Recipe For Love Read online

  "You're not the one who's pregnant," Dan pointed out reasonably. This was Rachel and Billy's thing. Sure, Jack had a vested interest and, Dan suspected, would be helping out, but still.

  "No? You sure?"

  "Daddy, be nice. Sorry, he was up all night."

  "S'okay, honey. He's clearly stressing out about being a grandfather."

  "We're going home, Rache. I need a nap."

  Actually, the man looked like he needed a hug.

  "Why don't I take us all out to dinner? That'll give you a chance to get to know Billy a bit better." He knew this wasn't easy for Jack, but the man was going to have to try.

  "I... I think we need to go see Mom, Uncle Danny."

  "Heh. You're a smart kid, Billy. Brave, too." He gave Billy a wink. The kid was right, but so was he--Annie was going to flip her lid.

  "You'll come with us," he told Jack. Annie needed to meet her future in-laws.

  "No. No, that's not fair. I wouldn't want to have some stranger standing there looking to see my reaction." Jack's eyes met his. "Hell, I wouldn't want my brother there, to be honest."

  Dan had to admit, he wanted to skip out on this particular mother-son talk in the worst way. He looked over at Billy. "Jack's right. You two could take my car. Are you good with that?"

  Billy nodded, pale as milk. "I still got a job, huh?"

  "You do." He gave his nephew a big hug. "You've got me in your corner, okay? Remember that." Then he stuck his hand out to Rachel. "Welcome to the family."

  She was a pretty girl--looked like a tinier, female version of her pocket-sized father, with thick dark hair, huge bottle green eyes, and sharp cheekbones. Her hand was shaking when she took his. God, she was bird-like. He was scared he would hurt her, just taking her hand.

  "Thanks," she said.

  "It's going to be okay, all right? You'll get through this." He held her hand for a second and then let it drop. "Here, Billy. Take a box of the cupcakes and some brownies to your mom. Maybe it'll help." He winked at Billy again, handing over the box.

  "Rache, do you have your phone? I want you to call me, okay? I can pick you up."

  "I'll take her home, Mr. Martin."

  Jack's fingers curled into a fist, but he nodded.

  "Go on. Call me after." He gave Billy's shoulder an encouraging squeeze, then let them walk out of the store.

  "Okay, Jack. How about we go down to the bar down the street? There will be booze and food and we can talk."

  "I... I don't know." The phone started ringing, and Jack sighed. "Let me deal with the harpy."

  He flipped open the phone and started pacing, boots clacking on the floor. "What? No. No. She's going to meet his folks. Yes, she told me. What the fuck do you want me to do? She's an adult, she's smart. Hell, she's a hell of a lot more human than you are."

  Dan winced. Man, he was glad he batted for the other team.

  He tried not to eavesdrop anymore, but...

  "Look. I'm sorry you met me, too, but Rachel is my daughter and I'm not fucking kicking her to the curb for making the same stupid mistake I did. Hopefully she picked someone less psychotic to make a baby with..."

  Dan snorted and refused to get pissed off. Jack didn't know Billy. He would, but he didn't yet.

  He went out and started closing up the shop for the day, counting the till and putting away the few cupcakes and cookies still in the display case. They'd done well today.

  Jack came out, shoulders up around his ears. "Well, that went well." God, the man was pretty. Imminently fuckable. It was a shame he was straight.

  "You look like you could use that drink about now."

  "Yeah. Hey, your sister's not gonna hurt the kids, is she?"

  "Christ on a crutch. Of course she's not." He grabbed the deposit bag and his keys, then made sure the front door was locked before heading to the back.

  Jack followed him, his own keys in hand. "What a fucking day."

  "Hey, nobody's dead or in hospital, right?" He certainly wasn't a Pollyanna, but the kids were in the predicament they were in and no amount of bitching about it was going to change it. They went out and around to the street. "Where are you parked, man?"

  "Across the street." Jack pointed to a mint-condition little Mustang convertible. "She's mine."

  Dan whistled. "Nice."

  "Yeah. She's a good ride. Come on." Jack headed over to the car, and Dan took the time to admire him. Tight round little ass, lean compact body--the man was fine. He shook his head. There was no use pining over straight men.

