The Cupcake Conundrum, page 8
part #2 of Williamsville Inn Series
“I don’t know. I’ve never lived anywhere but New York. I lived in a Desi neighborhood in Queens growing up, then I moved around Queens and Brooklyn most of my adult life. I’m sure there will be an adjustment period.”
“I’ve always lived in Pittsburgh.”
“Would you consider moving?”
“It would be hard. The bakery and the kids have me tied there pretty solidly.”
“Yeah.” Jay stuffed his hands in his pockets. “I get that.”
“I’m sorry, you know?”
“About?”
“A lot of things. Everything I did wrong after we met.”
“I don’t want to go there, Adrian.” Jay sounded tired. “Honestly, the past year has been shit for me. It was like once you ghosted me, everything else in my life blew up in my face. My career went to hell, I’ve had no luck finding anything new, and my parents are on my case about changing my career now. I’m just fucking tired, and I don’t have the energy to hash this out with you right now.”
“I’m sorry.”
He sighed. “I appreciate you taking responsibility for what you did, but I’m not blaming you for everything else that has gone wrong in my life.”
“I can still be sorry you’re having to deal with it all at once.” They walked in silence a moment. “I have a question though. I thought you said your dad was proud of your career.”
“He used to be.” There was a sad, wry twist to Jay’s mouth when Adrian glanced over at him. “But once I lost my job and got tainted by the scandal ...” He shrugged. “It’s hard for my parents to hold up their heads in their community and with the rest of the family when their son is failing at every aspect of his life.”
Adrian’s heart ached. “I felt like a huge failure when I got divorced. My parents have been married forever. I couldn’t even make it ten years.” He and Michelle had only made it eight and only the first two had been really good.
“But you’re happier now, right?”
“Much.” Adrian said firmly. “But that’s my point. Yeah, this is a low point for you, but maybe things will turn around and start to look up. They certainly have for me.” Well, except for relationships. He was still failing there. But one step at a time, right?
“I guess all I can do is hope my luck turns around, then.”
“No, it’s not just waiting for your luck to turn around,” Adrian argued. “You’re here, looking for new opportunities. You’re trying to make your own luck. That has to count for something.”
“Thanks, Adrian.” Jay sounded genuinely grateful. “I think I needed to hear that.”
“That was a nice walk,” Adrian said as they shook the snow off their coats in Erik and Seth’s entryway.
“Feeling a little less stuffed?” Seth teased.
“Yes.”
“Good because we have dessert.”
Jay let out a pained little groan. “What is this? Are you planning to stuff us like geese and make pate of our livers?”
“I can honestly say the thought has never crossed my mind,” Seth said, wide-eyed. “I do like pate, but I’m really fucking concerned that you leaped to that conclusion.”
Adrian chuckled. “Can the dessert wait until tomorrow?”
“I suppose.” Seth looked disappointed. “I was excited about it, though.”
“Why? You don’t bake.”
“I didn’t make it.” Seth’s disappointment turned to exasperation. “That would be a disaster.”
“Yeah, I remember the last time you tried baking. How did you make a cake that was simultaneously burned on the outside, yet raw in the middle? It should be scientifically impossible.”
“If you two could stop squabbling a minute.” Erik settled one hand on Adrian’s shoulder and another on Seth’s. “What Seth is trying to say is that on my way home tonight, I picked up cakes to do a cake tasting. We’d like you and Jay to help us pick out our wedding cake flavors.”
“Damn it, I can’t fight that,” Jay said with a resigned sounding sigh.
“No, me either,” Adrian agreed. “Bring on the cake!”
“So this one we definitely want unless it somehow tastes bad,” Erik said a few minutes later as they sat at the big marble island. He pointed at a slice in the cardboard box. “Chocolate torte with coffee-meringue buttercream, Kalua ganache, and hazelnut mousse.”
“Why?” Jay asked.
Adrian groaned. “You haven’t heard their adorable little meet-cute story where they fell in love over Seth’s special mochas?”
