Sweet Jesus.
I don’t mind playing the long game with Theo. Something tells me the payoff will be worth it, but it may kill me to get there. With the grace of water flowing over rock, Theo wraps his long fingers around the short neck of the Patrón bottle and steps away to finish his drink order.
When he’s gone, I take a seat next to Baylor. The rest of my brothers have now moved to the adjoining section of the bar, spread between the dart board and the pool table.
“Very admirable, Matty.” Baylor takes a drink of his beer and slides one over to me. “Points for effort at least.”
“Only a matter of time, B.” I open the lid of the box in the middle of the table, from Maxine’s, the coffee house located on the walk between Black Diamond and the Bear Valley Inn, and groan.
I shoot Baylor a look for bringing food from somewhere else into Black Diamond, where I curated the menu, but forget to be irritated when I see what is inside.
“Gougeres?” I can smell the cheese waft off of the puffy little pastries in the box.
“They go great with the beer or the wine.” He shoves the box closer to me, and my eyes roll back at the first perfect bite. “You have been flirting with Theo for months, and it doesn’t appear to be moving the ball much. The longing on your face.” He shakes his head. “Well, the song almost writes itself.”
“Bet I could write a better one about Theo’s ass. Maybe that little upturned nose, too,” I counter with a smile before taking another bite of the cheese puff. Salty and tangy, with the right give—perfection.
“Okay, loverboy. But I think we are supposed to be here to celebrate a New Year and support Black Diamond, not hit on Theo.”
“I’ve always been good at multitasking. If you haven’t noticed, hitting on Theo is one of my new hobbies.”
Baylor’s white teeth flash against his dark stubble.
During our quick talk, the bar has filled up even more. Two young guys make their way over to our table, each pretty and slim, dressed for a club more than a bar. It fits the Black Diamond vibe perfectly for tonight. Sharing an amused glance at Baylor, we nicely make small-talk with them. I’m careful not to flirt, ready to shut down the interest at the first non-asshole opportunity. Baylor and I are likely the only two guys in this place not partnered up or looking for someone.
The guy talking me up is my usual type—fun and witty with sharp eyes and an easy smile. No strings on this guy. He would be gone by the next morning and try to make it worth my time while he stayed. Mascara makes his baby blues pop, but all I can think about are big brown doe eyes.
“You aren’t interested, are you, darlin’?” the guy asks, breathing it into my ear as he drapes against me.
“Afraid not, although that has nothing to do with you, doll.” And that’s the truth. Theo has snagged my attention, and until I scratch that itch, nothing else is going to satisfy. There will be plenty of pretty guys left once the fascination with Theo ends.
With a crystal laugh, the guy watches Baylor whisper into his friend’s ear. The other guy giggles and jumps up, taking his friend’s hand. After nothing more than a few sassy huffs, they are gone.
“Baylor Mann, still the master at letting pretty boys down easy.”
“Experience. It appears you may have scored some points with your boy by shooing that guy away so quickly.”
“Is that so?” Not why I was doing it, but I guess it works.
I pop another of the damn addictive cheese puffs in my mouth. Fuck, this baker at Maxine’s needs to apply to Summit House. I have mere months before my pastry chef retires, and I need someone with this kind of talent for both flavor and presentation. This person’s presence right here in Bear Valley is both thrilling and sets my teeth on edge. Maxine, no matter how much I have asked, will not divulge their identity. And they’ve been supplying her now for almost a year.
Lucky for me, there is a good distraction nearby.
I see Theo across the bar, bending to clear a few tables, his shirt sliding up his back to show the same lean muscle. I can practically count his vertebrae from here. He’s still too damn thin, but then again, the denim wraps his ass perfectly, showing he’s filled out in all the right places.
I groan. At the pastry. At Theo’s ass. At wanting too many damn things at once. That’s not the New Year’s state of mind I need. I need my usual state of letting everything slide by. Taking life as it comes.
Baylor chuckles. “You are serious about chasing this one.” It’s a statement, an observation, not a question.
“I might disagree with the word ‘chasing’ here. We’ve become friends.”
“Friends,” Baylor mumbles, draining his glass. “You would pick the most complicated guy in the room. Good luck with that.” He picks up his guitar case from the floor, making his way to the stage to warm up.
Not quite ready to meet up with my brothers and their lovers, I sit back in my chair and eat another cheese puff.
Chapter 2: Theo
Matt’s here.
