Must Love Frosting

by Stacey Joy Netzel

  As he left the kitchen, he heard Roxanna say, “We’ll talk later.”

  “Better not,” he hollered on his way through the living room. Roxanna talking to Honor scared the crap out of him at the same time he loved the idea of the two of them becoming friends.

  A shiny black SUV he didn’t recognize was parked next to Rox’s ancient Jeep. He opened the door and blinked in surprise when he saw Loyal on his porch. “Hey. I didn’t know you were coming back.”

  “What the hell did you expect with all this shit going on?”

  He stepped aside for him to come in, then eyed the overnight bag in his hand. “Staying a while?”

  “Just a couple nights. You okay if I stay here? I don’t think I can handle the house right now.”

  Normally, he’d have no problem with his brother staying a few nights. But after last night with Honor, he had to bite his tongue to keep from suggesting he find himself a hotel. “Yeah. It’s fine.”

  “Do I smell coffee? And food?”

  Loyal’s bag thumped to the floor as he headed straight for the kitchen. His step faltered when he saw Honor and Roxanna at the island, and Asher bumped his shoulder on the way past. Honor gave his brother a welcoming smile, while Rox sat stiff and refused to even look at him.

  Recalling their conversation the other day, Asher kept an eye on his best friend as he said, “Loyal, you remember Honor Hartman from the party.”

  “Yeah. The cake baker. Good to see you again.” His narrowed gaze moved between her and Roxanna on his way to the coffee pot. “You’re awfully forgiving.”

  Honor just smiled, but Rox’s lips thinned as she pushed up from her stool. “I’m going to get going.”

  Loyal leaned back against the counter, a smirk lifting the corners of his mouth. “Roxanna, please. Don’t leave on my account.”

  His brother’s smug grin grew as she pointedly ignored him, thanked Honor for breakfast, then added, “Asher, I’m here for you if you need anything.”

  “I know.” He gave her a one-armed hug, grateful she cared enough to come by, even if she had interrupted his morning. “Thanks for checking in.”

  “Always.”

  “Always good to see you, Roxanna,” Loyal called after her.

  After the front door slammed, Asher spun around and shot him a dark look. “Why do you antagonize her?”

  “What? I was polite.”

  He shook his head as he slid onto the stool next to Honor once more. “You really are a jackass.”

  Loyal snorted while grabbing a mug to pour some coffee. “You find out anything more this morning?”

  “Man, I haven’t even had a chance to eat the breakfast Honor made me.” And it was starting to piss him off.

  “Speaking of, do you mind? I didn’t eat before catching my flight.” He gestured toward the last three slices on the plate.

  Asher threw up a hand. “Hey, yeah, why the hell not?” He inhaled a deep breath and turned to give Honor a tight, apologetic smile.

  Loyal paused mid-reach for the plate, his gaze bouncing between them. “I’m sorry. Am I interrupting something here?”

  Asher arched his eyebrows in disbelief, but before he could explode, Honor swiveled on her stool and slid off the other side. “Don’t worry about it. In fact, I should probably get going, too.”

  No!

  “I know you guys have a lot to talk about. I don’t want to be in the way.”

  “You aren’t in the way,” he denied.

  “She knows about the other brother?” Loyal asked at the same time.

  “National news, remember? Everyone knows about the other brother—plus, we were at dinner when I found out.” Asher turned a pleading look toward Honor. “Please don’t let him run you off, too.”

  “I really need to get started on the cakes for this week.”

  “I thought you had the day off?”

  “Not after I figured out everything I have to get done.”

  He sighed his disappointment and got up from his stool again. “Fine. Come on. I’ll walk you home.”

  “I can make it across the street on my own.”

  “I know, but I’m still going to walk you.” He wasn’t taking no for an answer. If she was going to be as busy as she’d said, he wouldn’t see her much this next week. At least he sure hoped her telling him how busy she’d be was all about work, and not her giving him the brush off.

  Her smile made him think she was pleased at his insistence, but she turned away before he could be sure.

