The Delicious Series: The First Volume

by Stella Starling

  Ben really had no excuse for feeling so short-tempered. He’d been looking forward to this photo shoot all week, and he was determined to regain his good spirits. Even if he wasn’t sure why his mood had gone south so quickly, he was sure that it wasn’t Gavin’s fault. Besides, if he didn’t get a handle on it soon, Gavin was going to think Ben was a royal asshole. And that really wasn’t the impression he wanted to Gavin to have of him.

  At all.

  Gavin was standing one step above him, which put them at eye level with each other. Given Ben’s height, it was a position he’d taken advantage of in the past when he’d found himself in similar circumstances with the women he’d dated. The thought made his eyes dart down to Gavin’s lush mouth, and he had to admit—unprofessional or not—he really couldn’t blame Paul for trying. Hell, if Ben had been gay, he probably would have done the same.

  “Did you want some shots of the two of you together?” the photographer called out, his voice bordering on snarky. “Because at the moment, you’re blocking my view, Ben. I can’t see your man at all.”

  Ben turned, not bothering to correct Paul’s phrasing this time. He was almost tempted to say yes, although being in the picture hadn’t been part of the plan for this campaign. Still, it was a family owned bank. Maybe it would be good to put a face on that, along with those of the bank’s real customers.

  “Sorry,” Gavin called down to Paul before Ben could answer, even though he had nothing to apologize for. Gavin had been nothing but accommodating since he’d arrived, but now he had that cute little worried look on his face again. He stepped to the side, not watching his footing. “I can move—”

  Ben had started to turn back toward Gavin at the sound of his voice, wanting to reassure him. He hadn’t realized that the other man had already moved, and somehow Ben managed to knock into him at the perfectly-wrong moment.

  Gavin slipped.

  Ben tried to catch him.

  It happened so fast that he wasn’t even sure what had happened, but somehow Gavin ended up at the bottom of the steep steps, sprawled on his ass and as white as a sheet. He hadn’t even cried out, and if it hadn’t been for his sharp intake of breath, Ben might almost have believed that he hadn’t been hurt. When Ben rushed down the steps and hauled him to his feet, though, that hope was immediately dashed.

  “Fuck,” Gavin gasped, lurching against him. “I can’t… fuck.”

  As soon as he’d tried to stand, Gavin had gone even more pale—as impossible as Ben would have thought that to be. Now, he had his jaw clenched so tightly that Ben was afraid it might shatter, and he leaned against Ben, carefully keeping all his weight off his right foot. Ben wrapped an arm around the smaller man’s waist to support him, and Gavin didn’t try to fight it when he hauled him against his side, taking nearly all his weight.

  “We’re going to the hospital,” Ben said firmly, all thoughts of the photo shoot eclipsed by Gavin’s obvious pain.

  He debated whether he could get away with actually carrying him to the car. Gavin didn’t seem like the type who would put up with that, but at the moment, Ben didn’t care. He tightened his lips, shoving his guilt aside with an effort. Yes, it was his fault that Gavin had gotten hurt, but for now, taking care of him was the only thing that mattered.

  There would be plenty of time to worry about earning his forgiveness later.

  5

  Gavin

  Gavin cracked an eye open when Ben turned off the car, eyeing the distance to the emergency room doors. It wasn’t far, objectively speaking. But the idea of getting there… he stifled a groan, then jumped a little when the car door swung open.

  “I’m carrying you,” Ben said. Not a question.

  Gavin really wanted to argue, but before he could talk himself into trying, Ben had already unbuckled his seat belt and lifted him out of the car. Gavin could honestly say that he’d never thought he’d find himself in Ben’s arms, and the bitch of it was that he couldn’t even enjoy the once-in-a-lifetime event. Because… fuck. His foot was one massive, whirling tornado of pain, sweeping up every scrap of his attention and spinning it into a funnel of unbelievable agony. It took everything he had to contain the part of him that wanted to give in and start screaming or crying or begging for something—anything—to make it stop.

