Page 85 of Harvest Heat

CHAPTER 31

Rhys was as prepared as he was going to get. He’d written out what he wanted to say to Caleb, knowing he’d freeze up if he tried to improvise, and he might forget in the moment, even if he had the words memorized. His ability to think was likely going to disappear the second he was with Caleb.

He’d made sure Caleb was working at Cloud Nine that afternoon. Tessa had done some detective work for him and figured out that Caleb’s favorite dinner was spaghetti and meatballs. He’d raved to her about some of the Italian places he loved in Boston’s North End. Rhys knew his ability to cook pasta and heat up a jar of sauce wasn’t going to be good enough, so he’d driven to Portsmouth for the best Italian food on the coast and convinced them to sell him a container of sauce and one of their meatballs. He bought a premium brand of pasta and would make that at home and top it with the prepared sauce. He’d even gotten a loaf of Tessa’s Italian bread to make garlic bread.

If things went his way and Caleb came over for dinner, he was going to tell Caleb how he felt. Hopefully, he wouldn’t have to figure out how to put himself back together after a rejection. That would be even more hellish than the last few days had been.

All of his friends believed in this plan. He wasn’t great with explaining feelings, so he’d taken part of his plan from Trapped with the Cowboy. The characters had the best reunion and happily ever after. Maybe he and Caleb could have that too.

Rhys and his friends had brainstormed together, and they’d all been supportive and encouraging, but now it was all up to Rhys. None of them could help him anymore. Rhys had to face Caleb alone. He would apologize and hopefully convince Caleb to give him another chance.

Caleb was rushing through cleaning up at the end of the day while Natalie spruced up the decorations out front. A few of their pumpkins had been nibbled by squirrels, and she’d gotten some new ones to replace them. The festival setup was in the town square, but there would be tourists in town all weekend, and he wanted everything at Cloud Nine to look as perfect as possible.

He should be feeling excited. He should probably be out there himself, seeing if anything else needed tending to. He’d originally intended to create a new display for festival weekend, but he hadn’t yet, and there were only four days to go.

It was all he could do to get through the day and do the minimal amount to keep the shop going and make sure he’d scheduled enough people to work at the festival booth and here in the shop.

A few weeks ago, he’d been eagerly anticipating a chance to be part of the festival, thrilled that it was in his new town for his first fall there, but now he wished he could skip it all. If he didn’t know it would be a disaster for his business, he might have escaped to Boston for the week. But Cloud Nine mattered to him, even if he did have to work down the street from the man he desperately wanted but hadn’t seen in days.

He’d heard Rhys hadn’t been to Frost + Foam since the night he’d run from Caleb. He was worried about him, but he knew Tessa and the rest of their friends—Rhys’s friends—were taking care of him.

Caleb had considered checking on him, but that would probably only make things worse. Chances were, Rhys wouldn’t answer the door if he showed up at his house. Would Rhys even show up at the festival? Caleb would run their booth either way, and maybe it would be less awkward without Rhys there, but it would also be far more lonely.

Natalie came in, satisfied with how the storefront looked now. “I’m going to head out unless you need anything else.”

“No, that’s fine. Thanks for taking care of things out there.”

“Of course. And I know you haven’t taken me up on it, but I want you to know that my offer still stands. I’m here to listen if you want to talk about what’s going on.”

Caleb forced himself to smile. “I’m fine. Really.”

She raised her brows. “Okay. See you tomorrow.”

“Have a good night.”

Caleb wanted to go upstairs to play with Mallow, one of the few things that could take his mind off Rhys, but Tessa had asked him to help her and Finn strategize their setup for their booth. He also needed to take a few final measurements for his display, so he locked up and walked to the town square. He tried to keep his gaze down on the way there so he wouldn’t have to talk to anyone.

Tessa and Finn weren’t there yet, so he headed to the space that had been marked off for him and Rhys. He took a few measurements and was reconsidering the best way to set it up when he felt someone walking up behind him. He assumed it was Tessa or Finn until Rhys said, “Caleb, could I talk to you?”

Caleb’s pulse sped up as he turned and faced the man he’d been missing for days. “I guess so. Here?”

Rhys nodded. He looked determined and maybe a little scared.

Caleb tried to relax, but his whole body was buzzing. What was Rhys going to say? Could he school his reaction, no matter what it was? It seemed like half the town was checking out the festival grounds or taking care of their assigned duties.

Rhys reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. “I wrote down what I was going to say. I know that’s a little weird, but I needed to be prepared so I say exactly what I mean.”

“Okay.” Caleb’s voice shook. He stuck his hands in his pockets so he wouldn’t fidget too badly, or worse, reach for Rhys and try to change his mind if he ended things.

Rhys drew in his breath as his pulse pounded in his ears. He had to be able to do this. He cleared his throat and glanced down at the paper. A moment later, he began to read the words.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have run out on you. I shouldn’t have left you to deal with the festival on your own. I should’ve told you how I feel and not been afraid to tell people about us. I was wrong to push you away. I…” He looked up at Caleb to say the last bit. “I want to be in a relationship with you. Publicly.” That was the end of what he’d written.

Caleb’s eyes were wide as he stared at Rhys.

“Say something, please.”

“I want that to. I want that so much.”