Page 11 of Harvest Heat

“Bye,” Tessa called.

Rhys gave him an awkward wave that only made him want the man more.

CHAPTER 5

“So how did it go?” Tessa asked.

Rhys’s throat tightened as anxiety overwhelmed him. “I should have offered to make him a drink, shouldn’t I?”

Tessa bit her lip. “That would have been great, but⁠—”

“Why is this so hard?”

Tessa laid a hand on his arm. “You like him, don’t you?”

“Yes. No. I don’t know. It doesn’t matter anyway.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m… I would be too much.”

“Rhys, you’re not too much for me or any of our other friends.”

“You’re used to me, and you…”

“We care. So it’s logical someone else could care, right?

“Caleb’s way too fun and sunshiny for me.”

Tessa sighed. “You’ve got time. Get to know him and see if you’re more comfortable.”

Rhys shook his head. “He asked if I wanted to work together on the drink for the Harvest Festival.”

“And what did you say?”

“I agreed to think about it, but… that’s not… I can’t do that. You know I don’t do group work.”

Tessa tilted her head to the side like she was thinking. “True, but I also know you like to win.”

“I like to win, but I want to do it honestly.”

She frowned. “Why would you think Caleb would do something dishonest?”

“I don’t. That’s not what I mean.”

She narrowed her eyes. “You mean you want to win your way.”

She was right, even if he hated how she put it. “Yes.”

“Actually think about working with him, okay?” Tessa squeezed his shoulder. “If you combined forces with his intuition and creativity and your scientific knowledge and precision⁠—”

“I can be creative.”

“Of course you can, but Caleb has a knack for knowing what someone likes and how to get that taste. You come to that by measurement and analysis.”

Rhys forced himself to consider what she was saying. Caleb had known exactly how to make a drink he would like. He held his cup out to Tessa. “Here. Taste.”

She did, taking a moment to process the drink. “Not sweet enough.”