The Delicious Series: The First Volume

by Stella Starling

  Can’t take my eyes off of you, Ben lip-read.

  Charlie leaned against her husband’s shoulder, smiling up at him as the newlyweds danced to “their” song. Andrew may have been quoting lyrics, but the words were just as fitting for his parents now as they had been when Andrew and Charlie had danced to the same song at their own wedding.

  Emily was about as romantic as they came, and she’d woven sentimental threads from both sets of parents throughout her wedding day. Ben knew his new sister-in-law’s choice to include a nod to Andrew and Charlie’s marriage had touched his mother. While all of the Edwards had liked Emily from the moment Will had brought her home, Charlie in particular had warmly embraced Em as one of their own from the beginning. She’d considered the girl part of the family long before Will had come to his senses and proposed, and Ben had to admit that his mother did have a good track record when it came to predicting the course of her children’s love lives.

  He squeezed Gavin’s hand at the thought, earning the kind of smile that made Ben think he’d love to have the chance to prove his mother’s theory right. Maybe there was just something about weddings, or maybe it was seeing how good his boyfriend looked in a tux, or maybe it was just… Gavin. Whatever the reason, the lyrics of the song Will and Em had chosen seemed to have cast a spell over Ben, too.

  Can’t take my eyes off of you.

  “Nothing makes me happier than seeing my children in love,” Charlie said, her smile widening as she caught Ben’s look. He flushed, more sure every day that it was true. Still, it wasn’t something he’d talked about with Gavin yet. His mother winked at him, but then she had mercy, shifting her attention away before Ben could worry about Gavin getting spooked by her comment. Charlie nodded at the dance floor. “Do you see the way our Will is looking at Em? You can always tell when a man is in love.”

  Ben grinned, knowing she was needling him. God knows she’d waited long enough for a chance to do it, but given the direction of his own thoughts lately, he couldn’t bring himself to mind too much.

  “Mom, stop,” Hannah whispered as the song came to an end, sniffling as she watched Will and Em glide to a graceful stop. “You’re going to make my mascara run.”

  “Weddings are the entire reason they invented waterproof makeup, Hann,” Charlie teased, reaching across the table to pat her daughter’s hand. “Haven’t I taught you anything?”

  The mother of the bride was seated next to Hannah, and she handed Hann a tissue from the box she was making her own way through.

  “Charlie is right,” Emily’s mother said, smiling warmly through her own tears. “Mothers always are.”

  “I’ll have to pass that on to Gwennie once she’s old enough,” Hannah said, laughing.

  “Speaking of which, I’m sure your mother would love to see you happy, too, wouldn’t she, dear?” Charlie asked, turning to Gavin as she steered the conversation back in the direction she wanted. “We should have your parents over for dinner. Is your family here in Tulsa?”

  Hannah rolled her eyes, shaking her head as she laughed at their mother’s single-minded determination to see them all married off.

  “Mom, you’re too much. Maybe we can get all the way through one wedding before you start planning the next?”

  Gavin turned deliciously pink at the wedding comment, but when his hand tightened on Ben’s under the table, Ben suspected that the unconscious reaction was due more to Charlie’s inquiry about Gavin’s parents than her unsubtle matchmaking. Losing his parents so young had had a lasting effect on Gavin, and Ben had nothing but admiration for how he’d channeled that hardship into the work ethic that had brought him so much success in such a short time. Gavin had shared that part of his past with Ben with the same open frankness with which he did everything, and while it hadn’t invited any pity—Gavin didn’t want or need it—Ben couldn’t help feeling compassion for his loss, especially having always been part of such a close family himself.

  “I’m sure they would have loved to meet you, Charlie,” Gavin said, his grip relaxing as his familiar, easy smile reappeared. “But I lost them both a long time ago. I don’t have family.”

  “No family?” Charlie asked, her eyebrows shooting up as she turned a distinctly accusing glare at Ben, as if he’d somehow failed her.

  He stifled a laugh, loving his mother all the more for her instinctive, maternal protectiveness toward Gavin.