  “All right. See you around, Loyal.”

  His brother nodded and smiled with a mouthful of French toast, and Asher rolled his eyes as he followed Honor out the door. A couple neighbors on the left side of his house were out in their yards, and he lifted a hand in greeting, not caring one bit what they thought of him and Honor together.

  He took her hand in the driveway, and held tight on their way across the street. “I’m sorry about this morning. It was nothing like what I’d envisioned when I promised you brunch.”

  She laughed. “It was definitely interesting. And kinda fun.”

  “Sure. Right.” He squeezed her hand. “Hey, um, you know Rox and I are just friends, right?”

  Her sideways glance met his through her lashes. “Yes.”

  “Friends only. That’s all it’s ever been, all it’ll ever be.”

  She swung their joined hands between them while facing forward again. “I admit, after what happened at the anniversary party I did wonder if she might be jealous, but today erased any last notion of that.”

  “It did?” And here he’d feared the opposite.

  “A woman would have to be either completely blind, uninterested, or a lesbian to not even try to sneak a peek of you in all your glory.”

  “That doesn’t even sound right,” he protested with a laugh. “I was wearing underwear.”

  “They weren’t hiding much.”

  He bumped her shoulder with his arm as they approached her porch. “Sounds like you snuck a peek.”

  She bumped back. “I did more than peek, big guy.”

  He laughed again, loving that she’d looked and wasn’t shy about admitting it. His ego was exceptionally pleased with the big guy. “So…I know you’re going to be busy this week, but you take breaks for lunch and dinner, right?”

  “Short breaks.”

  “Mind if I stop by sometime around break time?”

  She stepped up onto her porch, then spun around to rest her hands on his shoulders. He lightly grasped her hips as she said, “Depends on what you’re stopping by for.”

  “To see you, of course.”

  “Not for cake?”

  “Well, I mean, if you offered cake, I wouldn’t say no.”

  Her head tilted, humor shining in her pretty green eyes. “And when you say cake, you mean…?”

  He waggled his eyebrows and tugged her closer.

  Her gaze narrowed to a glare but the effect was totally ruined by her grin and the way she melted against him when he buried one hand in her hair and wrapped the other arm around her waist. She opened her mouth beneath his, and he savored the faint taste of sweet syrup on her lips as he angled his head to deepen the kiss.

  A long minute later, it took everything he had to break away and wish her a good day. He hooked his thumbs in his front jeans pockets and walked backward while drinking in her unexpectedly shy smile before she turned for her front door.

  “Hey, Honor.”

  She spun around. “Yeah?”

  “The cake was fucking awesome. Both times.”

  Her mouth formed a surprised O before she laughed with a slow shake of her head from side to side.

  Asher spun around, grinning as he hummed the entire way back across the street. She made it easy to forget the shit with his family…until he walked through his front door and Loyal looked up from his seat on the couch with a slice of Honor’s chocolate cake on a plate in his hands. Possessive jealousy flared in less than a second.

  �
��You and the cake baker?”

  “Yeah, me and the cake baker.” He stalked over and yanked the plate and fork from his brother’s hands. “This is mine.”

  “Getting laid should put you in a better mood.”

  “Shut the hell up, man.” He went into the kitchen and dropped the plate on the counter. “Sometimes you’re worse than Merit.”

  Loyal followed him with a laugh, then sank down onto one of the island stools, forearms braced on the counter. “You’re really not going to share your cake with me?”

  Fuck no.

  “Roxanna sells her cupcakes in the shop every day now. Go get one of those.”

  Loyal’s lip curled with distaste. “You couldn’t pay me to set foot in that place.”

  She’d be happy to hear that. Or relieved, if it meant his brother didn’t take him up on his offer to stay in the empty apartment above her shop.

  He shot him a glance and grabbed his breakfast plate to warm his cold French toast in the microwave. “You know, you really should be nicer to Rox.”

  “Just because you’re friends with that woman doesn’t mean I have to be.”

