Page 62 of Secret Sins

He grinned at me, taking one off the tray and plating it before taking the rest to the front. I was alone for the time being, so I peeled off a chunk of flaky layers and tried not to orgasm in the middle of my friends' business.

Ellie came to the back, her husband right behind her. "You owe me so many explanations."

"I know." Nodding, I swallowed some coffee to wash down my bite. "There's a lot to talk about."

"I'll be over here, totally eavesdropping and pretending I'm not," Alex said.

Chuckling, I pulled Ellie to the table they used for breaks. "Van is absolutely amazing."

"He must be, since you broke your vow of celibacy for him."

I rolled my eyes. "It wasn't a vow, per se."

"I was positive you'd become a born-again virgin, honey." Waving her hand to dismiss that statement, she leaned closer. "How is he?"

Glancing over my shoulder, I watched Alex sliding more trays of croissants out of the oven. "Insanely good."

Ellie made a whooping sound, and I blushed. "That's what I'm talking about!"

Trying to hide my embarrassment—albeit mild, because they knew everything about me—I picked at my breakfast. "It's not just good sex. He's so sweet, always putting me ahead of himself."

"Is he still, you know, shy? Every time I see him, he's very jumpy."

"Well." I lowered my voice again. "You know what we talked about? Where he came from before he moved here?"

She nodded.

"That made him jumpy. He doesn't like to be touched without forewarning, and he misses his family back home."

That felt like a gross understatement, but I would not spill Van's carefully guarded secrets, not even to my dearest friend.

She tapped her nails on the table. "Alex said Van was crying when he came in on Sunday. Is he okay?"

"Yeah." I took a sip of coffee. "Mama asked about his sister, and it brought some raw emotions to the surface."

"Poor guy. He seems so nice."

"He is." Smiling, I thought about how much I loved him. "He has flaws like everyone else, but he's such a good man."

"God, I'm so happy for you, babe. You deserve it."

"Thanks."

Ellie had to get up to serve a customer, and Alex wandered over while she was gone. "He treating you right?"

"Of course. I'm smarter than that." I'd never stay with a man who didn't.

"I figured as much. Just wanted to throw my big brother routine at you, since I don't want to scare him off with a hard glare and threat of death if he hurts you."

With a delighted laugh, I rose and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks, big bro, but he would never put himself first. He's incredibly selfless."

"You know, maybe we don't talk as much as you and Ellie, but you sure dated so many douchebags in the past."

As if I needed a reminder of my horrible choices. "In my teens, maybe."

"And then you seemed to shut yourself off from love, only going on one dinner date every full moon."

"It was every harvest moon, thank you very much."