Page 89 of Small Town Boy

“Peach pound cake?” Noel asks. I can hear the hope in his voice, and I hate to think about how disappointed he’s going to be when he finds out that one is still under lock and key.

I shake my head and watch his face fall, my heart going with him. Nash’s skepticism is front and center though.

“Then what?”

I shrug, nonchalantly turning back to the eggs. “She just caught me up on some family history. Provided me with some knowledge that she felt you two might not tell me about otherwise.”

“There’s nothing about me that you can’t know,” Noel says, leaning over and pressing a kiss to my temple. I swoon, the butterflies only he controls taking flight inside me.

“Doubtful,” Nash scoffs.

“Fine, Nash. Don’t believe me. But you get your fingers anywhere near these eggs again before anyone gets here, and I can’t promise that I won’t find a way to work into conversation the name you muttered as a teenager when your mother walked in on you self-completing.”

“Self-completing—that’s a new way of putting it,” Noel mutters.

Nash’s mouth falls open, his brain clearly trying to work out if I’m full of it or not. Noel snickers though, loving that I caught his twin off guard.

“And just whose name was that, bro?”

“Don’t fucking act like you don’t know.”

“Doesn’t mean I don’t want to hear you say it.”

I smirk, feeling very smug in this moment.

“There’s no way she told you that,” Nash says, his hackles up.

“Oh yes. She told me all about how one day she opened your door, thinking you weren’t there, and walked into your room, just in time to hear you say⁠—”

“Hey there!” Kenzie’s voice rings out, cutting me off.

My heart leaps, half-startled from the intrusion, half-relieved that I don’t actually have to say it out loud. I like being in the know. I like being able to tease Nash. Him knowing I know it is one thing though. Actually putting it out there is another.

“Saved by the librarian!” Noel laughs, punching his twin. “Come on in!”

Dustin and Kenzie, followed by Sylvie and Camden, pile into the house, the noise level kicking up about three notches. I toss a look over my shoulder, greeting everyone, noticing a certain someone missing.

“No Willa?” I ask.

“She texted saying she would be a bit late. Some meeting or something,” Sylvie answers.

I put down the piping bag, confused as to what meeting Willa could have had. Today was an official half day at Hayes. Since so many of the staff end up working at the Gobble Wobble, the company started giving everyone a half day on Tuesday, plus Wednesday and Friday off to make up for it. If Willa has a meeting, it’s not work related.

I keep that to myself though.

Making sure everything is arranged on the tray the way I want, I pick it up and carefully turn around. Only to be met with Nash. Right there.

“Eeep!”

Nash steadies me, a hand on each arm, making sure I don’t drop the precious cargo. “Bee…”

“Your secret is safe with me.”

“They can’t know.” He looks behind him at the group who just walked in, then turns back to me, shoulders slumping. “She can’t know.”

His pleading eyes make my heart squeeze. They’re the same color as Noel’s, so much of them exactly alike. Yet looking at Nash, I see someone totally different from the man I’ve fallen for.

What I do see though, is someone who I know cares greatly even if he has a weird way of showing it, and who feels things deeper than he’ll ever admit. And for that, I’ll forever protect him too.