Chapter two

Theo

The art closet looked exactly like I’d left it in November, which surprised me. Several people had the key, and I’d put everything away knowing the community center had scheduled single-day classes in December for kids to make presents for their families. Figuring they’d need to dip into the supply closet for a few things, I’d put the older brushes and water-soluble paint toward the front and tucked the oils and newer brushes in the back. I would have liked to help the kids make ornaments and picture frames, but I didn’t want any of them missing out because of me.

I only taught adults. Older ones mostly. If someone didn’t like my tattoos or piercings or past, they could leave. In my experience, kids didn’t care what I looked like. But their parents often did. And I wasn’t going to be the reason some first grader didn’t get to play with paint.

As I started pulling out supplies, the classroom door opened, and Poppy Stevens strutted in. I did my best to push down the surge of need that always rose whenever she neared.

“You’re early,”

I said, placing a stack of plastic palettes on the nearest table.

“Thought I could help you,”

she said, walking toward me. Her compact body had curves in all the right places, and she wasn’t shy about showing them. Her black skirt hugged her thighs and the V on her shirt dipped halfway to her belly button. I caught a flash of red beneath the black lace and realized I could see most of her bra. Poppy always looked sexy, but that was a lot of cleavage for an art lesson. Not that I was complaining. No doubt Mr. Twillings, the retired high school principal who always took my classes, would tell her to button up like he still had a dress code to enforce.

“Not much to set up tonight,”

I said, turning back to the closet. “We’re beginning with color mixing.”

I started collecting some acrylics but stopped when Poppy’s arms wrapped around my waist. “That’s not the kind of help I’m offering.”

I sucked in a breath as she ran her hand down my stomach to the button of my jeans.

“Poppy,”

I said, placing my hand over hers. “We’re just friends.”

“Do all your friends make you hard?”

she asked, running her other hand over my erection. Because of course my dick had turned to stone the second she touched me.

“Please,”

I said. Was I asking her to stop or keep going? Fuck, did I want her to keep going?

I turned to face her, still unsure if I was going to step away or pull her close. She dropped to her knees before I could decide and unzipped my pants. Then she looked up at me and wet her beautiful lips.

“Kardoula mou,”

I said. She smiled like she understood what I called her but had never dared translate. My heart. I watched as she took me in her hand and licked my crown before sucking every throbbing inch of me into her delicate mouth. I should tell her to stop, but her mouth felt amazing. All hot and wet and impossibly deep. She reached one hand under her skirt and began touching herself. Fuck, that was hot. My balls tightened. She moaned and the vibration set off my orgasm.

I came and came until I woke panting.

“Damn it,”

I said, using the sheet to wipe the mess from my stomach. I glanced at my phone and groaned. 5:00 am. I’d gone to bed at one and hadn’t planned to be up for another four hours.

A normal man would jerk it before bed, so he didn’t wake up covered in cum before dawn. Or at least fall back asleep. I felt too guilty to do either.

An unread text from Mana only added to my mountain of guilt. But unlike my relentless attraction to Poppy, that guilt I could ease.

I knew what the text would say before I opened it.

Mana

Pos eisai?

How are you?

kalo

Pos eisai?

Mana

Kalo

Patera?

She replied that my father was also good before telling me to be well.

Na se kala, I texted before tossing my phone on the nightstand. The frequency of the conversation changed, but the contents seldom varied beyond pleasantries that served as proof of life. At least my mother checked in. I hadn’t received a call or text from Patera since my parents moved back to Greece nine years ago.

I worried I’d forget the language with how little I used it and started listening to Greek podcasts last year. When I was younger, I’d hated when Mana made me speak to her in her native tongue, especially in public. It was hard enough being the kid with spanakopita instead of PB my body still needed convincing.

By the time I’d finished working out, a few lights were on in the other buildings on Main Street. Marked didn’t open until noon, but most of the shops and restaurants opened earlier. Not too many people were eager to get a tattoo before lunch, and quite a few arrived at Marked a couple drinks into the evening. My boss, Max, insisted we close at eight for walk-ins to prevent most drunken mistakes, but he allowed me to work later with established clients, the ones who expected extraordinary and knew they’d get it with me.

I could work for Max a hundred years and never repay him. He started visiting me, a complete stranger, in prison after hearing about my case in the news. Not many people would donate their time like that, and even fewer would give a twenty-year-old paroled felon a job and a place to live. As apartments went, it wasn’t much. But it was more than I needed, and I can’t beat the commute. After a year crammed in a tiny cell with a car booster with questionable hygiene, it felt downright palatial when I moved in eight years ago.

I glanced at the clock and groaned. I had a lot of time to kill before my first appointment. The apartment was immaculate, as always. I didn’t feel like painting, and it was too cold to go for a hike, so I shot off a text to Aiden and Cal to see if they wanted to grab coffee before work. Usually, Aiden would already be on a job site, but his business slowed in winter. He texted right back.

