“Perfect,” she said, and punched in the order on the register. “That’ll be eighteen thirty-five.”
Robbie fished out his debit card, and once he paid, he moved over to the side to wait for his order. As he did, he opened up his phone again to keep reading more of the article, and when phrases like best in the city, supreme attentiveness to detail, surprising warmth and friendliness from the staff came up throughout the piece, Robbie knew Julien would be nothing but pleased by this write-up.
When Robbie got to the end, he saw that JULIEN had gotten a five-star rating and was named the critic’s top pick for the year so far. Robbie was just about to send a gushing text to Julien when his name was called out and one of the baristas pushed a drink tray and a paper bag over to him.
“I hope you have a good day,” she said, and Robbie decided he’d send the text once he got to The Popped Cherry.
“Thanks. So far it’s been awesome.”
“You’re awfully upbeat for a Monday,” she said, and then laughed. “What’s your secret?”
It was on the tip of Robbie’s tongue to say, The love of two extraordinary men. One of whom was just raved about in the morning paper. But that was bragging, and he didn’t want to jinx his good luck or mood. “The sun’s out and I’ve got my coffee and breakfast. It’s just going to get better from here.”
She grinned. “I like your optimism. You have a good day.”
“You too,” Robbie said, and then headed for the door. The quicker he got to The Popped Cherry, the quicker Robbie could text Julien and say how insanely proud he was.
* * *
PRIEST’S FINAL MEETING of the day had just wrapped up in the conference room, and he’d just said goodbye to his client when his phone buzzed in his pocket.
He had been so busy today that he hadn’t had a chance to stop and breathe, and was looking forward to taking a few minutes now to go and check out the reviews for Julien’s restaurant. He’d seen at least five glowing headlines before he’d had to head into court, and again, that talented French chef of his had a well-deserved hit on his hands.
The text that flashed up in the group thread from Robbie had a smile tugging at Priest’s lips as he rounded the corner and headed toward his office.
Robbie: Ugh. This is the first time Tate’s let me sit down all day, buuut your number one stalker—sorry, fan—would like to congratulate you on all of your fabulous reviews, Monsieur Thornton. Expect to be stalked extra hard in a few hours.
Priest reached for the handle of his office door, and just as he was about to turn it, he caught Logan out of the corner of his eye. He hadn’t gotten a chance to see him at JULIEN, but decided to take a moment now, since he was in such a good mood, to thank the man for his help last week.
“Hey? Logan?”
Logan stopped at his door and looked over.
“You got a moment?”
“Sure. I’m not heading out yet. I have a couple of hours of paperwork left at least. Did you need something?”
Priest supposed that was the most obvious response to him stopping Logan for a conversation, but this time around he didn’t need anything, and shook his head. Maybe it was time he opened up a bit more to his partner—after all, Logan was good friends with Robbie, and now knew Julien. It couldn’t hurt them to develop a circle of friends in town they could possibly socialize with.
“I don’t need anything. I just wanted to check in with you and say thank you.” When Logan frowned, Priest added, “For the advice last week, about Robert.”
“Oh,” Logan said, the penny finally dropping. “Yeah, no problem. So, it worked, huh?”
“It did,” Priest said, and slowly nodded, not really wanting to get into how he’d gone about humiliating himself to make Robbie smile—not that he wouldn’t do it again a million times over.
“Good. I wasn’t so sure after Robbie told me he couldn’t hear so well the next day, but…”
Priest narrowed his eyes. “He told you what I did, didn’t he?”
Logan laughed. “He just said that he’d appreciate it if I let you keep your job, since a singing career is out.”
“I’m going to kill him.”
“No, you’re not,” Logan said, and smirked as he opened his door. “You’re too miserable without him, and scarily friendly with him.”
“Yes, something I’m already regretting,” Priest said. “Did you and Tate enjoy yourselves at the restaurant?”
“Are you kidding? The food was phenomenal. I have to admit, I’m glad Tate scored an invite. I have a feeling that place is going to be difficult to get into for a good year, easy.”