  “What are we, chopped liver?” Hannah asked, her gesture encompassing the entire table as she talked over her mother. Her expression was comically affronted, but no less sincere.

  “Brace yourself, Gavin,” Jack said, earning a playful smack from his wife. He laughed, trying and failing to hide it behind his napkin, and mumbled something that sounded a lot like, “They’re not going to let you go, now.”

  Charlie tsked at him, throwing in a look of mock-disappointment for good measure, then turned to Gavin with a much gentler expression than she’d used on her son-in-law.

  “Yes, you do, dear,” she corrected Gavin. “And if my Ben is as smart as I think he is—”

  Ben’s father had been leaning back in his chair, watching the conversation with the expression of amused patience that he often wore when his wife got fired up about something. At the last turn in the conversation, though, he straightened up, resting a hand on her shoulder as he interrupted.

  “Charlie,” Andrew said, cutting her off. “Give the boys a chance to find their own way.”

  Ben tensed, but his father’s tone didn’t have anything ugly in it. Andrew had been perfectly cordial to Gavin all day, if a little stiff, and Ben began to feel cautiously hopeful that his father had taken their talk the day before to heart. Charlie gave her husband a piqued look at the interruption, though, and Andrew laughed, leaning over to kiss her temple.

  “Ben is your son, through and through, love. He’ll know the right thing to do when it’s time,” he reminded her.

  “I know that, Andrew, but—”

  “But,” he insisted, directing her attention to the newlyweds as they returned to the table. “Today is about Will and Emily.”

  “Oh, Em, you’re glowing!” Hannah said, popping out of her chair to hug her new sister-in-law.

  “I should be,” Emily said, grinning as she sat down. “Today is perfect. It’s everything I wanted. The ceremony was perfect. The music is perfect. Dinner is perfect. The cake… oh my God, Gavin. I can’t thank you enough for how perfectly… perfect the cake is.”

  Will laughed at her enthusiasm, glowing almost as much as his bride. “So, let me get this straight, Em,” he teased. “You’re saying that everything is…”

  “Perfect,” she repeated, smacking him playfully. “Right down to the expression Gavin painted on the cake-topper version of your face.”

  “I can’t take any credit for that part,” Gavin said, holding up his hands. “I just do the baking, Danny’s decorating magic is responsible for everything else.”

  The cake was covered in a blue frosting so pale that it was almost white, the tiers connected by a delicate chocolate “leather” cord, wound around, between, and through them and strung with edible charms symbolizing all the milestones in the couples’ relationship. On top was a little sugar-mold bride figurine, hand-crafted and painted by Danny, perched prettily in an empty ring box. She had a look of surprised delight on her face as her groom—quite obviously modeled on Will—went down on one knee in front of her, holding his heart in his hand.

  Once Gavin had perfected his trial cakes in Ben’s kitchen, the final baking—and Danny’s decorating magic—had all been done at Delicious. No doubt it had been easier to handle the final order there, but Ben couldn’t help regretting the end of the test kitchen phase of Gavin’s wedding cake operations, and not just because he’d enjoyed sampling the trial cakes. Now that Gavin’s cast was off, Ben didn’t see nearly enough of him for his taste. Which was a ridiculous thought, really, since he’d been spending the majority of his non-working hours with him. But stil
l, he missed Gavin working in his kitchen. He missed hunting through the grocery aisles for the things Gavin put on the shopping list. Missed Gavin being there every morning when he woke up.

  And, as his father stood up, tapping his glass and launching into his toast to the bride and groom once he had the attention of the wedding guests, Ben realized he was going to have to do something about that.

  Gavin’s hand found his under the table again, and Ben pulled it to his lips, planting a kiss on Gavin’s palm while everyone’s attention was fixed on his father. A satisfying little shiver went through the other man’s body at his touch, and he gave Ben a hot look that promised all sorts of things to look forward to later. It was the type of look that had Ben’s cock swelling in automatic response, but when Gavin followed it with a slow, intimate smile, Ben was moved in a completely different way. He almost blurted out all the things he’d been telling himself it was still too soon to say, but it wasn’t the time or the place. Instead, he contented himself with scooting his chair over so he could tuck Gavin against his side while his father finished his toast.

