because frankly I need to figure out what I’m going to say to him. He didn’t sign up to be with a guy who has a child. I don’t know what he’ll think about that. And right now, our bubble is perfect. I just wanna exist in it a little longer."
"I hear you. I do. But you’re selling him short, I get it; Parker was a douche. He didn’t want kids, but you’re not really giving Jack a fair chance. Jack is not Parker." Jace’s voice was soft. "He doesn’t deserve to be treated like he is. And if he turns out to be an ass, I’ll beat him up for you with a rolling pin.”
He laughed even though his throat was tight.
“Listen to his voicemails. Reply to his messages," Jace said just as a ping for yet another message came through.
He slipped the phone out of his pocket and stared at it.
Jace sighed and walked around the large table, putting a hand on Eli’s shoulder. "You’re condemning him before he even gets the chance to make up his mind. How would you feel if things were reversed? Would you want him to keep this secret from you, or worse, maybe ignore you?”
"You make very good points," Eli said. “Very good.” He let out a breath. “So why does the thought of telling him make me want to be physically ill?”
"Again, you’re letting the assumptions cloud the issue," Jace said. He walked back to the cake and picked up his piping bag. "You can’t control his reaction, only yours." He pointed to the cake he was working on. “Is this good?”
"Yup. You don’t even need to ask.” Jace was good, but he never thought he was, and Eli knew why.
The bell rang on the front door of the bakery. "I’ll go help them," Jace said. He put the piping bag down and left the kitchen through the double doors. Eli turned back to the list of orders he had, and his eyes fell on the cake he had to make for this coming Saturday.
What if Jack asked him to go to the party with him? He didn’t want to be presumptuous, but he really wanted that.
The doors opened, and he turned to find Damon and his mom. Damon ran over to him, and Eli held out his arms to pull him into a hug. "Hey, bud…what are you doing here?"
"It’s my fault," his mom said. "I completely forgot I have a doctor’s appointment at three. Can he stay with you for the rest of the day?"
Eli smiled as he kissed the top of Damon’s head. "Of course. I love having him here."
"Thanks, son. Sorry for the plan change," his mom said. "He’s had lunch already, so he’s good, and he’s got his homework with him. I figure he can do that till you’re done for the day. Or do you want me to pick him up later after my appointment?"
Eli shook his head. "I’m good. I have no more appointments this afternoon." His phone started to ring again, and his mom looked at him. She arched an eyebrow, but he kept standing there making no attempt to answer the phone. "Thanks for bringing him, Mom.”
"No problem!" She looked down at the phone in his hand. "Do you need to answer that?"
Eli shook his head. "Not important! You run along to your appointment. I’ll see you tomorrow!"
"Alright, dear.” She kissed him on the cheek, then Damon on the top of his head. “See you tomorrow."
His mom left, and Eli grabbed a sheet and an icing pen and gave it