“No.” Jay looked between Adrian and Seth. “I heard Erik was an asshole to Seth at first, but Seth somehow won him over. I assumed it involved sex, so I didn’t ask to hear any more about it.”
“Oh, there was definitely sex involved,” Seth said with a coy little grin.
Adrian mimed plugging his ears. Seth swatted his hand away. “Oh, I’m not going into detail about the sex. I was just going to tell you about the mochas.”
Jay gave him a skeptical look. “They aren’t kinky mochas, are they?”
“Jesus. No!” Erik, who had been oddly silent during this whole exchange, protested. “I’ve told this story to my daughter. When we were staying at the Williamsville Inn, Seth knew I was in a bad mood, so he took shitty hotel coffee, mixed in hot cocoa, and added a splash of bourbon. It was so delicious it warmed even this Grinch’s heart.” He pointed to himself.
“You’ve never seemed like a Grinch to me,” Jay protested.
“That’s because you didn’t know me pre-Seth.” Erik grinned.
“So this cake is an homage to that?” Adrian waved his fork at the slice of cake they’d been discussing.
“It is!” Seth beamed. “It was Erik’s idea too. Turns out the Grinch is a total romantic. Whod’ve thought?”
Erik ducked his head. “Can we just shut up and eat some cake?”
“Yes.” Seth moaned around his first forkful. “Oh-em-gee. This is so good.”
“I know.” Erik looked equally orgasmic as he savored his bite of cake, and Adrian had to look anywhere but at his face. He did not want to think about his brother’s fiancé that way.
“What do you think?” Seth looked between Adrian and Jay. “You’re the professionals.”
“It’s good,” Jay said carefully as he set his fork down.
“It is. It could be better though, right?” Adrian looked at Jay.
“You think so?” Seth looked surprised.
“Yeah.” Jay gave the cake a contemplative look. “I think, personally, I’d go for a slightly more bitter cocoa in the cake to offset the sweetness of the ganache and the mousse.”
“I like that.” Adrian pointed a fork at him before he turned it on his brother. “And why doesn’t this cake have bourbon in it, if you’re trying to recreate your meet-cute drink?”
Seth shrugged. “The bakery said they couldn’t do it.”
In unison, Jay and Adrian shook their heads.
“That’s bullshit,” Jay said. “They can. They just don’t feel like doing it.”
Adrian agreed. “A bourbon mousse is totally doable.”
“You don’t think they should just swap the Kahlua in the ganache for bourbon?” Jay looked surprised.
“Why keep the Nutella mousse?” Adrian countered. “It has no part in their story and it doesn’t add anything to this cake.”
“Hmm.” Jay took another forkful. “I’m not sure I agree. I like the nuttiness.”
“What about another nut, like pecan?”
“So a dark chocolate torte with coffee-meringue buttercream, Kalua ganache, and bourbon-pecan mousse?” Jay asked.
“Too much?”
Jay hummed thoughtfully. “Not necessarily. I’d certainly try it both ways and see which I liked better.”
“Yeah, I don’t think this bakery is going to be up for that,” Seth said drily.
“That begs the question, why are we tasting cakes from a bakery in Philly when you’re getting married near Buffalo, New York?”
“Well, they have locations in both places. It seemed easiest when I didn’t have a lot of time to go to Buffalo to plan things.”
“It’s a chain?” The disdain dripped from Adrian’s lips before he could stop it.
“You make fun of me for being pretentious but you’re such a snob,” Seth hooted. “Dude, seriously. You just sneered.”
“I probably am a snob, but if you’re looking for something more customized, you won’t get that from a chain,” Adrian argued.
“He’s not wrong.”
Adrian smiled at Jay for backing him up.
“They have like, four locations, so that’s not much of a chain. But okay, cake snobs. Do you two want the job?” Seth said, sounding exasperated. “You’re more than welcome to collaborate and make our wedding cake instead if you’re going to bitch about our choice of bakers.”
