DONOVAN

A few days had passed since Piper’s heat ended and I got news from Richard that the people from the auction house had all been captured. Not a single one of them was left free and I was content. Now it was the time, the time to tell Piper the news. After a long time of thinking, I realized that I didn’t need to keep Piper in my house anymore because he would still want to see me, even if he was not living under my roof. Our bond was growing and after the week we spent together, it felt stronger than ever. 

Saturday came and I thought the best way to tell Piper the news was at his shop, so I put my plan in motion. I took him out of the house and into town but without telling him anything. As we stood outside his shop Piper looked at me with confused eyes.

“Why are we here?” He asked and I smiled.

“You can start working now and also move back to your house,” I told him with a smile and Piper gasped.

“What? Are you serious? You are not joking, right?” Piper said still not believing my words. “What about…?”

“I’m not joking. You can be free now, Piper.” I said caressing one of his cheeks with my hand. “They are all behind bars.”

“Oh…I-I see…” He said and I could tell how relieved he was, but not as excited as I thought he would be. “C-can I open today?” 

“Yes, of course. I can help you if you want.” I said with a smile and he smiled back at me. Just what I wanted to see. He looked for his spare key and walked inside the shop, I followed him.

“Okay okay. But wait I have to buy ingredients. I don’t think there’s any in here.” He said inside the store.

“There are already some ingredients inside. I told Richard to supply everything you needed.” I smiled and he ran to me hugging me tight. I corresponded. Dorian was content with the hug too.

“Thank you so much, Donovan,” Piper said holding me tighter and I caressed his hair.

“No need to thank me. I do this to make you happy.” I said with a soft smile and our eyes met. I saw a spark in Piper’s eyes.

“I…” He started saying but then stopped. It took me back to his first day of heat, he had done something similar. He hid his face in my face. “Thank you still.”

“Anytime, Piper,” I said still caressing his hair. He looked up at me and then got to his tiptoes kissing me softly. I corresponded to the kiss and when he pulled apart I felt kind of sad but I knew we had work to do.

PIPER

With the help of Donovan, we managed to make enough bread and pastries to open the shop for at least half a day. We organized the tables and chairs around the shop and when everything was perfect and on display, I went to flip the closed sign. As my hand held it I felt a little nervous and I guess Donovan sensed it because he stood behind me, placing his hand in mine, and flipped the sign with me.

“Time to work, baby.” He said with a soft chuckle and I blushed. The way he called me ‘baby’ made me feel special and it reminded me of my heat week. ‘Calm down, Piper. No horniness right now. We have to work.’ I said to myself taking a deep breath, unlocked the door, and went behind the counter. 

Donovan stood next to me ready to help me with anything I needed and soon customers started to come inside the shop. Most of them said they were glad the shop was finally open and all I could do was thank them for their patience. I noticed how some of the customers gave Donovan curious glances, some sitting inside the store whispering about how handsome the ‘new part-timer’ was. It made me feel jealous and I decided to mark my territory. 

“Donny, can you go to the kitchen and get some more of the cheese bread?” I said to Donovan with a soft smile and he nodded. I noticed the surprise in his face at the way I called his name.

“Of course. I’ll be right back.” He said walking into the kitchen and coming back with a tray of cheese bread and placing it on the counter. “Here you go.”

“Thank you, Donny,” I said with a smile and left a soft kiss on his lips. 

The audible gasp from the customers inside the shop almost made me laugh. ‘Yes, he is mine.’ I said to myself and Priya approved. Donovan was also surprised by my sudden action but wasn’t opposed to it at all. Customers kept coming, everything was fine until I heard someone call my name.

“Piper Decker.” Someone said in a serious tone and I knew quite well who it was.

“Oak, hey. I’m back?” I said a bit nervous as I turned around to see my friend standing at the other side of the counter.

“So you are back, back?” He asked with an arched brow. 

“Yes, I am,” I said giggling awkwardly.

“Baby, we are almost out of banana muffins.” I heard Donovan say as he walked out of the kitchen with the last tray of banana muffins. 

“Baby? Huh?” Oak gasped and looked between me and Donovan. “So this is him?” 

“Yes, it’s him,” I said blushing, and looked at my mate. “Uhm…Donovan this is Oakley, my best friend. The one I told you about before.”

“Oh…Oh! It’s nice to meet you, Oakley. Piper talks a lot about you.” Donovan said with a big friendly smile. 

“Mmm…a pleasure to meet you as well.” My friend said in a serious tone and then flinched his eyes looking at Donovan closely.  “Wait…you look familiar.” 

“He does?” I asked confused looking at my friend.

“Omg! It’s you! You are that awesome customer who kept buying huge bouquets from us.” Oakley said with a big smile and then pointed at me. “Oh, and those were all for Piper.”

