“We’ll make it.”

Riley wasn’t as convinced. This was the biggest order Susan’s fledging catering business had gotten yet. He was thrilled to have the opportunity to work with her. She’d lived next door to his family when he was a kid, but they’d become close when they took the same cooking class several years ago.

While Riley wasn’t ashamed of the work he did as Dash, he didn’t intend to fuck men for money much longer. He wanted to get an associate’s degree in baking and pastry arts, and he’d been saving so he could finally enroll. If things went well, he’d be able to take some classes after the start of the year. Being an escort beat the hell out of waiting tables or taking whatever crap job he could find in a restaurant kitchen with no training or professional experience.

His job also gave him time during the day to cook and bake; after several friends asked him to make cakes or other desserts for them, he got the idea to start charging. Then Susan had approached him about starting a small catering business, mostly desserts but some savory hors d’oeuvres as well, and he’d loved every minute of it so far. Sure, it was stressful when you knew the food had to be the best, but it gave him almost as much of a thrill as fucking a client he was really into.

He turned off the mixer he was using and tasted the devil’s-food-cake batter. “Mmm.”

“Good?” Susan asked.

“Heavenly.”

Susan had suggested espresso powder and just a touch of red pepper, enough to add interest without heat. The extra ingredients had perked the batter right up.

“You had a new client last weekend, right? How did that go?” Susan asked as Riley started filling the mini muffin tins he was using to make tiny cupcakes.

“You do realize how inappropriate this conversation is, right?”

Susan had never been bothered by Riley’s job. In fact, she took glee in embarrassing him by asking about it. Probably, she was just trying to make sure he was staying safe and that he was truly okay with what he was doing.

She laughed. “We’re both adults, and I like to check up on you. Besides, it’s nice to have you doing something exciting since Lilah’s job’s so boring. Not many fun stories from her accounting office.”

Susan’s daughter was a source of consternation. She’d turned out straitlaced and all business despite her mother’s rather vivacious personality. But in truth, Riley’s job was less exciting than most people imagined.

“Friday night was interesting.” Riley continued scooping out batter, trying to keep each muffin cup even without spilling drops on the tray. Mini cupcakes were damn cute, but they were also a pain.

“Interesting good or interesting bad?”