Adrian exchanged glances with Jay. He’d almost think his brother had arranged this as a way to nudge them together, but Seth hadn’t known that he and Jay knew each other—much less about the rift between them—until yesterday. Seth was crafty but he wasn’t that good.
“I ... I mean, I could,” Adrian offered. “If you’re on board, Jay. And if you both want it.” He waved at Seth and Erik.
“Why wouldn’t I want my brother to make my wedding cake?” Seth asked. “You’re an amazing baker, Adrian. Of course, I’d want you to do it. I didn’t ask because, A: I didn’t want you to feel obligated, and B: I didn’t know how that would work with the distance.”
“Well, I’d want to see what kind of kitchen facilities the hotel has before I decide for sure. I could do it at my bakery if I have to but I’d prefer not to drive a cake from Pittsburgh to Buffalo. I’d rather get there a little early and make it on site, if that’s possible.”
“Well, the kitchens at the hotel were just updated top to bottom,” Erik said. “The facilities were totally unusable before, so the hotel didn’t even have any dining option. We just finished a total gut job on them, and the restaurant will open soon.”
“I think the whole reason he did the renovation was because he was feeling salty about having to walk to nearby restaurants during the snowstorm we were stuck in. All that snow and salt ruined his fancy Italian leather shoes,” Seth teased. “But the new kitchen does look amazing. I think it’ll wow even you two.” He waved in Adrian and Jay’s general direction.
“Well, as long as I have access to this new and amazing kitchen ...” Adrian said.
Erik chuckled. “I think, as the owner, I should be able to swing that.”
“So that just leaves you, Jay,” Adrian said. He turned to look at Jay, knowing this might very well blow up in his face. “I can do the cakes by myself, if you’d like, but I’d love your help, if you’re interested in collaborating with me.”
Jay studied his face for a moment before he nodded. “Sure. Let’s make Erik and Seth the best damn wedding cake ever.”
Seven
February 2019 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Adrian awoke early the next morning. The room was dim, but after Adrian slipped on his glasses, he could see Jay was sprawled on his stomach on the air mattress across the room, sleeping deeply. He was shirtless and his pajama pants rested low on his hips. Adrian remembered kissing his way down Jay’s spine, lingering in the small of his back until Jay begged him to continue.
But that had been a year ago, and while Jay seemed to have softened a little, he had made no move toward Adrian after the cake tasting last night. If not for the weird moment before dinner where he challenged Adrian to masturbate in front of him, Adrian might have thought Jay wasn’t attracted to him at all anymore.
But one weird voyeuristic moment didn’t mean anything else would happen in the future, so Adrian had no idea where they stood. And with thoughts like that whirling around in his head, there was no way he was going to fall asleep again. He got out of bed as quietly as possible, then rummaged through his bag for clothes. He changed in the bathroom and did a cursory job of splashing his face with water and brushing his teeth.
Adrian frowned at his beard in the mirror—it was looking a bit overgrown and scraggly, which wasn’t his best look—but he’d left his clippers at home, and he would only be here a few more days. Not worth asking Seth to borrow some. Besides, there was a chance his brother might have used them on other body parts. Adrian shuddered at the thought.
Jay stirred when he left the bathroom, flipping onto his back and squinting up at Adrian. “... time is it?” His voice was thick and a little slurred.
“Early still,” Adrian whispered. “Go back to sleep.”
“K.” Jay turned onto his side, pulling the covers up farther as he buried his face against the pillow.
Adrian stood there looking down at him with a small smile on his face for a moment before he turned and left the room as quietly as possible. Seeing Jay sleep like that, relaxed and vulnerable, brought up so many weird feelings for him. Namely, nostalgia and regret. He missed the man he’d spent that incredible weekend with and cursed himself for wrecking the opportunity they’d had. Even if it had all gone disastrously wrong as they tried to navigate a long-distance relationship, Adrian should have tried. He shouldn’t have given up without even giving it a chance.
And, more than ever, he regretted that he’d played a major part in what sounded like a horrible year for Jay. He could have been there for Jay, supporting him through a very tough time instead of being a bitter memory that only made Jay feel worse about his life.
