Laughing, Dutch moved to greet the new arrivals. “Tell that to my hip.”
Emma smiled as she ate and watched the banter that shot back and forth between Dutch, the Raven Riders, and Haven. When she was about halfway finished, Emma began debating from which of those cakes she was taking a slice home for later.
Haven came by again. “Can I get you anything else?”
“A box for the rest of my sandwich, please. And can you tell me about those cakes? Despite my milkshake, I think I need some dessert to go.”
Haven grinned. “The white one is an eggnog cake, which is basically a rum-soaked butter layer cake with a spiced meringue buttercream.”
Emma blinked. “That sounds…amazing.”
“The chocolate one is a chocolate peppermint crunch cake. And then there’s also a more traditional triple chocolate layer cake and a gingerbread layer cake. What can I tempt you with?”
“How do people even choose?”
“There’s only one answer here,” the wavy-haired Raven said, pulling Emma’s attention back to the bikers. “One of each.”
Haven put her hands on her hips. “I mean, I can’t disagree.”
Chuckling, Emma nodded. “Except then I’d slip into a sugar coma and no one would ever hear from me again. How about the eggnog cake?”
“Good choice,” Haven said. She cut and boxed a thick slice, then put both of Emma’s boxes into a bag. “By the way, who told you I was the new baker here?”
The question caught her off guard, but only because she’d been trying to think how she might work in asking about Caine—in front of his freaking club members—in a way that sounded totally casual. And here Haven had gone and done it for her. “Oh, uh, Caine?”
Haven frowned. “Caine McKannon?”
Caine McKannon. If that was his name, it was as much rough sex on a stick as he was. A thought that threatened to infuse her face with even more heat.
Emma shook her head. “I don’t know his last name. But he’s, um, also a Raven Rider.” She could feel the men’s gazes on her without even looking. But then she did look, and sure enough, they were studying her. The one she now knew was Dare, the club’s president, wore an expression like she was a puzzle he couldn’t quite solve. Her face felt like it was on fire. “Anyway, yeah.”
“Wow, okay,” Haven said, giving a little chuckle and exchanging a glance with Dare. “Well, that’s him, all right. How did he come to mention that I work here?”
Why did they all seem so…surprised that Caine might’ve talked to her? “It’s kind of a long story.” She stirred what was left of her milkshake just to have something to do with her hands. “That started with him chasing off a man who was mugging me and ended with him telling the locksmith I called what kind of additional security my house needed. In the middle, we ate cookies, and I had some of your peanut butters. When I said I got them here, he mentioned knowing you.”
They were all still looking at her. Totally confused.
Emma gulped down some water.
Then Haven’s expression went soft. “Aw, that’s actually…well, that’s a Raven for you.”
If they hadn’t had an audience, Emma would’ve asked the woman to explain what she meant. But she at least had an inkling, especially after what Catalin had said at dinner the other night. The Ravens offered protective services. Which Caine had absolutely done for her. And it was also clear that Haven thought the world of the men in this club—and that those feelings weren’t just for her fiancé, Dare. Emma thought about the affectionate way Haven had interacted with the man she’d called Jagger and how appreciative her tone had been just then about what Caine had done. And it was clear that the woman thought all these men were good, decent guys.
Even though Caine could be intimidating and gruff, it was the same conclusion that Emma had ultimately made about him after they’d spent hours together.
Emma paid her bill and slipped into her coat. And then she finally womaned up to do what it was she’d wanted to do since she first arrived at the restaurant. “So, do you know how I can reach Caine? I didn’t get his number, and I wanted to thank him for everything he did for me.” She didn’t direct her question to Haven alone, because clearly all three of these people knew Caine.
Dare shifted on his stool, the others clearly deferring to him. “He’s kind of a private person. But if you’d like me to pass on your number, I can do that.”
Kind of a private person… Yeah, Emma could see that. “Oh, of course.” She approached the man and rattled off her cell phone number when he gave her the signal.
Dark, serious eyes searched her face, then Dare nodded. “Got it. And I’m glad Caine was able to help you.”