I was just plating the omelet I'd made him when Rafe entered my kitchen. He stood there blinking in confusion. Biting back a smile, I poured him a cup of coffee and added a bit of cream with two sugars. I carried it over and handed it to him.

He looked down at the coffee then back at me as a smile slowly spread over his face. “You have coffee? Thank you, baby.” Rafe leaned over and kissed my cheek. I guided him to the open door that led to the small balcony that ran along the length of the kitchen and dining area side of my apartment.

“Here, babe. Sit down and drink your coffee. I made breakfast. Let me grab our food and I'll be right back to join you.” He nodded blankly and took a seat at the small bistro style table that I kept on my balcony.

About halfway through breakfast, Rafe finally came fully awake. It was amusing to see how he acted in the morning. “So, not a morning person?” I asked with a small laugh as he looked around him in confusion as if seeing the patio area for the first time.

Rafe grinned and took a long drink of coffee. “Nah, not so much. I'm more of a stay up late and sleep until noon type of guy.”

I shook my head. “As lovely as that sounds, I'd be out of business if I kept those kind of hours. There are many days when I'm in the kitchen before sunrise, especially during the holiday season.”

He nodded. “I wondered about that. Do you ever bring in extra seasonal help?”

“Oh, hells yes! I could never handle the fall rush without having extra hands on deck to assist me. From mid-October until Christmas I'm pretty much slammed. Other than that, I have my Valentine's Day and Easter rushes. But the fall is definitely when I make most of my money.” I bit my lip, thinking about how badly my fall would go if I didn't find my Nana's recipe book tonight.

“What's wrong, Milo?” Rafe's voice cut through my distracted worries. “You went somewhere else just then. Want to talk about it?”

I shook my head. “Not just yet. Once I get everything figured out, I'll tell you all about it. I just need to do a few things first.” I took a drink of my coffee and asked him about his plans for the day. It was easier to talk about him than my own troubles.

“Well, I do have one bit of good news.” He grinned around the piece of toast that he held to his mouth. After taking a bite, he set it down and reached for his coffee before continuing. “That house that I told you I was looking at here in town? The bank finally accepted my offer a few weeks ago. I'm actually sleeping there tonight.”

My jaw dropped in amazement. “That's wonderful news! But, don't you have to wait for escrow?”

Rafe shrugged. “Well, I mean, I guess? But it closes in a few days anyway. I'm not trying to move anything in just yet, but the realty company gave me the key to the lock so that I can go in to measure and shit like that. I figure, I have the key, so why not?”

I chewed my lip thoughtfully. “But won't you get in trouble? Why not just wait?”

“Baby, are you seriously unaware of the cache that comes along with the Smythe name? I don't want to sound like a pompous asshole, but they won't do more than chide me respectfully and shake their heads if they find me in the house before I close escrow. I'm just excited. I can't wait to show you the place, it's a real beauty.”

I sighed, thinking of how much he would have loved my family home. But there was no use thinking about that. Dad had made his choices in life, and I had to clean up the financial mess that he'd left behind. Unfortunately, the loss of my family home and the auctioning of our paintings and other various furnishings is what it took to make it all go away.

Now I was left in my cozy little apartment, and I was just fine. I had my candy store, my friends, and now a hot alpha on my arm. What more could I possibly need? “Well, just be careful, Rafe.” I said after I realized that I'd gone silent again. “I'm sure you're right about the bank not caring, but I'd hate to see you get in trouble.”

“Don't worry, babe. I'll be just fine. There's not any furniture yet, but I'll take my sleeping bag and a backpack with a change of clothes. I figure even roughing it there will be better than listening to another night of Ian and Tom trying to break the mattress in his bedroom.” He shuddered with a small laugh as he said that.

“Seriously? Tom didn't tell me that he was going over there all the time. I didn't even know that they were serious about each other.” I began stacking our dishes as I took a discrete look at the time. I needed to be a work in another hour, although I did hate to rush off.

“Well, I don't know how serious they are about each other,” Rafe laughed. “But they are pretty serious about hooking up about every night of the week. Why do you think I'm rushing to stay in the new place? Trust me, it's not because I'm impatient. I'm just done being an unwilling voyeur into our friends sexcapades.”

I giggled as I stood and picked up our dishes. I walked into the kitchen and set them in the sink while I turned to empty the dishwasher. Rafe had come in right behind me though, and was already opening it to do exactly that. “Let me give you a hand really quick, Milo. I know you've got to work today. Four hands are better than two, right?”

“Thanks,” I said with a smile. “I won't turn down the help, although I'll say again, it is really sexy to see an alpha that does dishes.”

Rafe grinned back at me and said: “Milo, if you think this is sexy, then you should see me with a toilet brush.” He waggled his eyebrows and continued: “I clean a damn fine toilet, let me tell ya.”

I laughed and turned to rinse our breakfast dishes to load in the dishwasher once it was empty. The next hour flew by as Rafe helped me finish in the kitchen before joining me for a shower. That was a whole other experience, showering with a partner. I'd been shy at first, but Rafe had a way of making me relax without even trying. Before I knew it, we were kissing each other good-bye as we went our separate ways.

I fretted on my way to work, wondering if I should have told him about my family financial disaster and how the competitor was trying to steal my Nana's recipe. I knew without asking that Rafe would be there for me. I just really needed to do this on my own.

Hopefully, tonight when I went to the house, I would find the recipe book and that would solve everything. Then I would call Rafe tomorrow and tell him the whole sordid story and show him the recipe book before I called my lawyer. But first, I had to make it through today.