Reservations

“Three minutes!” Erin yelled excitedly from the living room before everyone near the television burst out laughing. Thane glanced up, angling his head to catch a glimpse of Arik and Chef Ferico. The brief shot of the two was meant to promote and tease the next segment before a commercial break. Instead, it caught Chef Ferico diligently working over a pan of beautifully caramelized butternut squash. A crostini recipe Thane and the chef had spent time perfecting over the last few weeks of his stay in Coronado. As Ferico began crisscrossing the squash with a mix of whipped feta cheese and the perfect blend of za’atar seasoning and tahini, he still managed to look up at the camera and give a wink. Arik on the other hand took that exact moment to stuff his big mouth with what looked like something close to a chocolate brownie. An item that definitely wasn’t on the list of recipes they’d all agreed would help promote their products.

In stunned silence, Thane watched as Arik turned toward the camera and rolled his eyes as if the food he’d just eaten was the best thing he’d ever put in his mouth while motioning for someone off screen to come try whatever he held. Thane would bet his house Kellus was on set with Arik, which broke all the rules of only having two company representatives onsite while filming.

“He’s not even trying to sell the product. He’s too busy stealing the food props off other peoples’ sets,” Logan said.

“Is that your business partner, Thane?” his mother asked laughingly, all her attention riveted to the television screen.

“Arik’s hilarious, Thane!” Erin added, barking out a laugh. “You can tell he wants to talk, but his mouth’s full. Oh my God. This is priceless.”

Thane couldn’t find the humor in Arik’s actions; his stomach was too knotted up for that. Honestly, he’d only half believed Arik when he’d said he wanted to taste all the food HSN pimped on the Thanksgiving special. Thane had stupidly thought the real reason Arik wanted to be the one on camera was for bragging rights. When their joint venture did well, Arik would be the one to say he’d made a success of their business. From the looks of it, Arik had been absolutely serious about sampling all the food on the show.

“Want me to take ’em over?” Luke asked, drawing his attention away from Arik and the embarrassing display of the man’s lack of focus in front of millions of viewers. Luke motioned toward the perfectly crafted platter of nachos as if waiting for Thane to give his approval.

“Looks good.”

Luke grabbed the large tray and headed straight for the sofa, stepping over Corey’s body spread out across the floor, to sit in his seat next to Thane’s mother. As he’d hoped, his mother and father had taken to Luke and Logan immediately, doing this weird grandparent type thing to the boys, helping to ease any lingering resentment he had toward the both of them. More so, Thane found he had a deep sense of gratitude toward his parents for pushing him to go to Coronado. Had they not, he had no doubt he’d have kept his distance from Levi, ruining any chance at finding this happiness.

Clearly proud of the food he’d made, Luke held out the tray, giving Thane’s mother the first choice at the nachos, then stretched across Logan to offer one to Thane’s father. Both eagerly took some nachos, praising Luke as if they’d never seen anything quite so delicious. Logan on the other hand seemed to have no care for the artistry of Luke’s design. He shoved one whole nacho in his mouth and took two more before Thane’s father was able to get his off the platter.

Thane reached for the dish towel, wiping away any crumbs he’d left behind before automatically wiping the rag over the counter. Luke loved to cook and was always there to give a hand in the kitchen when the need arose. He was proud of the progress Luke had made in such a short time, Logan too for that matter. They were all still settling in, working out the details as they went, but they were becoming a solid family.

His family. The thought warmed his heart and wrapped around his soul like a welcoming embrace.

Levi, Logan, and Luke had all stepped up to the plate and worked together, supporting Thane, even trying to lighten his load as he stressed about the official launch of this particular new line. God, he hoped everything went as planned. If the brand was as successful as Arik kept indicating, it would change all their lives. He could see Dishology BBQ and steak sauces, special seasonings, and maybe even branching out to frozen foods.

“It’s about to start,” Levi announced.

Thane shifted his attention toward his guy. Levi stood in front of the refrigerator, his shirt tight enough to see the muscles in his back flexing as he opened the door before glancing over his shoulder. “Need another beer? Or did you want wine?”