What an asshole he’d been.
“What has you looking so melancholy?” Erik asked.
Adrian blinked at him, only realizing now that he’d walked into the kitchen. Erik sat at the counter with papers spread out in front of him and a mug of coffee in his hand.
Coffee, that’s a good idea. Adrian walked to the counter and reached for a pottery mug from one of the open shelves. “Did my brother tell you what happened between Jay and me?”
“Only that you were involved previously, and it hadn’t ended well.”
“That’s the gist of it,” Adrian said as he poured himself coffee from the half-full pot. “But I appreciate my brother trying to make me sound like less of a jerk than I was.”
Erik chuckled. “We all make mistakes.”
“What if your mistakes cost you someone you could see a future with?”
“It almost did.” Erik took a sip of his coffee. “I almost let Seth slip away. We’d spent several incredible days together, but when he asked me to come celebrate Christmas with your family, I turned him down. After we walked away from each other at the airport, I had no way to get ahold of him. I came this close to never seeing him again.” Erik held his fingers millimeters apart.
“But you didn’t break Seth’s heart in the process.”
“No, I didn’t,” Erik acknowledged. “Obviously, the situations aren’t exactly the same, but I think if something is meant to be, there will be an opportunity to repair it, even if it doesn’t seem obvious at first. I certainly don’t think you should give up.”
“Give up on what?”
Adrian turned to see his brother standing in the entrance to the kitchen, sporting pajamas, some major bedhead, and a wide yawn.
“Things with Jay,” Adrian said softly.
“Oh.” Seth shuffled sleepily over to Erik, who put an arm around him and drew him down onto his lap.
The ease and casual affection made Adrian’s heart ache. He wanted that. With Jay.
“You think it’s hopeless,” Adrian said.
“No.” Seth ran a hand through his wild hair. “I don’t think it’s hopeless. I do think it’s going to be tough. There’s a difference.”
But before they could discuss it any further, Adrian’s phone buzzed with a semi-urgent question from Henry at the bakery, and while Adrian responded, Seth went off to pull himself together. By the time Adrian hung up his call, Seth had re-appeared, fully dressed with hair rather than a mop on his head, and Jay was just a few steps behind him.
“Would you like me to make breakfast before we start unpacking more boxes?” Adrian asked.
“That would be great.” Erik frowned down at the stacks of papers on the island. “Do you need me to clean this up first?”
Adrian looked across the massive expanse of marble and snorted. “No, I think I have plenty of room to work around it.” There were still acres of countertop free.
Jay let out a little snort too. “Yeah, I think you could fit the entire kitchen Seth and I had in the space this island takes up.”
“Isn’t it glorious?” Seth grinned. “Although, I don’t actually have a clue what you’re doing, Erik. What is all this paperwork anyway?”
Erik frowned. “It’s a bunch of old stuff that belonged to my father. I inherited it all after he died and meant to go through it at the time, but that’s about when things went to hell in my marriage, and I just shoved it all in a box. I’m sorry. I’d planned to have it all done before you moved in, Seth, but work has been crazy.”
“It’s fine.” Seth kissed him briefly. “You can go through it today while Jay and Adrian help me unpack. Now, what’s for breakfast?”
Adrian, who had been examining the contents of the refrigerator, pulled out a carton of eggs and a slab of bacon. “Assuming you don’t mind me helping myself, I was thinking of scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast.”
“You bought me that bacon I love?” Seth’s eyes went wide, and he kissed Erik soundly on the cheek. “Oh, you do love me!”
“Of course, I do.”
Adrian rolled his eyes and glanced at Jay, expecting to see him looking equally disgusted by their sappy behavior, but he was staring at them with a look that could only be described as wistful.
“You’re not going to believe what I found, Seth!” Erik called out later that day.
“What?”
“Come in here,” Erik replied. “You too, Adrian and Jay.”
Adrian stood, stretching his shoulders before they all trooped back into the kitchen, then congregated around the island where Erik stood clutching a handful of papers.