  "I just need to bank the till." He put the little bank bag into the bank deposit slot, a couple storefronts down from the bakery and then crossed the street to join Jack at his pretty muscle car. The 'Stang was pristine, electric blue, and shining.

  "Where did you want to go?"

  "There's a nice quiet place with good food and better draught about a half dozen blocks down Maple Street."

  "The Grey Goose?" When he nodded, Jack unlocked the car. "I did their POS software."

  "No shit? You a software developer, then?" He climbed into the car, admiring the leather seats.

  "Yeah. I do a lot of contract work." Jack sighed softly, rubbed the back of his neck and started the car. "God, I hope the insurance policy I've got for Rache covers this shit."

  "They're both gonna need to get jobs." Of course Billy already had one. Looked like it was going to have to become permanent.

  "Yeah." Jack sped up, clearly knowing the way.

  "They'll figure it, man. It's just a lot to take in all at once."

  "No shit. Where's his dad?"

  Dan snorted. "God only knows, and we like it that way." Wayne had been a total asshole, and Annie was more than better off without him.

  "Ah." Jack slid into a parking spot, killed the engine.

  "I've been a father to Billy for most of his life." He chuckled. "As much as Annie would let me, anyway. She's a strong and stubborn woman."

  "I'm sure I'll meet her soon."

  "Yep. Who knows, maybe you two'll hit it off." Dan winced as soon as he said it. Jack was hot, sexy, and it would not be fun to watch his sister with the man.

  They headed into the bar, Jack holding the door open for him.

  "Maybe. Right now I'm shooting for not being on another woman's hit list."

  "I don't know if I can reassure you about that. She's going to be furious, but there's no telling where that fury is going to land." Annie would be a fabulous grandmother, once she got over her kid knocking up his girlfriend at eighteen, but until then, he'd bet she was going to lash out.

  Dan was planning on staying out of her way as best he could while still supporting Billy.

  Jack shrugged. "I've already gotten the 'you left them unsupervised' and the 'she'd never have done this in Boston' lecture."

  Dan snorted again. "Like anyone has control of an eighteen-year-old. Does she lock the girl in a tower in Boston? Or are the boys just that ugly?"

  "She's a fire breathing dragon, and Rache likes Texans."

  "Well, that's because she has smarts."

  "Not according to her mother. Hey, Marco. I need a beer and a shot of Jack." Jack waved and smiled at the bartender.

  "You and Chris?"

  Jack shook his head. "That's over and done with. I have an apartment alone now."

  The bartender winced. "Damn."

  "You a regular here? I'm surprised we've never run into each other before." Not that he was here every night or anything, but Jack had to be here for more than just installing software.

  "I'm in and out, huh, Marco?"

  The big bartender nodded and offered Jack a toothy grin. "You know it."

  Dan chuckled. "I'll just have a beer, man. And something salty--you still have those nice potato skins?"

  "Yes, sir. Have a seat. You wanted a beer, too, right, Jack?"

  Danny sat and watched the two of them chat a little, then thanked Marco when he got his drink.

  Jack sucked his beer back, sighed, and shook his head. "What a fucking day."

  "I still say it could have been worse." No one had died, and the kids were going to work things out.

  "Well, she could be having twins, I guess."

  Dan blinked and looked at Jack, then shook his head. "You're a glass is half-empty kind of guy, aren't you?"

  Those bright green eyes flashed over at him. "Don't you fucking make judgment on me, man. I've lost my lover, my house, and all my stuff in the last motherfucking week, and my daughter's here with a baby in her belly expecting Daddy to make things better. Back the fuck off."

  "Look, I'm sorry about all that--it sounds like the worst week in the world, but don't put that baby in the same category as the rest of it. Sure, it's not an easy thing, but you know when that baby comes there's going to be joy." God, he really was starting to sound like a Pollyanna. It would help the kids, though, if at least one person in their life wasn't bewailing the fact that Rachel was pregnant. Dan figured it was probably the easiest for him to be that person, not being the daddy of either of them.

  "Have you ever had a newborn? Ever? Because I guarantee you, when Rache is on day six of no sleep, joy isn't the word we're going to be flinging around. Her mom and I split up when she was a week old, and the bitch didn't come back for five years."

