Kiss and Make Up (Bachelors of Buttermilk #3) by Robyn Neeley

right.
    Taking the bottle over to the sink, he turned it upside down and dumped it out. He’d start over tomorrow. Tonight, he’d pick up some takeout, head home, and spend the evening looking at all the new pictures of Caitlin and the kids that filled his Facebook timeline. It was a familiar pattern that he’d been doing for the last two weeks and the second best thing to being there in person.
    He hadn’t been able to get Caitlin or their last encounter out of his mind. It would have been wrong to do what he wanted, which was to take her in his arms and kiss her silly. But she was with Adam and he wouldn’t do that to his buddy.
    Although, the argument could be made that his friend did exactly that to him.
    Maybe Josh had never actually admitted he’d had feelings for Caitlin to Adam, or anyone for that matter, but he’d like to think that his best friend would have some inclination how he felt about her.
    He should have never asked Adam to keep an eye on Caitlin. From what he could tell, she was doing just fine.
    He’d been so impressed that she’d bought the old theater. He had no doubt she’d accomplish everything she set out to do. And that list was long. While they were at the park, she’d proudly showed off her notebook filled with to-dos. The town’s people didn’t know it, but when that theater opened, they were in for something special.
    He only wished he could be there for next month’s grand opening. He grabbed a clean vial tube off the shelf. If he succeeded with his perfume, maybe he could fly home for it.
    A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts. Josh headed over and punched in the six-digit code to unlock the secure lab. With competitors highly curious about the new perfume division of Kiss and Makeup, the lab had become like Fort Knox. No one was walking through the door without him letting them in.
    His eyebrow raised at the sight of his assistant. She rarely came down here, preferring to use the intercom. “Hey, Beverly, I was just finishing up. Do you need me upstairs?”
    “No.” She handed him his iPad. “This guy won’t stop calling even though I said you would be in the lab all day and not available to talk. Says he’s a friend of yours from back home. I told him I would bring down your iPad to see if you were available to Skype.”
    Josh looked down to see Adam’s frazzled face staring back at him. Alarmed, he asked if the kids were okay.
    “Hey, Josh. The kids are fine, but this mess is driving me crazy.”
    “What mess? Things all right between you and Caitlin?” Josh looked over at his assistant whose wide grin was a dead giveaway that she was amused by the conversation. She knew very well Caitlin was the mother of his kids. Beverly had always been intrigued by his small town tales, including how Emma had fallen in love with her enemy who threatened to expose Batter Up night and how Abby had gotten tangled up with Brandon. “I think I’m good, Bev. Thank you.”
    She gave him the mother of all smirks and exited the lab. No doubt she’d hound him for the gossip later.
    “So, talk to me, Adam. Why were you harassing my assistant?”
    “Because it’s urgent. I really need to talk to you about Emma’s batter.”
    “I’m sure the news freaked you out.” It freaked Josh out, too. Still did. “Don’t put a lot of stock in what happened. For all we know, the spell could have been wrong. It wasn’t even Emma’s regular spoon.” He was grasping—he knew that—Emma had a perfect track record with the pink spoon. Magical logic would assume she’d have similar success with the damn enchanted blue one. God, he hated that spoon.
    “I don’t know man . . . This just can’t happen.” If Adam’s head shook back and forth any faster, Josh was sure he’d give himself whiplash. “I’m not ready to get married let alone be a father to triplets.” He paused, tripping over his words. “Er . . . um . . . I mean you’re their father.”
    Walking over to the counter,