Sandpipers' Secrets by Jade Archer

Author:Jade Archer [Archer, Jade]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2011-05-25T23:19:17.956000+00:00

* * * *

Tuesday came bright and clear. And far too quickly, as far as Lark was concerned. On Mondays—their one day off a week—he always tried to make a complete break from the restaurant. And he insisted Zak do the same. But it had been a complete and utter disaster this week. Not only had Zak spent the entire day trying to replace Gus, but it also turned out Gus hadn’t just forgotten to order some ingredients. He’d actually pissed the suppliers off so much that they had refused to deal with Sandpipers anymore.

What a fiasco. Lark had spent the day trying to soothe and placate the aggrieved suppliers. At least the restaurant was back in their good books now. But what a waste of his time when it could all so easily have been avoided if Gus hadn’t been such an asshole.

Worst of all, though, had been when Brody called to take a rain cheque on coming over. He’d said something had come up at home and he had to stay in.

Lark had wanted to help. He wanted to go around to Brody’s house right away to see what they could do. And, okay, he wanted to know what was going on with the other man. But Zak had been his usual, firm, patient self and made him stay put and wait for Brody to open up to them in his own sweet time. Damn obstinate, principled man.

And now this. Lark looked back down at the single sheet of paper. So innocuous looking in its crisp, white, unmarked envelope. Lark felt like screwing it up and hurling it across the room as far away from himself as possible.

“Hey, Lark! What’s happening?”

Lark jumped a little when Brody stepped into the office to join him, but quickly recovered.

“Nothing.” Folding the paper, Lark carefully placed it back into its envelope before tucking it away into his back pocket.

“Is everything all right?” Brody asked, his brow creasing into a worried frown.

Shit. Time for a distraction. Brody didn’t need to know or worry about what was in the letter.

“Sure. Have you seen Zak?” Lark asked casually.

Brody started to look distinctly uncomfortable. “No. Why?”

Bingo.

Lark shrugged. “Zak mentioned you stopped in the other day when I wasn’t here. I just wondered if you’d caught up with him today, too.”

“Oh! Fuck!” was all Brody could manage to say.

Lark chuckled and smiled wickedly. “Yeah, well, he told me about that too.” When the blood drained from Brody’s face, Lark felt like an asshole. He hadn’t meant to upset, just distract. He stepped forward and pulled Brody into a hug. “Hey, it’s okay. It’s fine. Really. I’m not mad or anything. Are you okay?”

Brody could only nod, and Lark ran his hands up and down his strong, lean back, and settled his head against Brody’s chest. It was a comforting hug, meant for Brody’s sake, but Lark found himself taking an equal measure of solace in it. It was just what he needed right now. Lark nuzzled into the soft material of Brody’s shirt and squeezed a little.

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