  Dan let an eyebrow go up. "Let's hope she gets her mothering instincts from you, then. Or maybe from Billy. He's been known to bring home baby birds and nurse them by hand."

  Jack's eyebrow arched. "We can hope. Her mother took her to Boston when she was six and I got her four weeks in the summer and a week at Christmas for the rest of her life."

  "How does that happen when her mother abandoned her with you? Was your lawyer a dickhead?"

  "Her new husband was a lawyer."

  Jesus.

  "Wow, you really did get screwed, didn't you?" He motioned for Marco to bring them two more beers. "You're the one Rachel came to, though, when she needed help."

  "I'm her daddy." Like that was the answer to everything.

  It made Dan smile, though, the love in the words. "Good deal, man."

  His skins came, along with their beers, and he pushed the plate toward Jack. "Have a few. I sampled too hard at the bakery today to polish them all off myself."

  "You sure?" At his nod, Jack took one. "Thanks."

  "No problem." Except that if Jack was going to keep licking his fingers clean like that, Dan was going to get the mother of all hard-ons. Jesus, look at that man's mouth. When it wasn't pursed and tight, Dan could tell it was lush and sensual. He could just imagine it wrapped around his prick as he held onto the man's hair, fucking those lips.

  He covered his groan with a cough, turning toward the bar to hide his boner.

  "Go down the wrong way, man?" Jack patted his back.

  He nodded. He could just see how No actually, I want to fuck your mouth 'til I come would go over. The pure shock would be kind of funny, actually.

  He found himself grinning. "Yeah, I'm good, thanks."

  "No problem." Jack sipped his second beer slower. The man's phone had to have rung eighty times--the poor guy checking each time and hitting ignore.

  "Does she really think screaming blue murder at you is going to make a lick of difference?"

  "Yes." Suddenly Jack looked exhausted, old, and so sad.

  "Jesus Christ." Dan shook his head. "I'm sorry, man. Look, don't worry so hard about the kids, okay? They're going to be all right. And for fuck's sake, just turn off your phone."

  Jack chuckled, winked. "I can't. Rachel might call." At that, a sweet little tune sounded and Jack shook his head. "See?"

  The phone was flipped open. "Hey, baby. Hey, now. No tears. Dry it up. Well, baby, y'all just did drop a surprise in her lap, huh? Are you okay?"

  Sounded like Annie'd had a bit of a fit. Didn't surprise Dan at all. She'd come around, though. She was going to make an awesome, if a little bit grudging, grandma.

  Dan wanted to reach out and rub Jack's shoulders in the worst way, give the man a little support.

  "Okay. Okay. No, ma'am. You are not going to a hotel with anyone."

  He waved to get Jack's attention. "Tell them they can stay at my place if they need a little privacy." He could sleep in the back room of the bakery. Wouldn't be the first time he'd done it.

  Jack looked at him like he was going crazy, head shaking.

  "Dude. She's already pregnant and they're going to get married. Not to mention they're over eighteen. Let them be." Christ, if this marriage was going to have a chance, the kids needed to be able to be alone together.

  Jack's eyes closed. "Your boy's uncle says you two can go to his house."

  Dan nodded. "Billy knows where the key is."

  "Okay. You call me. I meant it. I don't care. I have to deal with your goddamn mother."

  "You should make Billy deal with his future mother-in-law." Danny grinned evilly.

  That actually made Jack chuckle, and he was smiling as he told Rachel goodbye and hung up.

  "They're going to be okay. Really." Jack needed to let it go, at least for a little while.

  "I hope so. I really do. She's a good girl."

  "And Billy's a good boy. They'll figure it."

  Jack nodded, finished his beer. "Yeah."

  "You want another, or you want to go out for dinner or something?" He didn't mind giving up his house, but he wasn't ready to go back to the bakery for the night just yet.

  "I think I need to slow down on the booze. Did you grow up here?"

  "Yeah, I did. It was just me and Annie and my mom." He waved at Marco. "Can we have some zucchini sticks or something, man?"

  "Sure. You guys want a burger?"

  Jack nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I think so."

  "That'd be great, man. Thanks."

  They sat there, the sun setting outside, the bar starting to fill.

