22 | IN THE OFFICE

Isaac, Benjamin, and Joaquín take their leave before Nichole can offer them breakfast.

After she has everything cooked and set out on the kitchen table, only then do Bonnie and Yeonjun come stumbling out from the guest room looking a hot, but happy mess. They're smiley and hugged up, completely unable to take their eyes off each other. Nichole offers them a plate while internally struggling to keep all teasing comments to herself.

"Good morning, Bon." Nichole smiles innocently at the duo. "Good morning, Yeonjun. I hope you two enjoyed yourselves last night. It was so much fun having you over." Taehyun and Ademar eventually join them at the table. "Did you two sleep well?"

"We slept about as good as you three did." Bonnie winks. "These walls are pretty thin, you know."

"Oh my God." Nichole laughs from embarrassment. Ademar and Taehyun chuckle along with her, knowing most of the noise from last night had come from her, not them. "Anyway, moving on..." Nichole quickly changes the subject before Bonnie can throw her into the hot seat. "What's everyone's plans for today?"

"Well, after I go home and get my life together, I'm going to sleep the first half of the day away because I didn't get the chance to do so last night..." Bonnie playfully bumps shoulders with Yeonjun. He smirks in return, kissing her briefly. "Then I'm going to meet up with Yeonjunie later on tonight, and we're going to hang out for a bit. Might fuck around and do something downtown, anything is possible."

"Yeonjunie? Damn. We're using nicknames already?" Nichole jokes, making Bonnie roll her eyes. They share a laugh and carry on for another hour or so before Bonnie and Yeonjun later head out. Nichole lingers around the kitchen, sipping her peppermint tea while Ademar and Taehyun clean up. "Tae, your boy isn't a player or fuckboy, right? Because the way Bonnie kept staring at him..."

"She looks like a goner already," Ademar adds, smiling. "I hope things work out for them."

"They will," Taehyun says confidently. "Yeonjun is a good guy. Very straightforward. If he isn't into Bonnie—which we can all agree that he most definitely is—then he'll let her know before things get too serious. He isn't a scumbag, I promise."

"Thank you, baby." Nichole walks over to kiss him. "Bonnie, as wild as she is, has unfortunately been unlucky in the boyfriend department. She's gone through a lot of bullshit, and I just want to see her happy for once. I like Yeonjun's energy, so I hope something blossoms between them. She deserves to feel what Alicia and I feel on a daily basis."

Ademar puts the last dish away, dries his hands and then pulls Nichole in for a deep kiss. "And what is it that you feel from me and Tae-Tae, mi amor?"

"That," Nichole whispers, eyeing him fondly. "Love."

"I feel it every day, too. From the both of you." Taehyun presses into her from behind, tickling her neck with soft kisses. "Let's move this to the shower. I'm also feeling rather..."

"Dirty?" Ademar raises a brow, then he laughs when Taehyun grabs him by one hand and Nichole by the other, leading them back to their bedroom. "Shower fucking it is."

Nichole laughs. "One of my favorite ways to start the day."

*

HOURS LATER

Nichole is thrilled to be back at work.

She missed being busy, she missed coming up with tasty new recipes for her patrons to try, and she especially missed interacting with her regulars who were equally thrilled to have her back in the shop.

Danielle, the new assistant manager, successfully held down the fort in Nichole's absence; an absence Nichole wouldn't have had to take if only Kade hadn't waltzed back into life threatening and demanding. But that's all over now, and Kade Lowrey is old news. He's back where he belongs, the past, and Nichole couldn't be happier about it.

"Are you pregnant, boss lady?" Danielle asks out of the blue, nearly causing Nichole to drop the muffins she'd been placing inside the display case. "Welp. I'll take that reaction as a hell no."

"You damn right it's a hell no!" Nichole laughs with her. "What on earth makes you think that I'm pregnant? Because if I'm getting a lil' thick somewhere, just say that."

"It's not your weight! You've just been... I don't know, glowing? You smile more, you laugh more, and you even stop to crack jokes with us. I'm observant, that's all. I've noticed you look a lot happier compared to a few months ago."

"Ah, well. There are plenty of reasons for that." Nichole smiles. "But the two main ones are called Ademar and Taehyun. Ever since we made things official... life has been nothing but pure bliss."

For the most part.

"I'm glad to hear it," Danielle says. "Oh! Here comes one of them now."

Nichole whips her head around at the sound of the bell ringing from the door to the shop and in walks Ademar. He's dressed appropriately for the cold weather—black wool trench coat, black turtleneck, jeans, and boots—looking as sexy as ever. He nods at Danielle and greets Nichole with an enthusiastic kiss and a hug after she comes from around the counter to throw herself at him.

"To what do I owe this surprise visit?" Nichole asks while taking him to her office for more privacy. "You usually text or call when you're about to show up. I would've whipped up one of your favorites had I known you were on the way over."

"That's okay. Your kisses are sweet enough for me," he says, giving her another. "But I would've called had my phone not died. Been a busy workday and I haven't had the chance to stop and throw it on the charger. Damn newbies are adamant about giving me a heart attack."

"Oh, you poor baby. Do you want to talk about it?" Nichole guides them over to the small loveseat.

"I was showing one of the new guys how the crane operates. When I let him take over, he lost focus for a moment and nearly whacked another guy in the head." Ademar sighs, rolling his eyes at the playback in his mind. "I'm not here to vent about those idiotas. I'm here because Taehyun's birthday is next weekend—"

"What?! And he wasn't going to say anything?"

"No. He doesn't really celebrate them," Ademar answers. "But I've always done something for him ever since we began hooking up. And now that we're all dating, I figured you and I could do something special for him together. We can plot and plan here since we can't do it at home with him lurking around." 

"Right. At this point we may as well find a new place and move in with each other permanently," Nichole says, partly joking. "Perhaps a cozy little cottage by a lake somewhere?"

"I wouldn't be against it," Ademar replies. "We can discuss it more after we get home."

"Oh, but I-I wasn't being serious..."

"I was." Ademar grins while shrugging off his coat, a familiar look settling in his dark eyes. "Do you remember what you said to me when we first started talking?"

"I said a lot of things to you when we first started talking," Nichole laughs, cuddling into his side. "What specifically are you referring to, handsome?"

"Sex." Ademar grabs Nichole by the waist, pulling her onto his lap. "You told me you've never had sex in your office before. Try to guess what I said after that."

"Hmm..." Nichole fakes like she's thinking. "Knowing you, it was probably something snarky."

Ademar laughs. "I said, 'Neither have I,' and then you kicked me out before we could get ourselves in trouble."

"I thought we're supposed to be plotting and planning for daddy's birthday..." Nichole moans after Ademar cups her ass, squeezing hard.

"We can plot and plan after I fuck you." Ademar leans forward, playfully nipping at her bottom lip. "Any objections to that?"

Nichole shakes her head and smiles. "Not this time."

. . .