“Oh. So you are the owner of Leafy Heaven?” Donovan asked and my friend nodded.

“Yes, I am. Thank you for being such a loyal customer to us.” He said to Donovan with a smile and then leaned into me to whisper. “He’s a keeper. I approve of this relationship.”

“So what are you doing here anyway? Isn’t the nursery open?” I asked Oakley confused.

“It is but I decided to take a break and go get some coffee at Ezra’s but I saw you were open.” My friend explained and then looked at the tray that Donovan had. “And now those banana muffins of yours sound like a perfect treat right now.”

“How many do you want?” I asked him.

“Give me like five. Here.” Oakley said taking out his wallet. 

“No need to pay for them. It’s on me today.” Donovan said handing Oakley a bag with the muffins. He was fast. “And I added some cheese bread as well. As a thank you for taking such good care of my Piper.” 

“Indeed, he is a keeper,” Oakley said to me again and thanked Donovan before he left us. 

“Seems like he likes me,” Donovan said with a chuckle and I giggled. 

“You won him over,” I said giggling. 

“Perfect. That was my plan.” He said with a smile and then yawned. 

“If you are tired you can go sit on one of the tables to rest,” I suggested to him.

“Are you sure?” He asked unsure.

“Yes, it’s almost closing time,” I said pointing at the clock and he nodded.

“Okay. I’ll be over there.” He said pointing at an empty table.

“Okay.” I said smiling and giving him a soft peck on the lips before he went to sit down. 

As customers started to leave and with not many items left I was thinking about closing but then I saw a familiar someone walking inside the room. Victor Shaw. It had been a while since I last saw him so I was surprised by how big his belly was. 

“Omg! Pipeeeer, where have you been?” He said in a dramatic tone walking to the counter.

“Hi, Rainbow. It’s nice to see you again and sorry for being so absent.” I said with a soft smile and pointed at his belly. “How’s your pregnancy going?”

“It’s been okay. Morning sickness was a bitch but I’m finally over that. But my cravings are wild sometimes.” He said, I could hear the tiredness in his voice. “I’ve been craving your cakes so much lately.”

“Well, I’m back from vacation so you can order as many as you want,” I said with a big smile and then added. “Sadly I don’t have any available now.”

“Oh, it’s okay. I want some banana muffins and chocolate bread. And if you have some croissants I’ll take them.” He said smiling.

“Sure.” I started to pack the things he ordered and my gaze wandered to Donovan. He was looking at me and made some signs letting me know he was going to answer a phone call outside. I nodded and kept packing Rainbow’s things.

“I’m so glad you are back. Kang Dae can come anytime I have cravings now.” Rainbow mentioned as I packed the things.

“How is he doing? Excited about the pregnancy?” I asked curious, I remember making the cake for his pregnancy reveal but never got to ask how he took it.

“He is over the moon. Especially now that the case he worked on for a while is over.” Rainbow said with a lot of relief in his tone. He leaned in more on the counter and whispered. “They took down this big illegal auction house thing, I don’t know the details but they had been working on it for a while and it’s finally over.”

“Oh, really?” I finished packing everything for him. I knew what he was talking about and it made me feel something inside. 

I felt…weird. By Rainbow’s words, the police had been working on the case for a while and Donovan never told me anything about it. The last time I asked him he told me there was no news but…what if that was a lie? Did he keep it from me? He probably knew more than he told me. I didn’t know how to feel. But now that was over and I finally had the chance to get back to my life.

“Here you go. I hope you enjoy them and if you want any particular cake let me know.” I said handing the bag to Rainbow. 

“Yes, thanks a lot, Piper. It’s great to have you back.” Rainbow said and after paying he left the shop.

A few minutes later, Donovan walked inside and I gave him a sign to flip the open sign. I was over for the day, I was tired and I had to do some thinking. I wanted to go back to my house, but not Donovan’s. I wanted to be alone. I packed all the items left in a bag and after walking out of the store now ready to just lock it, I handed the bag to Donovan.

“Take this. There’s enough for Genevith, Richard, and the others.” I said as I locked the shop now that my hands were free.

“Why don’t you give them yourself?” He asked confused and I tried to think of a way to say I wanted to be alone without hurting him.

“Uhm…I want to sleep at my house today.” I explained to him and his expression went from happy to neutral.

“Oh, oh…Okay.” Donovan said and I felt bad seeing his reaction. He was probably confused about why I didn’t want to be with him. “Can I take you there?”

“No need to. Thanks for everything today.” I said with a soft smile and gave him a soft kiss, trying to make him feel better. 

“Anytime, baby.” He said with a soft smile but deep inside I knew he was sad about my decision.