Page 51 of Harvest Heat

“Yes, but… I can’t be normal around him.”

“I noticed.”

Rhys groaned. “I should go.”

“Without your book?”

“Oh, right, my book.” The one Caleb may have seen, Roping the Cowboy.

Jonah handed him the bag. “Enjoy.”

“You could have waited until Caleb left to go get it.”

“I don’t think he saw the cover. I was careful not to flash it around.”

“I know, but he might have seen it.” Heat filled his face at that thought.

“I really don’t think he did.” Rhys had a feeling Jonah was pacifying him. If Caleb had seen, if he teased Rhys tonight, he wasn’t sure he could stand it.

“Whether he saw or not, I can tell you he’s got it bad for you. Poor Agnes doesn’t stand a chance.”

Rhys’s mouth dropped open.

“You really hadn’t noticed, had you? Maybe because you were too busy mooning over him.”

“What? I’m not… I haven’t… And he’s…”

“He likes you.”

Rhys shook his head. “No way.”

“Trust me on this. We’ve all seen how he looks at you when you aren’t watching him, which, admittedly, isn’t all that often.”

“Jonah!” Rhys looked around to make sure no one in the store was looking at them. “I’ve already told you dating Caleb is not an option.”

Jonah sighed. “You know we’d all protect you from the worst of the gossips.”

“I know you’d try, but think about it. Agnes will be devastated.”

Jonah laughed. “You know she’s just thrilled to be around him. She isn’t actually wanting to date him or something.”

“Of course not, but there’s no way she won’t start an all-out campaign for us to be together if she thinks there’s a chance. She loves being a matchmaker.”

“True. She might ask if she can watch.”

Rhys shook his head in horror. “Oh my God. I’m leaving.”

Jonah laughed. “Have a fun afternoon.”

Rhys had intended to have a quiet afternoon, but now his head was spinning. How many people had noticed his interest in Caleb? Was it only his close friends? Had Caleb seen what he was reading? Would he ask him about it? And worse than any of those problems was the flash of hurt he’d seen in Caleb’s eyes when he’d jerked his hand away. Caleb seemed to understand why he didn’t want to tell anyone about them, but he was clearly having a hard time with it. Honestly, Rhys was too. Hiding and keeping the truth from his friends sucked. Maybe he could at least figure out a way to make it up to Caleb the next time they got together.

Between Caleb’s hockey game and book club, Rhys had gone a few days without being alone with Caleb. He’d promised to bring dinner for their work session tonight, and he’d decided to bring something special instead of ordering pizza or sandwiches from the pub. That was the best way he’d thought of to apologize for hurting Caleb when they saw each other at the bookstore.

When business tapered off for the afternoon, Rhys took a break and crossed the street to the bakery. Tessa was thrilled to see him. “Caleb was just in here.”

“What did he need?” Rhys tried to act only mildly interested, but he wanted to know what she’d said to Caleb.

“He just wanted to discuss some additions to his standing order.”