  “…Charlie and I have been blessed with three of the most wonderful children in the world,” Andrew was saying. He paused, his gaze tracking around the table to light on Hannah, Will, and Ben in turn. He blinked, a suspicious brightness in his eyes, then cleared his throat and continued. “Each one of them has made us proud in countless ways, not the least of which was being smart enough to find the perfect partner for themselves. It is my fondest wish that all three of my children enjoy the same lifetime of love that I’ve been fortunate enough to have with their mother.”

  “Oh, Andrew,” Charlie whispered happily, smiling as she reached for another tissue.

  Ben’s arm tightened around Gavin, and he leaned over and stole a chaste kiss, PDA-restrictions be damned. Gavin went pink again, but he didn’t pull away, and Ben grinned, deciding he was going to make it his mission in life to break that rule as often as possible.

  Within reason, of course.

  The quick exchange was enough to draw Andrew’s attention, and he paused almost imperceptibly before going on. “All of my children deserve to be blessed with that kind of love,” he said, giving Ben a small nod before facing the room at large again. “And having come to know Emily over the last couple of years—and to love her like another daughter—I have no doubt that today marks the start of just such a marriage for her and Will. Please raise your glasses and join me in toasting all that lies ahead for Will and Emily.”

  The room rang with the clinking of glasses, and Ben let his father’s words of acceptance soak in as dinner was served, his family’s happy babble ebbing and flowing around him. Gavin was laughing—congratulating Will and Emily and joking with Hannah and Jack and flashing those delicious dimples every few minutes as he slipped into the familiar, comfortable rhythm of Ben’s family—and Ben had to agree with his sister-in-law.

  The day had turned out perfectly.

  18

  Gavin

  Danny’s platinum blond hair stood out like a beacon, drawing Gavin’s attention as soon as he and Ben walked into Renegade, the bar that they’d agreed to meet at for Gavin’s birthday. The bartender slid a ridiculous number of brimming shot glasses toward Danny as they reached him, and when Danny caught sight of Gavin approaching, he grinned up at him just wide enough to prove that he’d already had a few.

  “Perfect timing, honey,” he said, slinging an arm around Gavin’s shoulder happily. “I was just buying a round of birthday drinks for you.”

  Gavin laughed, eyeballing the collection of unidentifiable alcohol in front of them. “Please tell me those aren’t all for me.”

  He was all for having fun on his birthday, but he’d also like to be able to remember it, afterward. Not to mention, be sober enough to do some one-on-one celebrating with Ben, later.

  “You say that as if it were a bad thing,” Danny said, nibbling his lip as he cocked his head to the side quizzically.

  “Can I start with just one?” Gavin asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “We’ll see,” Danny said, waving a hand dismissively. “I’m not making any promises.”

  Gavin rolled his eyes, shaking his head. Danny’s fiancé, Mace, should be around somewhere, although even split four ways, it was more than he’d planned to start the night with.

  “Can I help you carry those?” Ben asked when Danny started to reach for the shot glasses.

  Danny grinned up at him. “I knew I liked you.”

  Gavin gathered a double handful of drinks—it was going to take all three of them—and looked around the bar. “Do you guys have a table?”

  “He went to grab one out on the patio,” Danny said, tossing the words over his shoulder as headed down the little hallway leading in that direction. “It’s pretty out, so we figured—”

  He paused, bumping the door open with his hip as he juggled the drinks in his hand.

  Gavin followed him out, almost dropping the ones he was carrying when he was met with a loud chorus of “Surprise!”

  His friend Sherri, owner of the little clothing boutique near Delicious, bounced up and gave him a quick hug before grabbing the drinks from his hands. “Did we actually surprise you?” she asked excitedly, handing off some of the glasses to her husband.

  “Totally,” Gavin answered, laughing. “I thought it was just going to be the four of us,” he added, waving to Mace.

  Danny scoffed, looking slightly offended. “You actually believed that? Gav, it’s your birthday. You didn’t trust me to do better than that?”