  Gavin wasn’t even sure exactly what had happened. One minute, he’d been enjoying a rare sense of being carefree, actually off work and spending a gorgeous afternoon with a gorgeous man. Well, two, technically—since the photographer wasn’t bad, either—but even though Paul had made it clear he was interested while Ben had to stay strictly in the look-but-don’t-touch category, there was no question which man had captured Gavin’s attention. Although now—Jesus fucking Christ his foot hurt—even Ben’s magnetic pull couldn’t hold that attention for long.

  Which was maybe for the best. After all, Gavin’s attention had been on Ben earlier—probably too much so—and look where that had gotten him.

  Gavin’s fingers dug into Ben’s shoulders for a second as he started to hyperventilate. It wasn’t just the pain. He was supposed to be at Delicious at four the next morning to start the baking. And his car, God, it was still back at the Philbrook. Although how he was supposed to drive, not to mention make it up the three flights of stairs to his apartment, and then back down in the morning… and he had an appointment with his accountant the next day that he still needed to print some reports for… and there had been a mix-up with some of the online orders that he needed to sort out…

  “Gavin, it’s going to be fine.”

  The vibration of Ben’s deep voice moved through Gavin’s whole body, pulling some of his attention back from the abyss of freaking-the-fuck-out that he’d been teetering on. It didn’t help with the pain, but it helped… something. Gavin’s anxiety ratcheted down a notch or two.

  “I’m going to get you checked in, and then we’ll get you something for the pain,” Ben promised.

  Gavin nodded, forcing himself to unclench his fingers and let go of Ben. The emergency room was relatively empty, and Ben lowered him gently into one of the waiting room chairs with a look of concern.

  “Do you have your insurance card on you?”

  “I should,” Gavin said, biting back a groan as he shifted his weight to pull his wallet out of his back pocket. His hand was shaking a little as he fumbled with it, but before he did something embarrassing like drop it, Ben’s hand closed over his, forcing him to be still.

  “Let me take care of it,” Ben said, waiting for Gavin’s nod of permission before taking the wallet out of his hands. He flipped through it efficiently, plucking out Gavin’s driver’s license and insurance card and then handing it back to him before heading over to deal with the bored-looking woman at the registration desk.

  Gavin tuned out the low murmur of their voices, keeping his eyes trained on Ben’s amazing ass to try to keep his mind off the pain… not to mention all of the looming business details that threatened to overwhelm him if he were to let himself start thinking about them. Admiring Ben’s ass was definitely the better option, as far as Gavin was concerned. It was an uplifting sight, almost cheering him up enough that he could try to talk himself into believing his foot might not actually be broken.

  Maybe this all-consuming pain was just a really bad sprain.

  Okay, fine. Gavin would have laughed at himself if everything hadn’t hurt so fucking badly. Not even the perfection of Ben’s ass could make him believe that.

  And God, since his foot no doubt was broken, breaking down about it wasn’t going to do any good. He needed to suck it up and start figuring out how the hell he was going to deal with his business—with life—in light of this new development.

  Gavin took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as he tried to focus. He had a few friends he could ask for a little help from, if he absolutely had to, but really, they all had their own lives to deal with. Besides, Gavin had never felt good about asking for help. It just didn’t feel right to ask others t
o inconvenience themselves for him. To put their own shit on hold, just because he couldn’t seem to handle his own. It was definitely a last resort. He’d have to find a way to figure this out on his own, like he always did. And he would. He… would. Even if he didn’t quite see how at the moment.

  He closed his eyes, letting his head fall back with a thump. It was almost tempting to let the pain wash over him, sweep him away so that he didn’t have to think about it. But that kind of indulgence wasn’t going to get him anywhere. He felt a tell-tale, hot prick behind his eyelids, and he pressed the heels of his hands against them, clenching his jaw as he fought back useless tears. That kind of reaction definitely wasn’t going to help anything.

  The sound of his least-favorite ex-boyfriend’s voice was almost a welcome distraction.

  Almost.

  “Gavin Campbell…?”

