Page 26 of Harvest Heat

“Better?” he asked when he stepped back into the shop.

Rhys sank his teeth into his lower lip and nodded.

“I brought you a dry sweatshirt. I brought some pants too, but…”

Rhys shook his head. “They aren’t going to fit. You’re at least four inches taller than me.”

True, but Caleb wanted him to be comfortable. “You could roll them up.”

“My pants really aren’t that wet, but I will take the sweatshirt. Thanks. I am actually a little cold.”

“I thought so. I can get you a blanket.”

“No. This is fine.”

Caleb held out the sweatshirt, and Rhys laid it on the counter, then gripped the waist of his hoodie and pulled it up over his head. It was Caleb’s turn to stare. Rhys was definitely spending some time in the gym. His arms were perfectly sculpted, and Caleb wanted to lick his hard pecs and kiss a trail over his abs, right down to… He quickly looked up as Rhys’s head came through his sweatshirt and he pulled it down. He missed the naked skin, but damn, Rhys looked good in Caleb’s clothes.

They hadn’t even started working together, and the situation was already getting dangerous. They needed to talk, but that was not what Caleb wanted to do.

Rhys, clearly oblivious to how he’d affected Caleb, pointed at the kettle. “It boiled, but I wasn’t sure what kind of tea you wanted.”

“I’ll take care of it,” Caleb said. “Is chamomile okay with you?”

“Yes, that’s fine.” Caleb gestured Rhys toward the nearest table, then poured tea for each of them and set the mugs on the table. “Do you want something to eat too?”

Rhys shook his head. “Do you still want to work together?” The words poured out with no spaces between them.

Caleb smiled. “I do.”

“So you haven’t figured out your entry yet?”

“No, I haven’t been happy with anything I’ve tried.”

“Me either. I think we need each other.”

Caleb’s smile widened. He certainly needed more of Rhys. “We do. I haven’t changed my mind about that.”

“I thought maybe you would have after I…”

“Just because you said no to my suggestion? I’m not put off that easily. I wasn’t going to push you, but I’m glad you’re here now. Though maybe right now isn’t the best time to get started working together. We should finish our tea, then go to bed.”

Rhys’s eyes widened for a second, and then he relaxed. “Oh, like to sleep. That’s what you meant. Yeah. It’s late.” By the time he finished talking, his cheeks were bright red.

Caleb realized how his words had sounded and almost suggested they both go to his bed, but this was absolutely not something to jump into. “It is late. I’m sure you didn’t mean to be out at almost midnight.”

“I didn’t. I’m really sorry I got you out of bed.”

Caleb smiled. “No, I’m glad you did. It was worth it. I haven’t had much chance to talk to you, and I want to get to know you better, so this is good. We’ll work on a festival drink, and we’ll have plenty of time together.”

Caleb knew he shouldn’t be flirting so openly. He knew this was a bad idea, but with Rhys here in his shop in the middle of the night and admitting that he couldn’t think with Caleb undressed, it was too much for him to overcome.

Rhys sighed. “I’m not sure what else to try. I’ve run through all my ideas, and none of them are right.”

“We should start fresh, brainstorm with each other and come up with something new, instead of trying to tweak any of the drinks we’ve already dismissed.”

Rhys nodded. “That makes sense. But… Um… I don’t want to piss you off, but it’s really important to me that…”

Caleb held up a hand. “You don’t have to explain. I know you want everything to be perfect. You’re not going to settle for espresso that isn’t the highest quality. I get it. You might be surprised how hard I try to meet high standards here too.”