Scott widened his eyes and held up both hands in a gesture of surrender. “I wouldn’t dream of it!”
“Good.”
Rhys headed for the stairs with Thomas following along behind. Since they hadn’t made any concrete plans for the day, Rhys had dressed much like Thomas in sweatpants and an old sweatshirt that had seen better days, so he changed into jeans and a WNC sweatshirt that was in far better condition. He also came up with a plan to avoid spending the entire day with Scott, especially since it seemed Thomas was no more enthusiastic about the idea than he was.
He made a quick phone call before going back downstairs, and he couldn’t quite keep from looking smug as he approached Scott, who was now sprawled on the couch.
“By the way, we can’t stay all that long at the festival,” Rhys said. “Thomas and I were planning to take a slow morning and then get out later. I’ve got a couple of things lined up, including dinner reservations for just the two of us.”
Scott’s expression darkened a little at that, but then he shrugged. “No problem.”
“What’s no problem?” Thomas asked from behind Rhys.
Rhys’s heart lurched and pounded, and he let out a little yelp. He whirled to see Thomas standing there in jeans and a sweater almost the same hue as his eyes. His hair was loose and flowing around his shoulders. Rhys swallowed hard, trying to remember why he was annoyed, and the racing of his pulse reminded him that he’d fallen victim to Thomas’s silent gait yet again.
“I’m putting in a squeaky step on those stairs,” he grumbled, pressing his hand against his chest. “Anyway, I was telling Scott about our plans for later. I’m thinking three hours tops at the festival, and we can’t eat too much because I got a confirmation from the restaurant.”
And he had, but he wasn’t about to say which restaurant in Scott’s presence. Otherwise, they might find Scott pulling up a chair at their table.
Thomas caught on quickly, and the smile he gave Rhys was warm and bright. He slid his arms around Rhys and pushed up on his toes so he could kiss Rhys’s cheek. “Wonderful! I’ve been looking forward to it this whole trip.”
Rhys’s skin tingled at the brush of Thomas’s lips, and heat flooded his face, but he wrapped his arms around Thomas in return. “I’m glad. I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I think you will.”
Scott cleared his throat. “If we don’t have much time for the festival, then we’d better get going.”
Rhys gave Thomas a little squeeze just for Scott’s benefit before releasing him. “We’d better take separate cars. We’ll probably want to leave before you will.”
“Sure,” Scott said, a sour note underlying his voice. Whatever he’d hoped to accomplish wasn’t coming together like he wanted, and that was fine with Rhys. He was tired of participating in a competition he’d never signed up for.
Knowing he’d thwarted Scott put Rhys in better spirits, and his smile was genuine when he turned to Thomas. “Want to take the motorcycle or the truck?”
“Let’s take the bike,” Thomas said. “I like having the excuse to keep my arms around you.”
“Me too.” Rhys tried to ignore the part of him that wasn’t saying that just for Scott’s benefit. “Okay, let’s head out. If we get separated, we’ll meet in front of the chamber of commerce on Main Street.”
“Sounds good. See you there!” Scott pushed himself up from the couch and headed out the door, and Rhys waited until Scott had closed the front door behind himself and his footsteps on the porch had faded to silence.
“I really do have plans,” he said. “Including dinner reservations.”
“Good.” Thomas gave Rhys’s arm a squeeze. “We spent all day yesterday with Scott.”
“Yeah, and I figured neither of us wanted to do it again.” Rhys chuckled, despite feeling a little guilty. “Anyway, I was thinking we could visit my favorite biker gear shop in Maggie Valley and then see if the Wheels Through Time museum is open, if you’re interested. Our reservations are for seven at one of the resorts.”
“What’s the Wheels Through Time museum about?” Thomas asked.
“It mainly focuses on a big collection of vintage motorcycles,” Rhys said, warming up to the subject. Wheels Through Time had been one of his favorite museums for years. “But it has some old cars on display too — and I meanoldcars. We’re talking 1932 Packard old.”
Thomas’s eyes lit up with interest. “Sounds amazing! I’m looking forward to it.”
“We’ll put in a couple of hours at the festival and then ditch Scott and have some real fun.” Rhys found himself grinning mischievously, feeling a little surge of anticipation at the idea of introducing Thomas to some of his favorite local places. “It won’t be too bad at the festival either. You can get fresh apple cider and some amazing apple turnovers.”
“That might be worth putting up with Scott for a little while.” Thomas looked eager, his eyes bright with anticipation.
Rhys wasn’t surprised to find downtown Waynesville was packed, especially since Main Street itself was closed off for the festival. But finding parking for his motorcycle must have been much easier because they were at the chamber of commerce building before Scott. Rhys was tempted to suggest moving on without him.
The day was sunny and clear, so the crowd on Main Street was already large, and more people were filtering in from the side streets in a steady stream. The middle of Main Street was packed with a solid line of vendor tents and food trucks, and the scent of baked apple goods tinged with a hint of cinnamon permeated the air. There were plenty of other food options, but apples dominated the day and overwhelmed just about everything else.
Local artists and craftspeople had come out as well, offering everything from handmade jewelry to hand woven baskets to hand thrown pottery of all shapes and types. Thomas lingered at a booth featuring handmade mugs and dishware, seeming to admire one mug in particular that was made with shades of blue from cobalt to baby blue. Rhys let him and Scott wander on to the next vendor so he could covertly buy the blue mug, plus another one that he couldn’t resist because it read, “I’m a zombie before my coffee.” Thomas shot a questioning look at him when he rejoined them with a bag in hand, but he said nothing. A couple of mugs were scant repayment for the huge favor Thomas was doing for him, but maybe it could be a start.