  "So what do you do in your downtime?" Dan asked

  "I used to do woodworking and shit, but I don't have my workshop or tools so I guess I unpack boxes and surf the 'Net."

  "Your ex took all your stuff? That's not right." This guy was the bad luck kid.

  "Yeah. Tell me about it."

  The bartender leaned over like he was sharing a secret. "I'll go set the house on fire."

  Jack snorted. "Promise?"

  "Yep. With Chris and Ben in it."

  Dan winced. "Already shacked up with someone new? That's harsh, man."

  "You know it. It was more like already shacked up before letting the current occupant know."

  "Wow. That's..." Dan shook his head. "You need to date a different class of woman."

  "I... Huh?"

  "Well, between the harpy who's Rachel's mother and this last one kicking you to the curb like that?" He shook his head. "

  "Oh. Right. I... Yeah. Shit."

  Marco was chuckling, shoulders shaking.

  Dan frowned, feeling like he was missing the joke. "What?"

  "I... Uh. Look, man, I think... Marco. Burgers."

  "Don't tell me they're the same woman."

  "No. No, they're not the same person."

  "Okay, then." Dan shrugged off the feeling of being left out on the joke, his eyes lighting up when one of the waiters came out of the back with their burgers.

  Jack started eating, head down, tension in his shoulders.

  He hated seeing anyone so uptight. "It will be all right, Jack. It'll all work out in the end."

  The man was going to have a grandkid he was going to dote on, Dan was sure.

  "It will. I hope."

  "What can I do to help? I hate seeing you all uptight like this." Of course he believed there were few things a half hour with some baked goods couldn't cure. Or at least mitigate.

  "To be honest with you, man, I just need to decompress."

  "Yeah? And how do you usually do that?" Dan liked baking bread. Or fucking.

  "Blowjobs, but that's over for now."

  Dan could help with that. There was just the little detail of Jack being straight.

  Marco snorted. "You'd have to go to Charlie's for that, man."

  Jack flipped the man off, and Dan's eyebrows went up. Charlie's was a gay bar. It wasn't a rainbow flag type of place, but still, men knew what it was, if they were queer. So maybe Jack wasn't a hundred percent straight. Maybe the man went off woman whenever they screwed him over, like Rachel's mother and this last ex.

  So maybe Dan could do that for Jack. Still, given they were about to become in-laws, he maybe didn't want to be Jack's one-night stand stress relief. Which was too bad, because the man really was everything Dan liked.

  He buried his face in his beer and told his fucking cock to behave.

  Jack leaned back, stretched, belly tight. Oh, fuck. Who was Dan kidding? His cock was not going to go down as long as Jack was in the general area.

  "Your burger okay, man?"

  He had no fucking clue. "Uh-huh."

  "Cool."

  "Yeah." Dan licked his lips and tried to figure out what the hell it was they were talking about. Jack's eyes were on his mouth. He knew it. Knew it. He licked his lips again, almost vibrating he was suddenly so turned on. Damn the man. Just damn.

  "I need to hit the head, man. Be back." Jack was sporting a boner.

  Fuck.

  He could take the man back to the fucking bakery. He fucking could. He drank down half his beer. It was a bad fucking idea. He could take Jack into the break room, bend the man over, and fuck him blind. He shifted and adjusted himself. Shit. This wasn't helping his situation here any.

  Marco leaned against the bar. "Man, Chris is a stupid son of a bitch, huh?"

  "Huh?" Marco meant stupid bitch, right?

  "Well, I mean, look at him? Who'd walk away from him?"

  "I'm with you on that, man. It was the son part you got me on."

  "What?"

  "I mean is Chris a man or a woman?" There wasn't any point in pussyfooting around. He thought Jack was sexy. He wanted to know if the man would appreciate that or not.

  "Chris is a dude. A slimy, bitchy dude."

  Score. Okay, not that Jack had been screwed by a slimy bitchy dude, but that the man was into men. Dan was definitely going to have to offer the man that blowjob now.

  "And clearly an idiot."

  Marco nodded. "No shit on that."

  He finished his beer, wanting suddenly to get out of there, get Jack back to the bakery. Like now. There was something that would make them both feel a lot better. He was settling up with Marco by the time Jack was coming back.