Page 6 of The Baker and the Kraken

Calder joined him, setting down the plates that Simon had given them. Adam blinked at them like he was surprised to see them, and Calder liked the idea that the man had been concentrating so much on Calder that he’d forgotten about everything else.

“Oh,” Adam said. “He gave us two different slices.”

Calder switched his focus to the cake. Adam was right. One of the slices was dark chocolate with a lighter icing. There were peanuts, little peanut butter cups, and a dark chocolate drizzle on top.

“Peanut butter and chocolate,” Adam explained. His eyes widened. “You don’t have any allergies, do you?”

He looked like he was posed to knock the plate off the table.

Calder smiled at him. “No allergies.”

“And do you, uh, like cake?”

Adam peeked up at Calder through thick, tawny lashes, and Calder, who valued honesty and plain-speaking, would have blithely lied if necessary. Fortunately, he didn’t need to.

“I love cake,” he confessed, voice thicker than normal.

Adam swallowed visibly, and though the hectic color had begun to die down on his face, two spots on his cheeks remained.

“Good, that’s good,” he said, then bit his lip.

“What kind of cake is this?” Calder asked, pointing at the second plate.

“Victoria sponge,” Adam explained, looking immediately more relaxed. “Buttercream and strawberry jam with a vanilla cake. The cake’s a little heavier than the chocolate. I usually make a lighter chocolate cake since there’s so much richness with the icing and peanut butter.”

“Do you make all the cakes?”

“Uh huh.” Adam nodded his head several times before he seemed to realize what he was doing and stopped. “Which slice do you want?”

Calder looked down at the cake and then up at Adam. “How about we share them?”

Adam swallowed again. “We could—” He had to clear his throat. “We could definitely do that. I like sharing.”

He laughed awkwardly, but Calder just smiled at him, charmed.

Simon bustled over with two mugs, napkins, and forks. He was beaming.

“Here you go. I wasn’t sure what you’d like, so I made you a cappuccino.”

Simon gestured at the mug he’d set in front of Calder. He’d poured the milk foam so that the drink was decorated with a heart. Simon was not subtle. Calder liked that about him.

Then he gestured at the one in front of Adam. “And for you and your sweet tooth, it’s a mocha with extra caramel sauce and whipped cream. Try not to get it all over your face.”

He winked outrageously, and then he was hustling back to the counter.

Adam slumped down a little, like he was trying to disappear.

“Ugh,” he grumbled. “Sorry about him. He can be a lot.”

“I find him charming,” Calder assured him.

Adam’s gaze snapped up to his and then skittered away again. “Oh, uh, good.” He cleared his throat. “Yeah, Simon is super charming. Very happy and graceful and beautiful. Anyone would be lucky to have him.”

Ah. Calder should have realized how his comment sounded.

“I’m certainly grateful to him,” Calder said smoothly. “He brought me to you.”

Chapter Three