Chapter 5
At seven o’clock sharp, Rayne entered the Higher Grounds coffee shop and was greeted by the warm scent of brewing coffee mingled with vanilla and cinnamon from the fresh baked pastries. The shop was small, but it made good use of its space with short booths lining the wall and clusters of tables in the middle. Part of the counter was taken up with a glass display case for the pastries, which included scones, cinnamon rolls, muffins, and coffee cake. The decor was a clean, modern style that Rayne liked because it made the space feel more open, and soft instrumental music played on the sound system.
Rayne glanced around to see if Emilio was there yet and spotted him sitting in a booth near the back. He offered a friendly smile and wave to acknowledge Emilio and then beelined to the counter to order a hazelnut latte and a cinnamon roll. After he received his order, he headed to Emilio’s booth and slid in across from him.
“Hey, Emilio. How was your day?”
Emilio glanced up from his cup. Next to it was a small plate where a croissant had been torn to pieces rather than eaten. “It was all right,” he replied. “Classes, private lessons, paperwork. With the upcoming pageant, there’s a lot to keep me busy.”
“I can imagine,” Rayne said with a sympathetic nod. “The renovations are keeping me pretty busy too.”
“Mm.” Emilio picked up his cup and took a sip of his beverage. Rayne caught the scents of cinnamon and chocolate, and he remembered Emilio had always preferred hot chocolate to coffee.
The coffee shop was cozy, and Rayne pushed up the sleeves of his navy cabled sweater to keep from getting overheated. Maybe he should have ordered an iced coffee instead, given the place was so warm. Or maybe it was just his nerves making him feel flushed.
“I’ll assume that means the small talk phase is over, and we can move on to discussing the heavy baggage now,” he said, injecting a lighter note into his voice.
Emilio glanced up and gave a little huff of amusement. “I’m not ever sure what to make small talk about, to be honest. I don’t know anything about you anymore. For all I know you switched teams, got married, and have a nine kids back in Atlanta.”
“Oh, God, no!” Rayne let out a startled laugh. “No, we’re still on the same team, and I’ve never been married.” He flicked his gaze to Emilio’s left hand, which was devoid of a wedding band. The thought that Emilio might have settled down with someone else had occurred to him, but he hadn’t seen any evidence of it so far. “What about you?”
Emilio snorted. “No. As far as I know, I’m the only gay man in town. I used to go into Asheville most weekends, but I stopped around the time my father died. Mama decided to quit teaching and devote her time to my nieces and nephews, so I’ve had the school to run. It takes up most of my time.”
“So you aren’t seeing anyone?” Rayne tried to sound casual, but his heart quickened its pace as he waited to hear Emilio’s answer.
Emilio’s lips twisted. “No.” He caught Rayne’s gaze and held it. “No one wants to move to a backwater like Holiday Pines, probably for the same reasons you left it.” He gave a chuckle that sounded bitter. “No, let me be truthful. No one has ever wantedmeenough to move here. Or stay here. I shouldn’t blame the town when it’s really me who lacks the appeal.”
The bitterness and insecurity in Emilio’s demeanor made Rayne’s heart wrench. Emilio had always been one of the most self-confident people Rayne knew, and he hated to see that had changed so much.
“I’m sorry,” he said softly, wishing he could reach across the table and touch Emilio, but it was probably too soon for that. “I’m sorry you haven’t found anyone who isn’t a complete idiot because you’ve got enough appeal for ten men. I’m sorry I was one of the idiots. I’m sorry I hurt you.”
Emilio gave a shrug and then ran a betraying hand through his hair. “It was a long time ago. Mama says I need to get over it. I thought Iwasover it, but I never expected you to come back.”
Rayne sipped his coffee while he collected his thoughts. “I think returning was inevitable,” he said at last. “Being asked to restore the playhouse was an unexpected nudge, but I would’ve been back eventually without it.”
“Really?” Emilio raised a brow, not bothering to hide his skepticism. “Why? You don’t have any ties here anymore. I would think Atlanta is home for you now.”
“I loved it at first,” Rayne admitted, tearing a bite off his cinnamon roll. “I was pretty much the typical small-town gay boy living it up in the big city. But it never really felt like home. I may not have ties here, but I have roots here.”
“Perhaps.” Emilio took another sip of his chocolate. “Well, if you’re making a permanent move back, I guess you’ll be in the same boat I am. But maybe you’ll be more successful at finding someone willing to move here than I’ve been.”
“Convincing someone to move here isn’t my top priority,” Rayne said, watching Emilio over the rim of his coffee cup. He was far more interested in convincing Emilio to give him a second chance. “I’ve got a restoration to finish. Speaking of…” He raised one eyebrow at Emilio. “Why were you so convinced I was going to turn the playhouse into something modern?”
Emilio looked startled at the question, and then he glanced away. “Honestly? It was my gut instinct. Because I love the playhouse. Because you hurt me, I felt like you’d hurt it, too. I’m not claiming it’s fair, but that’s what I felt. You thought I was too small-town, so I thought you’d believe the playhouse was too small-town to suit you as well.”
Rayne put down his cup and fixed Emilio with a somber look. “It wasn’t your fault I left. You were a smart, sexy young man, and I loved you, but nothing and no one would have been enough to keep me here back then. I was a single-minded, immature kid. At the time, I thought I wanted more than Holiday Pines could offer, and I wasn’t ready for a serious commitment. That had nothing to do with you. It was all on me.”
“Yes, it was.” Emilio gave a mirthless laugh. “I guess you did me a favor in a way, breaking up with me like you did. I was a lot blinder than I thought, ready to leave everything behind to go after you. At least you dumped me before I moved to Atlanta, so I didn’t spend all that time and effort chasing someone who didn’t want to be with me.”
Emilio’s remark reminded Rayne of something Isabel had said and tried to walk back at the reception, and curiosity spurred him to follow up now. “I didn’t realize you’d thought about moving to Atlanta,” he said, offering an opening in the hopes Emilio would step through.
“Because it was supposed to be a surprise.” Emilio shook his head. “I was a stupid, blind romantic, and I thought you were runningtoAtlanta, not running fromme. So I auditioned for the Georgia Ballet, and they offered me a position. That was going to be my big Christmas gift for you, to tell you I was going to join you in Atlanta, that we could be together. But then you made it clear you didn’t want me at all. That was better than finding out after I’d already moved and signed a contract I couldn’t have afforded to break. I would have ended up hating you rather than just despising you.”
Rayne stared down into his cooling coffee, guilt and regret roiling around inside his chest. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m not surprised they wanted you. You’ve always been an amazing dancer. But you’re right. It’s better you found out sooner rather than later. I wasn’t ready for happily ever after and the white picket fence.”
“Quit saying you’re sorry.” Emilio’s tone was harsh. “It doesn’t change anything. Now do you see why I thought you would ruin the playhouse? Because I thought you were coming back to lord your success over me, to prove you were right in leaving Holiday Pines behind. In leavingmebehind. Well, maybe you were right. You got the success you wanted, and I stayed with the people who really cared about me. And if I’ve never found my soulmate. At least I’ve spent every day of the last twelve years with people whose love I’ve never had to question or doubt.”
“I’m glad of that,” Rayne said, and he meant it, but his own temper was rising a little. “Why would you assume I was coming back for the sole purpose of being a callous asshole, to flaunt my success and ruin something you love?” He remembered something else Isabel had said, and he was starting to realize why she’d said it. “Not everything is about you, and despite whatever image you’ve built up of me over the last twelve years as a mustache-twirling villain, that’s not who I was then, and it’s certainly not who I am now.”