  Gavin’s eyes snapped open. Seriously? Of all the nurses to be on duty. But at least the irritation he felt drove away the tears.

  James tsked, giving him a mocking smile as he tapped the clipboard in his hand. “Honey, if you missed me, all you had to do was call.”

  Gavin closed his eyes again, not bothering to hold back his groan this time. “I can’t deal with your shit right now, James. Please.”

  “Well, then you shouldn’t have dropped by to see me.”

  Gavin should have known James wouldn’t let up. The man had elevated grudge-holding to an art form.

  “We’re going to need someone else to handle Gavin’s intake.” It was Ben’s voice, back to that cold tone he’d used the other time they’d run into James together. It made Gavin smile despite himself, and he opened his eyes to see the sexy banker swooping in like an avenging angel. “I don’t want you bothering him,” Ben added, moving to stand in front of Gavin.

  He knew he couldn’t let Ben fight his battles for him, but it was definitely tempting just to sit back and let it happen. And honestly, it might even be in James’s best interests. The fucking pain was still throbbing through him in agonizing waves that might just make him say something he regretted if he were forced to deal with his ex on top of it.

  “Sorry, sugar,” James said to Ben. Snarktastic. “You get me. And like I mentioned the last time we met, for you? That offer is always open.”

  “That’s never going to happen… James.” Ben’s eyes flicked down to James’s name tag before he added the last.

  James narrowed his eyes, then slapped his clipboard against his thigh and stomped over to the far side of the waiting area to collect a wheelchair without throwing in one of his signature snarky comebacks. Gavin almost smiled. There were just so many reasons that having Ben around made life better. He’d have to be careful not to get used to it, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy it in the moment.

  “Come on then,” James said to Gavin, pointedly ignoring Ben when he returned with a wheelchair.

  Gavin clenched his jaw, eyeing the short distance he had to cross as he braced himself to get it done.

  James rolled his eyes. “Stop being a baby, Gav. Just get in the chair,” he said impatiently.

  “Don’t even talk to him,” Ben said coldly. Before Gavin realized what he’d intended, Ben scooped him up and set him in the wheelchair, somehow managing to get it done without undue jostling. Ben moved around behind the chair, gripping the handles. “Lead the way,” he said to James, his tone not leaving any room for argument.

  “Wait,” Gavin said, gasping the word out as he made the mistake of trying to sit upright. He’d automatically used his foot for leverage, and the sharp spike of pain that shot through him robbed him of breath. Ben waited patiently, though, just like Gavin had asked, resting a hand on his shoulder and looking down at him without any of the coldness he’d shown to James.

  “What is it, Gavin?”

  “Registration. Do they need more details?” Gavin gritted out after a moment. “I know you took my card, but I should make sure—”

  “I’ve got it handled,” Ben said, squeezing his shoulder in reassurance. “You don’t need to worry about anything but taking care of yourself right now.”

  Gavin thought about arguing, but then let himself slump back in the chair without opening his mouth. He knew it wasn’t smart to count on other people handling details that could come back and bite him in the ass later, but—and maybe it was just the pain clouding his judgment—he couldn’t seem to muster up the energy to worry about it. Not now. Not with Ben’s reassuring voice making him want to believe that—for once—he didn’t have to.

  “Touching,” James said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. “But I’ve got a job to do here. Come on already.”

  Ben pushed the chair forward, and Gavin sucked in a breath as the wheels stuck and then released, the jerking motion sending another jolt of pain through his foot.

  “Jesus, Gavin, I’m sorry,” Ben said, squeezing his shoulder again. And then, louder, to James, he added, “You’re going to need to get him something for the pain. Immediately.”

  James looked back, rolling his eyes, but then he looked at Gavin’s face and his expression changed. Gavin wasn’t sure he liked the gleam that appeared in his ex’s eye. The fact that James obviously enjoyed seeing him in pain didn’t really surprise him at this point, and he was really having trouble remembering what he’d ever seen in the man.

  “I’d need a doctor to prescribe,” James said. “I’ll see if I can get one in here before I take you down to X-ray.” He whipped a curtain aside and waved them into an exam room, then spun on his heel and left.