Aiden

Karma in 30?

Works for me. Cal?

Aiden

Don’t bother. He’s banging Rowan

I waited a minute, but when Cal didn’t reply, I jumped in the shower and got dressed before checking again.

Cal

You’re such a dick, A. I was walking Skye but I don’t have time for coffee

Aiden

Because you haven’t banged Rowan yet or you’re late because you already have?

Cal

Because I have a patient at 8

Aiden

So grab a coffee on your way in and one for that hot piece in your office. Or I could bring her a drink after I meet Theo

Cal

I’ll be there in seven minutes. I’m not waiting for y’all to order, so move your asses

Aiden

Wow. Tell Rowan if she ever needs more than a two-pump chump, she can call me

I shoved my phone and wallet in my pocket and walked the three blocks to Karma, going slow to avoid the ice that lingered on the sidewalk from the snow melt the day before. When I reached the café, Aiden climbed from his truck and greeted me with a fist bump.

“Did you speed getting here?”

I asked since he lived a good fifteen minutes from Main Street, out in the farmland that surrounded Peace Falls.

“Nah, I was already here when Cal finally answered.”

Cal pulled to a stop behind Aiden and flung open the door of his SUV, his wet hair swirling in every direction.

“Couldn’t even last five minutes,”

Aiden said.

Cal pointed at Aiden. “Fuck you.”

Aiden laughed as Cal joined us on the sidewalk and gave me a one-armed hug.

“Morning, brother,” I said.

Cal narrowed his eyes and pressed his lips in a line. “How much sleep did you get last night?”

“Enough,”

I said, walking toward the café.

“Doubt it,”

Aiden said, opening the door to Karma.

The inside was warm and filled with people enjoying their morning coffee, some talking in pairs and groups, others clicking away on laptops. Aiden tossed his jacket on an empty chair to claim the last free table and headed toward the counter. The owner, Lauren, glared at him. Then she noticed Cal and me and broke into a welcoming smile.

“Morning, Theo, Cal. What can I get you?”

she asked, completely ignoring Aiden.

I stepped up beside Aiden. “Shot of espresso, please.”

I didn’t drink coffee often, but when I did, I always ordered espresso since it came closest to the coffee Mana used to brew in her briki. An intricately decorated snowflake cookie in the display case caught my eye.

“Want to add a cookie?”

Lauren asked, sliding open the case.

“No thanks. I avoid sugar.”

Lauren waved her hand and reached into the case with a piece of wax paper before sliding the cookie into a paper bag. “On the house,”

she said, handing it to me. “You can admire Poppy’s handiwork, then give it to Max.”

I accepted the bag with a nod. Aiden and Cal both had doofy grins on their faces. I questioned why I’d asked to meet them.

“I’ll take a coffee with a little cream and a Cinnamon Toast Latte for Cam. Both large and to go,”

Cal said, glancing at his phone.

“Sure thing. Anything else?”

Lauren asked.

“I’d like a triple-shot coconut milk cappuccino with extra foam and a pump and a half of vanilla syrup,”

Aiden said. “Extra hot. For here.”

Lauren ignored the stack of colorful mugs and poured the dregs from a pot of decaf into a paper cup. She slid it across the counter to Aiden who took a long sip and hummed in appreciation. “Thanks, beautiful,”

he said, shoving a fifty in the tip jar.

Lauren took it out, rang up all our orders and handed me the change. “I’ll have your drinks ready in a minute.”

“Thanks, Lauren,”

I said, dropping the change in the tip jar.

“You’re welcome, Theo. Go ahead and take a seat. I’ll bring your drinks.”

Aiden grinned as he wove through the crowded café to the table he’d claimed.

“What did you do to Lauren?”

Cal asked as we settled around the table. “You’re literally the only person on her bad side.”

Aiden shrugged, took a sip of coffee, and winced. “So, Theo what has you up and chipper this early?”

“Bad dream,” I said.

They both nodded.

“When does your class start?”

Cal asked.

“Tomorrow.”

I hated how easily they accepted the half-truth and moved on. My mental health, or lack thereof, was too established to warrant an extended conversation they knew I didn’t want to have.

“Here you go,”

Lauren said, dropping four drinks on the table. We thanked her, and Cal slid the coffee with cream across the table to Aiden before taking a sip of the hot chocolate he hadn’t ordered.

“When are you going to be a man and start drinking coffee?”

Aiden asked.

“When you stop pushing Lauren’s buttons,”

Cal said. “You know I’m marrying her best friend. She’s going to be part of your life now. You need to make peace.”

“I’m working on it,”

Aiden said, quietly.

If I didn’t know better, I’d say he sounded hurt. “Ordering complicated drinks you have no intention of consuming probably isn’t helping,” I said.

