Eli held it open, and she went out to Noah’s truck.
He smiled as he took the boxes and loaded them into the back. “These smell awesome.”
She narrowed her gaze. “Do I need to count their contents?”
Noah gave a mock gasp of indignation. “You mean you’re not paying me with cinnamon rolls for the use of my truck? Rude.”
Aileen laughed. “Okay, I’ll make sure there are a couple left for you.” She glanced at Eli. “And you can take my brother with you. He’s been useless all day.”
“Hey! I’ve been incredibly useful,” Eli protested.
“You reorganized the sprinkle shelf,” she said. “Twice.”
“It needed it.”
Noah laughed. “C’mon, sprinkle king. I’ve got a schedule to keep.”
Aileen leaned close as Eli stepped past her with his arms full of boxes. “You look happy,” she said in a low voice. “Let it happen, okay?”
He swallowed. “I’m trying.”
“Good,” she said. Then, louder: “Don’t keep him out too late. He turns into a pumpkin after midnight.”
“I absolutely do not!” Eli yelled over his shoulder.
“I can vouch for that,” Noah said with a grin. “I haven’t woken up once to find a pumpkin in my bed.”
Eli stared at him. “Say that again, Noah. I think half the town missed it the first time.”
Noah’s grin was positively wicked.
Eli deposited his boxes and got into the passenger seat. The truck smelled like pine and its usual aroma of coffee and faint traces of sawdust. Noah leaned over as Eli climbed in, the truck’s heater rattling into life. “Hi.”
“Hi.” Eli echoed, loving the way Noah’s eyes did that automatic once-over, checking him, softening when their gazes met. Noah’s hand came to rest on Eli’s thigh for a second, long enough for warmth to flare under the denim.
“Ready?” Noah asked.
“Define ready.”
“For lights, crowds, maple fudge, and at least three people asking if we’re ‘serious.’”
Eli choked. “What?”
“It’s Mapleford,” Noah said with a smile. “We’re gay, we’re in proximity, and we’ll be standing near a tree. People will have questions.”
“You’re kidding.”
Noah grinned, his eyes on the road. “We don’t have to announce anything. But this town? It notices.”
The words made Eli’s stomach swoop.
He’d known this was coming, in theory. Mapleford wasn’t a place where you could blend into the blur; it was a town full of human magnifying glasses. He’d grown up here trying to be as unnoticeable as possible.
Now he was showing up on Noah’s passenger side, convinced the locals would be examining him for signs of lips swollen from too much kissing. His heart was doing its best impression of a drumline.
He stared out at the snow as the truck rolled toward the square. “Is that gonna be a problem?”
“For who?” Noah asked.