  Ben parked Gavin next to an uncomfortable-looking chair by the wall and then lowered himself into it, shaking his head as he stared after James’s retreating back. “I can’t believe…” he let his voice trail off.

  “That he’s an asshole?” Gavin asked, trying to laugh.

  Ben’s lip quirked up, sexy as hell. “Something like that. I guess I can’t believe someone like you actually dated that man.”

  “I was just thinking the same thing. I have better taste now, though.”

  Something flashed across Ben’s face, too quickly for Gavin to make sense of it, and the sexy little half-smile fell away. “You’ve found someone better?” he asked.

  “If ‘no one’ qualifies as ‘better,’ then yes. I’ll take single over James any day.”

  Ben’s smile came back. “I don’t blame you,” he said, laughing ruefully.

  “What about you?” Gavin asked, half out of curiosity and half as a distraction from the pain.

  Ben didn’t wear a wedding ring, but Gavin had trouble imagining a man like him not being taken. Which, now that he thought about it, probably meant that there was someone waiting for him now. A fact that immediately made him feel guilty for how much of Ben’s time the accident had already taken up. Ben had been totally focused on Gavin ever since he’d gotten hurt, and he couldn’t remember seeing the other man stop to call anyone with an explanation for his delay. Although honestly, his attention had been pretty consumed by his own pain, so he could have missed it.

  Regardless, it was probably time to let Ben go back to his own life.

  Ben was still smiling at him, though. Still giving him that focused attention that made it seem like nothing else existed for him except Gavin. It was a little bit heady, despite the pain. A feeling that it would be all too easy to get addicted to… especially now, when it was the only thing keeping his mind off the agony that wouldn’t seem to let up from his broken foot. But even if the thought of Ben leaving was about as appealing as the idea of dating James again—which would be 100 percent “not”— it wasn’t Gavin’s place to try to hold onto the man.

  “I agree,” Ben said, seeming to read his mind.

  Gavin stifled a little sound of dismay, determined not to get swamped by anxiety. Even though he knew it had to be done, the thought of dealing with the rest of his hospital stay on his own—not to mention everything that would come after—settled like a heavy weight on his chest, threatening to crush h
im. But no. He could deal. He always did.

  “I know,” Gavin said, determined to be gracious. “But thank you for staying as long as you have. Really, I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

  “What are you talking about?” Ben asked. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  Gavin’s brow furrowed, then cleared as he realized that Ben could not, in fact, have been reading his mind. But then, what? Somehow Gavin had lost the train of the conversion.

  “You agree…?” he finally prompted, stumped.

  Ben grinned. “I agree that I’d take being single over James, too.”

  Gavin sputtered out a laugh. Granted, it came out sounding more like a wheeze as his foot throbbed in protest, but still, it was a laugh that Ben had teased out of him despite the pain.

  The man was amazing.

  “Good call,” Gavin managed after a moment. “But seriously, if you need to get home to someone—”

  “I don’t. I’m here for the duration, Gavin,” Ben said firmly, cutting him off. “It’s my fault this happened, and I’m not leaving you to deal with it alone.”

  Ben leaned in as he said it, covering Gavin’s hand and looking into his eyes and making him sincerely wish that he could magically freeze time—pain and all—to preserve this one almost-perfect moment of feeling… something.

  Gavin blinked.

  Something that wasn’t real. There was no point in wishing Ben’s concern meant something more than it did. Which wasn’t to say that Gavin couldn’t appreciate it for what it was. Although—Gavin frowned—him falling down the stairs was in no way Ben’s fault. He opened his mouth to correct that part of Ben’s statement, but before he could, James bustled back in with a harried-looking doctor.

  “I’ve already brought Dr. Winters up to speed, Gav,” James said. He smirked, adding, “Including your history with codeine.”

  The doctor frowned as his eyes lit for a moment on Ben’s hand, still covering Gavin’s, and then settled on the banker’s face. His eyebrows shot up in surprise.