Aiden nodded. “But helping the Stevens sisters find a space for their bakery should earn me points. We’re meeting with my realtor later today.”

“You are?”

Cal said. “First I’m hearing about it.”

“Your goth pixie called last night and asked me to set it up,”

Aiden said to me.

“She’s not mine.”

“She’s either your goth pixie or my Hell cat. Take your pick.”

“She’s Cal’s future sister-in-law,” I said.

“She was your friend before I got with Rowan,”

Cal said. He looked out the window and frowned. “The sidewalks are icy. What time are you meeting them?”

“I got it, Cal,”

Aiden said. “I promise Rowan won’t fall.”

Cal blew out a breath. “We got her MRI results yesterday. She needs spinal surgery.”

Well, that sucked, but it wasn’t a surprise given how much pain she was in. Even so, Cal was probably devastated. He’d kept working with Rowan long after her official physical therapy ended, hoping she’d improve. “You did everything you could,”

I said, gripping his shoulder. “And you’ll be there after to help her recover.”

“You’re the best PT in the state,”

Aiden added.

Cal rubbed his forehead. “She wants to push the surgery until after the wedding. So, no slipping on ice. I mean it, Aiden.”

“Do you know how many women I’ve kept safe on the ice over the years? One or another of my sisters is always pregnant.”

Cal nodded and glanced at his phone. “I’ve got to go. See you at Church.”

He grabbed the latte for his receptionist, Cammie, and hurried out the door.

I’d never tire of hearing the abbreviation for Church Street Brews. Most locals also frequented one of the many churches down the street from the bar, but the double meaning of “going to church”

never got old.

I watched Cal juggle the to-go cups as he opened the door to his SUV before turning my attention back to Aiden. “Cammie will be at Church. Try to behave yourself.”

Aiden nodded and took another sip of his coffee. “Cal knows I’m just messing with him. I’d never make a pass at Cammie. She’s like his little sister. He avoided my sisters during his man-whore phase, even though Fiona wasn’t married yet. I’ll extend him the same courtesy. I would like Cammie to feel more comfortable around me though. She looks terrified whenever I’m around.”

“Don’t take it personal. That girl has been through it. She used to be that way around me too.”

“How’d you get her to stop?”

“Had a panic attack in front of her. Emasculated me enough she doesn’t view me as a threat.”

Aiden shook his head. “You’re still a huge-ass motherfucker.”

I shrugged. “What game are we watching this week?”

Aiden loved sports, so he accepted the subject change with enthusiasm. Several minutes later, I caught sight of a tall brunette crossing Main Street and heading toward Karma.

“So is the sister rule why you never dated any of Logan’s?”

I asked as Everly Hendricks pushed into the café. The espresso burned my stomach, but I smiled at her. Aiden jumped from his chair when he saw her and wrapped her in a tight hug. I stayed seated but waved when they stepped apart.

“How’s my favorite Hendricks sister?”

Aiden asked, holding her at arm’s length.

“Better not let Maddie hear that,”

she said, giving his hands a squeeze before dropping them.

“Want to join us?” he asked.

“Sorry, I can’t. I’m on my way to the office.”

Aiden shook his head. “Who would have thought little Everly Hendricks would become a kick-ass lawyer? Logan would be so proud.”

Everly smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. Aiden cleared his throat, and a look passed between them. She dipped her chin ever so slightly.

“You two should stop by sometime,”

she said. “Check out my new office.”

“We will,”

he said, answering for me.

“I better get going. It was great seeing you both.”

She walked to the counter, and I exhaled the breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. Aiden and I finished our coffees while Everly ordered and then waved goodbye when she left.

“The sister rule doesn’t apply to Poppy, you know,”

Aiden said, rolling his empty to-go cup in his hands. “Even when she’s Cal’s sister-in-law. You knew her first.”

“Does it apply to Everly?”

Aiden’s eyes widened. “You want to date Everly?”

“Why would she want to date the man who killed her brother? I meant you. I’m not a mind reader, but I’m positive you two had a silent conversation just now.”

“Yeah,”

he said, leaning back in his chair, “about that. Everly wants to petition the court to have your conviction reduced, then work to have it expunged.”

“Absolutely not.”

“Just think about it, Theo. She doesn’t want you to carry a felon label your whole life. Neither do I. If you’d been a couple years older, or if we lived somewhere other than Virginia, the small amount of alcohol in your system wouldn’t have been considered a factor at all. Everly talked it over with her family, and they agree. They all want to testify on your behalf.”

“No. And don’t bring it up again. Not with Cal or anyone else. I deserve that label.”

“You deserve a lot of things,”

Aiden said quietly.

“I’ve got to go.”

I left the cookie on the table and stormed out of Karma, almost busting my ass on the ice.