Page 81 of Blizzards and Brews

“Shit,” Ollie cursed and I burst out laughing as I watched him swipe at his cheek, streaking chocolate there. His mold was messier than mine but he was determined.

Leaning over, I swiped my tongue over the sweet milk chocolate, chuckling softly at his soft intake of breath.

“Good choice,” I teased as I retrieved my base again. “Don’t worry, we’ll be professionals by the time this is over.”

He gave me a look that told me he had doubts but I went back to drizzling my coffee filling before adding another thick layer of dark chocolate and putting it to cool.

Ollie was drizzling a bit of everything in his bar. Peanut butter, pretzel chunks, the works.

His tongue was stuck out as he focused on filling it evenly and pouring more chocolate on top.

“That’s a monstrosity,” I said but he looked so adorably proud of his crazy creation I couldn’t help but grin.

“I’m thinking s’mores next,” he said. “Make it with me?”

“Done,” I said, grabbing a bigger mold this time.

“You do the base,” he said as he casually slid it over like it wasn’t a way to avoid making a mess again. Brat.

I carefully filled it, doing a much better job this time. Ollie sprinkled graham cracker crumble in the bottom before I set it in the chiller so it could soak in a bit of the chocolate.

We worked side by side, our scents mixing and a happy calm spreading between us as we worked. I’d always thought of Dustin as my calming force, but being this close to Ollie, with all of our feelings out in the open showed me he was as well.

He was just as solid as his brothers, his force a more calming wave. His smile could chase away my bad moods and he was always able to read me easily. He would do anything for those he cared about, something the triplets shared, but when it came to me, Ollie was never quite as hidden with his attraction to me.

This man wore his heart on his sleeve and now I was a protector of it. I knew as I watched him pour chocolate that I’d do anything to keep him smiling our entire lives together. We wouldn’t be alone, we had a whole pack behind us, but Ollie truly was the heart of this group.

“Why are you staring at me, is there more chocolate?” he asked as he swiped at his flaming red cheeks.

“Nope,” I said, kissing his cheek and feeling the heat under my lips. “It’s just me being sappy over here.”

“You, sappy?” he snorted, but the pleased smile on his face was everything. “Grab the base, woman, we have chocolate to make.”

“On it,” I promised, grabbing the base and sliding it in front of him. He carefully plopped down a gob of marshmallow fluff and another layer of graham crackers. I squished it down so it flattened out before adding the top layer. It was a bit lumpier than my other bar, but I knew it would be delicious.

We continued like that, working side by side, until we’d filled every single mold Adrien had given us. I was just wiping up our mess and helping Ollie clean the dishes we used when our chocolatier came back. He grinned at the display of our creations.

“These look magnifique,” he praised as he folded a few boxes, delicately placing the bars in there like they were a true treasure, not a hot mess of our own creation.

Then again, Ollie looked at them the same way.

Mission accomplished.

“Tell me there’s food planned after this so I don’t have to feel bad when we devour these later,” Ollie whispered.

“Food is planned,” I promised.

“Have a good time, here are your chocolates,” Adrien said as he handed over the pretty box.

“Thank you again,” I said, giving him a bright smile. He’d definitely undercharged me for this date and I appreciated that he was so kind. It meant a lot to Ollie… and me.

“So, where to now?” Ollie asked as I put the box carefully in the back seat.

“Aww,” the excited squeak had both of us freezing and sharing a look before plastering smiles on our faces.

“Mrs. Smith,” I greeted the older woman. She had her hands clasped in front of her and her gray hair piled high on top of her head. She was wearing an ugly holiday sweater that she certainly didn’t find gaudy in the least.

“It’s so good to see you finally together. We all knew it was only a matter of time,” she gushed, clapping her wrinkled hands in delight. Her green eyes were full of sappy emotions and I wanted to be anywhere but here.