  He definitely had. The little patio was packed with their friends, and the excessive number of shots disappeared among them so fast that Gavin was lucky to grab a couple before they were gone.

  “I thought these were for me?” he teased, handing one to Ben.

  Danny grinned. “You know you’re a lightweight.”

  Gavin laughed, then almost choked on his drink when he caught sight of what could only be Danny’s choice in decorations.

  “Oh my God, Danny,” he sputtered. “What are those?”

  “You’re totally famous, Gav!” Danny said, grinning as he waved an arm at the life-size posters adorning the outer wall of the bar. Not to mention the ones hanging from the awning… and tacked to the wooden beams supporting it. And, just for good measure, propped against the tables.

  “They look like promotional pamphlets from the bank,” Ben said helpfully, wrapping an arm around Gavin’s waist and pulling him against his side in a move that had already become habitual. It had become one of Gavin’s favorite places to be, and normally it made him want to melt against Ben, but at the moment, he was too distracted for that.

  Once his cast had come off, they’d finally finished the photoshoot that had been interrupted by his accident. It had been fun, but he’d honestly been so absorbed in getting the new wedding cake division of the bakery up and running that he hadn’t given it much thought. It didn’t seem like Ben not to mention that they’d actually gone to print, though.

  “I didn’t realize the bank was going to make them quite so big,” he said to his boyfriend, cocking an eyebrow as he tried not to laugh. “Or so… colorful.”

  “Ben let me print directly from the digital files, so I could improve on them,” Danny sniffed. “Obviously.”

  “I knew you’d be photogenic, Gavin,” Ben said, slipping one hand under the hem of Gavin’s shirt in an obvious attempt at diverting his attention from his part in the conspiracy.

  Which… sort of worked. Gavin had to admit, Ben’s hands on him were always a guaranteed distraction. A little quiver went through his stomach as his boyfriend skimmed a finger along the edge of his waistband, and when he shifted closer, Ben’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.

  “So all I’ve got to do is get one drink in you before you don’t mind a little PDA?” he teased, whispering the words into Gavin’s ear with a wicked smile.

  Gavin blushed just as Jeremy walked over to join them, whic
h of course his friend took immediate note of. He’d also obviously overheard Ben’s question, because he took the liberty of answering for him.

  “I think you’re going to have to experiment and find out,” Jeremy said, grinning gleefully. “In the two years we’ve been friends, I’ve only managed to get Gavin to come out for drinks a handful of times, and—sadly—despite my best efforts to help him find someone to test the theory with, he’s always gone home alone.”

  “I’m not going home alone tonight,” Gavin said, then clapped a hand over his mouth. Oh, Lord. What kind of shot had Danny given him?

  “Maybe I should have insisted we go out to dinner before coming,” Ben said, lip quirking up in that sexy half smile that made Gavin want to lick him. “Not that I’m complaining.”

  “It wouldn’t have helped,” Danny told Ben confidently, handing Gavin another shot with a wink. Gavin knocked it back just as Danny added, “Gav always gets horny when he drinks.”

  Which of course made him almost choke on that one, too.

  “What?” Danny asked, the innocent look on his face at odds with the devilish sparkle in his eyes. “I’ve known you forever, Gavin, and you know it’s true.”

  “Well, damn,” Cash said, sauntering over to join them. He slung an arm around his cousin Jeremy’s shoulder, shaking his head regretfully as he looked at Gavin with puppy dog eyes. “Is that where I went wrong?”

  Ben’s arm tightened possessively around Gavin’s waist, and whatever Cash saw in Ben’s face clearly amused him. He winked at Gavin in an obvious attempt to needle Ben some more—which made Ben bristle—then relented.

  “Chill, big guy,” Cash said with an easy smile, palms up in a gesture of surrender. “It was a joke. Even with a couple of drinks in him, your man was not into me.”

  Gavin rolled his eyes. Cash didn’t seem able to accept that Ben just wasn’t the jealous type… although he had to admit, the hot ex-soldier did seem to bring out a side of Ben that wasn’t normally apparent.