19. CHAPTER 19

CHAPTER 19

There wasn't a part of Dorsey that didn't love Mercury to the point of distraction. That was especially true as they'd worked on each event. Not just the two festivals, which included the Winter Holiday and July Fourth, but also the New Year's Eve event. Actually, it was more than that. November's Thanksgiving Festival was included. There were long hours and a LOT of time required, but neither of them complained.

His Dom never wavered to make each event come true, even if it meant working a LOT of hours beyond their careers. He'd even helped Dorsey make as many different sweets as possible. Nor had he minded being Dorsey's guinea pig for each creation.

By the time Christmas was around the corner, Dorsey had an online ordering process up and running. Yeah, sure, it had a lot to do with Zane suggesting it as it had worked so well for his bakery, Sweet Buns, but his creations were his own. Each time Mercury moaned when he took a bite of a new flavor, it made Dorsey not only shiver but want to sink into the wonderment of his Dom.

Things might have been going well for Dorsey as far as Tasty Balls was concerned, but they were also perfect since he'd met Mercury.

Zane's bakery, Sweet Buns, had become ridiculously popular, not just in Cedar Falls but all over America, thanks to those who ordered his products online. Dorsey had done everything he could to follow Zane's example, but he had no clue if it would ever work. He could only hope.

Was he wrong to crave that type of success?

He sure as hell hoped not.

He wanted Mercury. Like bone deep. There was nothing he wouldn't do to keep him. That said, he also knew it wasn't always that easy. Sure, he hoped like hell it was, but he, as much as he hated admitting it, he might like to pretend he was a dreamer, but he was a life lesson-learned realist.

"Stop stressing." Mercury's tone was unrelenting as he came up behind him and wrapped those strong arms around him.

"But sir, there haven't been more than two dozen orders all week." Was he whining? Absolutely and the thing was, he honestly didn't think he cared.

Mercury took his hand and led him to the back of the store. There was a comfortable chair in there at Mercury's insistence as well as a thick square rug. Once his Dom sat on the chair, he pointed to the rug. Dorsey instantly sank to his knees, and he swore once they touched the floor, something settled within him.

When Mercury put a blindfold around his head, Dorsey sank against his Dom's leg, his head resting on his thigh and all his worries and anxiety melted away. Fingers firmly petted him from the top of his head, over the back of his neck, and partway down his spine over and over again.

He honestly hadn't a clue how Mercury managed to give him this peace so easily. If anything, sitting there silently should have all those thoughts of failing plaguing him even more, yet it was exactly the opposite.

Time meant nothing in those moments, even though he should worry about a customer coming in, he didn't. Dorsey fully trusted Mercury to bring him back out of this bliss if the bell over the door rang out.

"Better, sweetness?" Mercury asked as he took off the blindfold, indicating their time was up.

"Yes, sir." Each time he said the honorific, Mercury looked so damn happy that Dorsey tried to always remember to use it.

Mercury leaned down and placed a quick but loving kiss on his lips before standing up and offering Dorsey a hand up. "I'm glad to hear it, boy. The bell at the door rang, so I'm assuming you have a customer."

Dorsey hustled out to a bouncing Jesse with Zane shaking his head at him. It never ceased to amaze him that Jesse could hardly stand up straight in those platform boots he wore, yet he still thought it a good idea to bounce around. It was as if he were trying to fall.

But what had him laughing was his long-sleeved shirt with the top third in green, the middle white and the bottom red. In the white portion it read, I'm confused, oh wait, maybe I'm not.

Even Mercury chuckled when he saw it.

"We have news," Jesse said as he clapped. Zane just sighed as if he really didn't have the patience for his friend at that moment. "I convinced Zane here to link your website to his."

That had Zane rolling his eyes. "No, I suggested doing it. You just thought it was a good idea."

Jesse waved a dismissive hand at his best friend. "Semantics."

"No, it's what happened." Zane clearly wasn't about to let Jesse steal his idea.

Jesse stomped a foot down and scowled at Zane. "The point is, since Sweet Buns gets a lot of views, it would help get Tasty Balls out there."

Zane nodded. "True. I know you've been discouraged about the traffic on your site, but it really does take time for people to recognize it. I got a little luckier because I didn't just sell in Cedar Falls. Hell, when we first moved here, there was only the holiday one before Christmas. I had to go to other towns in the area to get my name known."

Damn if hope didn't once more try to flair in Dorsey's chest. "You would really do that for me?"

Zane shrugged as if were no big deal. "Of course. What are friends for? Plus, you need to have business pamphlets with your web address on them for the New Year's Eve Celebration. Well, all of the festivals, but especially that one since there will be a lot of out-of-towners coming for the event. As much as Aidan claimed there wasn't enough time to get it out there for a good turnout, the hotel is nearly booked, and I've heard a few of the other hotels in the area are filling up fast."

"And since there's a buffet, I convinced Aidan to let you put out some of your fudge," Jesse announced with another bounce that had him grabbing the counter to stop himself from falling on his ass.

Zane once more shook his head. "No, I asked Aidan if that would be alright. He talked to all of the chefs at the casinos and restaurants, and they thought it would be a good idea, especially if you brought to-go boxes for a treat to take home."

Jesse crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Zane. "Is there a reason you keep trying to steal my thunder?"

"Because it's not your thunder," Zane shot back. "I don't even know why you felt the need to come along. This was my news to give, not yours."

"Because I had to pick up some fudge. Lily aced her spelling test, and I promised her she could have some of those Maple, cranberry, and walnut balls as well as a few gingerbread iced ones. And when she asked for that, Parker insisted on the peppermint chocolate."

Dorsey grabbed two boxes because he knew the three of them didn't like it when anything from the others touched. God forbid Lily end up with peppermint on the icing of her gingerbread.

When he was done, he put them on the counter to ring up the order. "Since I'm here, how about I get a box of the snickerdoodle ones," Jesse suggested as if that hadn't been the reason he'd offered to get Lily fudge in the first place.

"Do you have pictures of some of the fudge you make year-round, not just the seasonal ones?" Zane asked as he finished Jesse's order.

Nodding, he couldn't help but grin. "Yeah, I did it for the webpage."

"He'd made fudge for days, barely having time for anything else," Mercury said proudly. "The pictures turned out really well."

Zane nodded. "That's good, but I will warn you, when it comes to print, sometimes you need higher resolution. You may have to remake a lot of them and have someone with a great camera reshoot them. The good news is, there's no way you're probably going to get them all on there. Just your more popular ones."

He handed over the brochure he used for festivals for Sweet Buns. "As you can see, I list all that I offer and just a few of the more well-liked ones I displayed." Then he handed over another card. "This is for the company I use to make my brochures. I actually have several since, like you, I switch things up for the various seasons. But be prepared for your online sales to buy anything that might be on there. Even when I've taken an item off, if someone had ordered it once, they often will call and beg for it again. It will mean baking more than ever."

"I think that means you're going to need to get some help in here, sweetness," Mercury insisted. "I didn't mind your time being taken for those few days, but I am not about to let you work yourself day and night."

Was his Dom being high-handed? Yep. But Dorsey didn't care. It meant he loved Dorsey and that was all that mattered to him. It didn't hurt that he was right. Trying to hire people to help would hurt his profits at the moment, but if things really did get better, it wouldn't matter.

"If you need any help getting things set up, let me know," Zane offered as he and Jesse left bickering about who got the credit for helping Dorsey.

"I'm proud of you, sweetness," Mercury told him, the pride shining through in his voice.

Grinning, Dorsey turned and went right into his Dom's arms where belonged.