  Asher opened his mouth, then snapped it closed as he transferred the dirty pan and spatula from the stove to the sink while his food warmed. He’d promised he wouldn’t say a word, and Rox would kill him if he even hinted at anything. Besides, she hadn’t actually admitted a single thing. Right now, he was going off his gut feeling.

  “All I’m saying is it wouldn’t kill you to not be such a jerk when she’s around.”

  “I was perfectly nice when she was here. She wouldn’t even say hi to me.”

  It was like trying to reason with a two year old. He sat at the counter with his plate and finally took his first bite of breakfast. He closed his eyes and telegraphed a silent thank you across the street to Honor. With his second forkful, he asked, “What are you doing back, Loyal? There’s not much we can do until dad’s team sorts things out.”

  “I want to go see him.”

  His brother’s solemn gaze stilled his hand. “Grayson Cole?”

  “No, the Pope.” He shoved up and stood straight. “Of course Grayson Cole.”

  Asher was totally on board with that. He’d been contemplating the same move despite the conversation at their parents’ house last night. Speaking around another bite, he advised, “The campaign team said they needed to check into everything before any of us did anything rash. By their definition, contacting Vivian or Grayson Cole would be rash.”

  “Fuck the team. What did Dad say to that?”

  “He didn’t like it, but he’s going along with it for now. He doesn’t want to give the tabloids more fodder.”

  “And Mom?”

  Asher rested the tines of his fork on the plate. “Mom wasn’t saying much at all by that point.”

  Loyal paced toward the living room, then spun to come back. “None of this has been sitting right with me since the moment I heard it, so—”

  “Join the club.”

  “—I found a PI willing to work through the night to start digging into these people.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “And?”

  “It’s all about the campaign.”

  “I could’ve told you that for free, Einstein.”

  Loyal shot him a shut up glare. “Dad’s had two successful governor’s races and this is when some secret, illegitimate child first comes out? If you look at it from the money angle, this woman had eighteen years to ask for child support. She’d have to be living under a rock not to know who Dad was all this time, what the family’s worth, yet she didn’t even try to blackmail him to keep her silent.”

  “You’d have preferred blackmail?”

  “No. You’re missing the point.” He thumped his fist on the counter. “These people don’t have money—haven’t had money. So, the only reason this woman would’ve chosen now to ‘reveal’ her little story is because it’s not true. The opposing party found a guy who looks like us and paid these people a shitload of money to fake a scandal so Dad will lose. They’re desperate to win the party majority in this election.”

  The last part was one hundred percent true, but the rest had holes. Unfortunately.

  “Except Dad admitted to the affair,” he reminded. “And they have a DNA test.”

  “Oh, please. You know Dad never gave permission for that test. We can’t trust the results of a test done by the same people who paid for the story. My midnight PI guy proves everyone has a price, so I say before we believe anything, we need to investigate and have our own test done.”

  “Dad’s lawyers are putting in a request for a second test today. But, Loyal, come on. You saw the news.”

  “Yeah, so?”

  “This guy doesn’t just look like us, he could pretty much be your twin.”

  Annoyance twisted his features as he shook his head and turned away. Rubbing the back of his neck, he stared out the window for a long moment, and then his shoulders slumped as he blew out a rough breath.

  When he faced Asher again, resignation filled his grimace. “I still want to go see him. I don’t give a shit what Dad’s decided to do.”

  “I’m totally with you on that part.” Asher stood and deposited his empty plate in the sink. “When were you thinking?”

  “Today. Now.”

  “Fine by me. What about Celia, Merit, and Shelby?” Like any family, they had their differences, but when it came right down to it, they always had each others’ backs. It only seemed right they include them in this, too.

  But Loyal shook his head. “I want to get answers from this guy, not ambush him. Five of us at once will only make him defensive.”

  Chapter 26

  “Shit,” Asher muttered as they approached Grayson Cole’s driveway and saw two unmarked vans parked across the street. “We should’ve borrowed Roxanna’s Jeep. You know that’s the press.”

