Page 39 of Seasons of Love
"Liam, I'm going to Beans. Do you want anything?"
"No, thanks, boss. Maggie's off work today, so we're having lunch on the square."
Since Liam and Maggie had gotten together, he was different. We weren’t big talkers. I always thought that was why he had fit in here with me so well from the start, but he'd definitely opened up more recently. He was more relaxed, happy, and the times when I found him staring at a tool lost in thought were fewer and far between.
He'd lost his wife not long after they were married. He hadn't known until after she’d passed, that she was pregnant with their first child. I didn't need to know the circumstances around their passing to understand the severity of the loss.
So seeing Liam find someone to love again made me wonder about things I thought couldn't happen.
I wasn't going to pretend that being with Aiden yesterday was the start of a new happy-ever-after for me. Far from it. But I also couldn't deny how great it had been to ride with someone. Share my secret spot. Talk about bikes and riding. And the sex…
Fuck, the sex had been wonderful. Even that word fell short of describing how it had been.
Spilled Beans was unusually quiet for a Monday morning, with only a few customers sitting inside, no queue, and Indy was humming to himself while writing on a blackboard behind the counter.
"Hey, Indy."
"Oh, hey, Slade. How's it going?"
"Great, thanks. Where are your customers?"
Indy chuckled and leaned on the counter to whisper. "Jake had an appointment, and my part timer is at school, so I'm on my own. I put a sign out front saying we'll have fresh cinnamon buns at eleven. It's been a blissful morning."
I didn't doubt it. Indy's pastries were to die for, so I wouldn't be surprised to see a line forming just before eleven.
"In that case, I'll have my usual coffee and two lemon muffins, please."
"Coming right up."
The bell above the coffee shop door dinged with a new customer. My smile dropped when I saw Ben grinning at me.
"Morning, Indy. Morning, Slade," he said, extra chirpy.
I smiled and nodded.
"Oh, two lemon muffins. I see…you're sharing those with someone?" Ben said in that casual tone that no one ever believes is casual. And of course, Indy raised his head from behind the display cabinet.
I was going to kill Tristan.
"I hear there might be an outing on Friday," I said.
"How do you know?" Indy asked with interest.
"A tall, nosy bird told me yesterday," I said, looking at Ben, who snorted.
Indy was clearly confused but confirmed their group of friends was going out to The Falls. "Are you joining us?"
"Yes, he is," Ben answered.
I took my coffee and muffins from Indy and put my money on the counter.
"Who knew I'd be back in high school at my age?" I asked and waved them goodbye.
Ben laughed.
"What was that about?" Indy asked, but I didn't hear his reply because I was already out the door.
The rest of the day was busy with customers picking up their cars and a couple of new bookings. I even spent an hour going through options for a customer who was interested in buying a Harley.
