For someone who seemed to know that, he sure had been delaying whatever pain he thought those boxes would bring forth for him.
Perrin was waiting for me by the door to a local cafe where we were meeting, typing something on his phone. My guy was stunning in dark denim jeans, and a tight white Henley with a puffy vest over the top. The shirt showed his body to perfection, and I just wanted to stop and stare at him. I had seen him several times in snow gear, in scrubs, or in nothing at all. But, most of our time was spent outside on the mountain. The nights we had gone out on dates - out to dinner or out for some music or coffee had been a treat to see him just like this. In the light of day, it was always an unexpected rush to meet him for something as simple as coffee or lunch and to see him in everyday clothes. Most of our lunch dates were him in scrubs and me in a suit or office clothes.
He met me with a big smile, sunshine on his face and even his dimples popping.
“Hey, sweetheart,” he smiled to me, oblivious to the smiles and lingering gazes of interest he was getting from both men and women just standing there on the sidewalk.
Wewentinto the cafe, hooking hands together and Perrin pulledme close, only to be waved away as soon as we had entered the door.
“Mrs. Scott,” Perrin said with a nod, pressing his hand against the frail one of a sweet lady who had been the librarian at Bear Valley High when my younger brothers attended school. “How is Robert?”
“Recovering just fine. His sister came into town to help out, and I made my bridge club,” the woman said with a smile, and a quick introduction to the other ladies at her table.
“I’m glad to hear that.”
He smiled and shook hands with some other people, asking about kids and spouses all the way to our table in the back. I liked how easily he seemed to know people and the things that mattered to them.
The cafe was popular with the locals and tourists. It had local artists on the walls and differently styled chairs and tables, a hodgepodge that somehow worked together to an eclectic and comfortable place. I couldn’t help but notice that when Perrin sat in his chair, a tall wing-back with an emerald green velvet upholstery, he looked like some sort of king on a throne, even in jeans. The halo of curls was litbythe green behind him, and it made the gold flecks shine in his eyes.
I sat next to him and felt his hand immediately on my thigh above my knee with a soft squeeze.
“You have made quite a few friends, it seems,” I teased.
Perrin raised his eyebrow, “Yeah. I guess having to make quick friends now comes in handy.”
“Charming the pants off of them, that’s for sure,” I smiled at him, and felt his hand rub up my thigh.
“Just yours, sweetheart,” he said low, with a wink, giving strange flip-flops in my stomach.
“Better be,” I joked back. I rearranged my legs under the table, where they were entangled with his, and I ran my hands to his and interlaced my fingers on top of the table.
“You know that, Jack,” he said in a low rumble. “Plus there is that gala coming up in the next month or so; I don’t want to have to do all my networking then,” he explained.I would rather have a good time.”
“I’m totally showing you off,” I smiled, excited about the idea of a date with dressed-up Perrin.
“Bannon’s already been clear that my appearance is somewhat expected at some of these things.”
“Hope you can multitask, as you will also be there as my date to all of the things,” I told him.
He laughed. “Maybeyouwill bemydate, since I assume you will be there for the Foundation.”
I wrinkled my nose. “We are hosting a few of these things, even.”
“Well, other than Bannon’s desire to see me in administration or whatever his angle is, he's maybe the perfect boss. I’m beginning to believe I actually died somewhere over the Atlantic, and Bear Valley is part of some long and crazy dream,” Perrin mused.
It wasn’t the first time he said something like that, and I wondered, the issues with the unopened boxes still swirling out there in my consciousness, whatexactlymade him so grateful. And what shadows still fell over him.
But, of course, I had my own details to flesh out for him. My whole damn family wasn’t going to let the PaulBiandiissue go, so while my first reaction to their little love-up was to ignore them, it was short-lived when reality set in. I stupidly felt my hand start to pull away from Perrin as I started to think about telling him. Sure, it had crossed my mind that Ineededto tell him. But sitting there, I began to freak out a little bit about what it could really mean.
“Jack?” he asked. I am not sure what he read in my face, but he was instantly alert, and that had concern creasing his brow. Luckily, the waitress was there, interrupting the moment. I saw Perrinsaythank you to the waitress, who definitely wanted to catch his eye, but he just shot me another concerned glance.
“You will need a tux,” I said, trying to steer the conversation into something I could handle, and push off the thoughts of how I might kill this still very new and very shiny and certainly very intensethingthat was going on with the man beside me.
It was making me run a little hot and cold, at least in my own mind. And, I knew it wouldn’t take long for that to translate to actions and I didn’t want to do that, either. Not with Perrin, where I was very muchhotandso far hotthere was no room for cold. Itdidn’t seem authentic to muddy the waters of our relationship because of my fear of what could happen. So, that really left no other options than to have a conversation that I really didn’t want to have.
Perrin
“Tux?” I asked, confused.
