Page 12 of The Baker and the Kraken

Yes, there was no doubt that Calder was falling for this man. But he still hadn’t confessed about being a shifter, never mind anything else. He knew that he had to. It was just that everything was going so well, and Calder didn’t want to jeopardize that. They didn’t talk much about Adam being a witch, either, so it wasn’t like he was being completely evasive by not talking about being a shifter… But he was aware that he was getting past the point where he could claim that they were really still getting to know one another. It felt more like he’d known Adam his whole life—which was absurd, given how long his life was.

Adam warned him that February meant longer hours, including Sundays, and his expression got a little pinched.

“Everything alright?” Calder wanted to know.

They’d met at the bakery and headed down to the beach for a walk, because although Adam was tired, he’d confessed that a ramble with Calder—and often dinner or a snack—was a way to recharge before heading home for an early night.

Adam sighed. “Oh, yes, it’s fine. I just… We probably won’t be able to see one another as often for the next little while. Bakeries and Valentine’s Day go hand-in-hand.”

Eyeing him, Calder observed, “You don’t sound like you’re a fan.”

Adam huffed a breath. “I mean, I think the day has been extremely over-commercialized and puts a lot of pressure on people that isn’t really fair. Just the fact that we had to come up with Galentine’s and Palentine’s to try to make space for people who are single… And don’t get me started on the people who dump someone because their Valentine’s Day celebration wasn’t special enough. Gauging the worth of a relationship based solely on how much someone is willing to spend on flowers or baked goods or… or sexy lingerie or whatever is just dumb.”

Adam’s cheeks had gone pink as he stuttered about the lingerie, and Calder suddenly wondered if Adam liked lingerie and if Calder could buy him some.

But no, that was definitely not the message Adam had been trying to convey with his flashing eyes and the cute furrow in his brow.

Calder said, “But surely sometimes, the day can be a genuine expression of affection.”

“Something people should feel all year round!”

“And I’m sure they do,” Calder agreed. “And hopefully, they’re making their affection evident at other times as well. But I think it’s the human condition to grow complacent and not always value what’s right in front of us. Is it such a terrible thing to have a day that helps remind people to be more demonstrative towards their partner or partners?”

Adam blew out a breath. “I mean, I guess not. But does anyone really need a cake fully decorated in 24-karat gold leaf?”

Calder frowned. “Why would anyone eat gold?”

“Right?” Adam demanded, waving his hand expansively, and Calder captured it and pulled it back before Adam could hit a passerby also trying to walk along the beach. He squeezed Adam’s hand and kept it, because Adam wasn’t averse to these mild forms of PDA, which he seemed to think friends might do.

Adam shot him a small smile and continued, “I’ve decorated with gold leaf before, though we don’t use it frequently. It can be an eye-catching embellishment. But covering the entire cake with it? That just makes the cake stupidly expensive, and I can’t think it’s great for anyone’s digestive system.” He harrumphed. “Gold foil is also very thin and comes in small sheets. It’s not easy to cover an entire cake in it!”

“But you’re doing it anyway?” Calder asked.

“That was the order,” Adam grumbled. “I explained it all to Maggie; she checked with me first to ensure that she’d be charging a price that would take into account the ingredients. The client still wanted it, so I’m going to make it.”

“You get a lot of extra requests for Valentine’s Day?”

“So many!” Adam exclaimed, his free hand still waving around, and Calder just made sure to steer him to where he wouldn’t hit anyone. “This year, Valentine’s Day is on a Saturday, so it’s even worse. And I love baking, you know that, but it’s all compressed for Valentine’s Day—and people seem to feel that it has to be the fourteenth, because heaven forbid that you present your loved one with a beautiful cake on the thirteenth or the fifteenth. It’s a lot to bake all at once. Thanks to our stasis charms, I can do more pre-baking than a normal baker could; there’s no degradation of quality thanks to the magic. But my charms aren’t that strong, so I have to recast them every twenty-four hours. That limits me a little. And we still try to bake a lot fresh.”

Calder revised all of the half-baked plans he’d had for Valentine’s Day. Clearly, none of them would suit. The last thing he wanted to do was add any more stress at an already stressful time for Adam.

“Can’t the others help?” Calder wanted to know.

Adam shook his head. “For some reason, the baked goods react best if it’s me. We’re not sure why, since a stasis spell is a stasis spell. If it’s just a quick spell before delivery day-of, it seems to be okay. But the ones in advance? They just don’t turn out as well if someone else casts any of the charms.”

That sounded like a lot of work, and Calder didn’t love it, but it was clear that as much as Adam complained about Valentine’s Day, he loved what he was doing.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” he asked, even though he’d spent a lot more time consuming raw seafood in the ocean than learning how to bake.

“No, it’s fine,” Adam demurred. “I didn’t mean to complain.”

“You may vent your frustrations to your heart’s content,” Calder assured him immediately. “I like hearing about whatever’s going on in your life.”

Adam smiled at him, his expression going sweet and soft as he bumped their hips together—and then stumbled and was righted by Calder.

“Thanks. Maybe I’m getting some flashbacks from January,” Adam admitted ruefully. “I haven’t had to deal with so much pink icing since then.”

Calder laughed. “I’m very sorry about your accident, but I’m not at all sorry that we met.”