  He switched his visor to the side window as the sliding door of the closest van opened and a camera man jumped out.

  “Hang on.” Loyal took the turn fast enough to fishtail between the plastic Private Property and No Trespassing signs on either side of the gravel driveway, then gunned the gas. Thankfully, it appeared the guy’s house sat a decent distance from the road with trees in between to block the view.

  Asher twisted to look out the back window. “Think they’ll obey the signs?”

  “They fucking better.”

  No one looked to be following, so maybe they wouldn’t make the news. He exchanged a look with Loyal as his brother parked his Audi Q8 rental next to a rusty, faded red F-250 a little after one p.m. Located ten minutes southwest of Boulder, the place was neat and clean, but no amount of tidiness could hide its age.

  He ran his gaze over the weather-grayed boards on the small house while shutting his door to join Loyal in front of the vehicle. There was an uneven, moss-covered brick walkway leading to the front porch, but the echo of a hammer striking iron from the backyard drew them around to the back of the house. With each step they took, the quicker his pulse beat.

  “Looks like he could do a lot with an influx of cash,” his brother groused in a low voice.

  Asher cast him a sideways glare. “Probably not best to go in with accusations.”

  Loyal didn’t bother with a reply.

  On the other side of a rustic, chest-high fence, a tall, dark-haired guy in jeans and a T-shirt swung a sledge hammer against a metal stake. After a couple more blows, he sidestepped a few feet to start another, his movement disturbing a large, black and tan German Shepherd lying on the patchy grass.

  As soon as the dog spotted them, it started barking and bounded across the yard to jump at the fence. They each took a cautious step back as Loyal called, “Grayson Cole?”

  Without turning around, the guy let the hammer hang by his leg, and tipped his head back in obvious annoyance. “I already told you people I’ve got no comment, so take your stupid interviews and shove ‘em up your ass,” he hollered over the barking do
g. “Now get the fuck off my property before I call the cops again.”

  Noticing Loyal’s hands fisting at his sides, Asher laid a hand on his arm. “We’re not reporters,” he called. “Just wanted to introduce ourselves.”

  “Call off the damn dog,” Loyal growled.

  The guy turned around, his expression hard as stone. The moment he saw them, the sledge hammer slipped through his fingers, and the iron head thudded on the ground. After a moment, he bent slightly to grip the handle again, then adjusted his grip to the base by the steel head as he crossed the yard.

  “Remy. Quit. Heel.”

  The dog immediately stopped barking and trotted around to his left side. When he stopped by the fence, the dog obediently sat next to him.

  Saying Loyal and him could pass as twins was an understatement. Discounting Grayson’s trimmed beard being a bit longer than Loyal’s scruff, they both had the same angled jaw, stood about the same height, and had the same pissed-off-at-the-world look in their dark, brown eyes.

  Asher reached a hand over the fence. “I’m Asher. This is my, ah, brother, Loyal.”

  The guy’s eyes narrowed, and his mouth pressed into a thin line at the word brother. Still gripping the sledge hammer in his fist, he ignored the handshake offer, and Asher pulled back when a low growl lifted the dog’s lips.

  “I know who you are,” Grayson said brusquely. “What the fuck do you want?”

  Asher blinked in surprise at his continued hostility.

  Loyal bristled beside him. “That’s how you’re going to play this?”

  “What?” He turned his free hand outward, palm up. “Did you expect a fucking hug or something?”

  “Of course not,” Asher returned. “Basic manners would suffice.”

  Loyal crossed his arms and braced his stance. “Why should he bother? The story is out. The check is probably clearing the bank right now. His job is done.”

  Grayson lifted his hand to jab the head of the hammer in their direction. “I haven’t taken a dime from those vultures, nor do I plan to.”

  Fury roughened his voice, tension radiating from him in waves as the dog’s growls intensified.

  “You expect us to believe you weren’t on board with this plan your mother concocted?”