Page 53 of Harvest Heat

“Tessa, I don’t⁠—”

“Watch out, or I’ll add some cookies to your order.”

“Fine. I’m going now.”

“What are you up to tonight other than eating a baguette?”

He shrugged. “Nothing special. It’s just a normal Monday night.”

“Right, because you’re acting so normal.”

“Leave him alone,” Finn said.

Rhys inclined his head toward Finn. “Thanks.”

Tessa huffed. “All right. Go home. Be boring. Do whatever is normal.”

“Did you decide on your festival drink?” Finn asked.

Rhys realized he should’ve said he was working on his drink that night. Then, if they saw his car back at the shop, they wouldn’t question it.

“No, I guess I should work on that tonight.” Tessa glanced at Finn, and Rhys knew he wasn’t getting out of there yet.

“And you forgot about that a minute ago?” Tessa asked.

“No. Yes. It’s not part of my normal routine to go back to the shop.”

“Wow, something really is going on with you,” Tessa said.

Rhys wondered if he should just tell her. She was going to figure it out eventually. “I’m going now. I’ll see you later.”

“Bye,” Tessa and Finn said together as he practically ran for the door.

After Rhys closed up Frost + Foam for the day, he drove over to the next town to shop at a gourmet market. He wasn’t as likely to run into anyone there, and they would have everything he needed for the dinner he’d planned. What he hadn’t told Tessa was that he needed the baguette to go with a charcuterie board he was making for him and Caleb. He wasn’t skilled at cooking, and he doubted Caleb wanted scrambled eggs or ramen, but at least he could put together something that looked fancy.

As he selected meats and cheeses, he second-guessed himself. Was this a ridiculous idea? He didn’t even know what kind of cheese Caleb liked. At least he did know Caleb wouldn’t be disappointed when he didn’t include blue cheese.

Maybe he should get them takeout like usual, but he wanted to do something nice. He knew Caleb was frustrated with their situation, and he didn’t want to fuck things up. He liked kissing Caleb way too much.

Rhys still couldn’t believe he’d been the one to initiate things between them. He’d practically jumped Caleb. What was wrong with him? He had no self-control around Caleb. He’d never been like that around other men. He’d enjoyed hookups, but not like he did with Caleb. He’d never needed a man so much he thought he might die if he couldn’t have them.

And it wasn’t just the kissing. Rhys’s face heated at the thought of the other things they’d done, but it wasn’t just sex either. It was Caleb, as a person. Rhys really liked him. What was he going to do if they kept seeing each other? And they would, at least until the festival, but what then? Could they just become friends?

For years, Rhys had only hooked up with guys from out of town so he didn’t have to see them again afterward. He wasn’t any good at being friends with somebody he’d fucked, and that was when there weren’t deeper feelings involved. With Caleb, he was already feeling way too much.

Rhys pushed those thoughts away while he finished his shopping. As he approached the checkout, he realized he might have gotten too much food, but he didn’t know how hungry Caleb would be, and he wanted to make sure he had enough.

“Having a party?” the guy at the counter asked.

“Oh, yes.” It was easier to lie than to say he was panicking about how much he needed to feed himself and one other guy.

“This is my favorite cheese,” the guy said as he scanned the wedge of Port Salut.

“It is?”

“Yes. I’m sure your guests will love it.” Rhys nodded his agreement.

As soon as he was in the car, he hurried home. He wanted to have plenty of time to put things together before he needed to be at Cloud Nine.