Chapter 8
Caleb didn’t see Rhys for the next few days, other than catching glances of him from the front windows of Cloud Nine. He wasn’t going to seek him out, not when he’d probably get hard at the sight of him after the lurid fantasies he’d been indulging in.
Cloud Nine continued to have a steady crowd, and hopefully soon, they would have a mascot.
He’d seen the white kitten in the alley again, and he was determined to catch her so he could give her a better life.
But even without a mascot, the first week was a huge success, and Caleb let himself revel in that.
When Finn and Tessa stopped by as he was closing up on Thursday, he accepted their offer to go for a drink.
He didn’t let himself ask if Rhys would be there, figuring he’d somehow handle it if he was.
Maybe if he had several drinks, he’d just ask Rhys to work with him again or…
No. He absolutely couldn’t ask him for more.
If they got together and it didn’t work out, awkward wouldn’t begin to describe how he’d feel running a shop down the street from Rhys.
Life in Frostwick Harbor might become too difficult to bear.
All the friends he’d made were Rhys’s friends too, friends he’d had since he was a kid.
They would protect him, no matter what. Caleb admired their loyalty, and he wasn’t about to be the person they needed to protect him from.
When they got to the bar, Jonah was there waiting for them, but there was no sign of Rhys. Did that mean he wasn’t coming? If Tessa had asked him to meet them, Caleb couldn’t imagine him being late, even when timeliness didn’t matter.
Marianne arrived a few moments later. She was the goalie on the beer league hockey team Caleb had joined, and he’d found her easy to talk to and well-versed in town gossip.
She said she overheard a lot working at the town library.
She glanced around their table, saying hi to each of them. “Where’s Rhys?”
Tessa sighed. “He insisted he was spending the evening working on his drink for the festival. I told him we all needed to be working on the festival too, but that didn’t stop us from enjoying a night out. But you know how he gets when he’s serious about a project.”
Marianne rolled her eyes. “Right. No way could you change his mind.”
Caleb couldn’t decide if he was glad he wouldn’t experience the awkwardness of seeing Rhys or disappointed.
He could stop by Frost + Foam and see him any day, but would Rhys want that?
The last thing Caleb needed was to feel rejected by another man he liked.
It would be better to just leave things as they were.
“I need to get working on my drink too,” he said.
“Aren’t you and Rhys going to work together?” Tessa asked. “I overheard Agnes suggesting that to you.”
How many other people had heard that? “No. I talked to him about it, but we decided it was better to just work on our own.”
Tessa narrowed her eyes. Caleb thought she was going to push for more information, but Finn nudged her, and she focused on Jonah.
“Are you coming apple picking with us on Sunday?”
“Yes, Luke can watch the store, so I’m good to go.”
“What about you?” Tessa asked Caleb. “It would be your first chance to see the Briarwood Orchard. Right?”
It would. And Caleb wanted to spend more time with his new friends and learn more about the area, but could he really leave Cloud Nine for a whole afternoon?
His employees were doing a wonderful job, but the shop wouldn’t have been open for a full week yet.
“I’m still not sure it’s a good idea. Things are going really well at Cloud Nine, but I feel like I should be there in case anything goes wrong. ”
Tessa frowned. “It’ll just be for the afternoon. You could still be there for the morning rush.”
That was true. He wanted to ask if Rhys was coming. He wasn’t sure if that would make him want to go more or make him determined to stay at Cloud Nine. Maybe it was best not to ask.
“You really should come,” Jonah said. “It’s one of my favorite fall traditions.”
“Yes,” Marianne agreed. “I’d be so disappointed if I missed the chance to go, and their apple cider doughnuts are to die for.”
“They have animals you can pet too,” Jonah said. “I know you said you want to get a cat or a dog eventually, and I’ve seen how much you love giving out pup cups.”
Caleb had always loved any chance to interact with animals.
Petting areas at zoos or farms had been a rarity in his childhood, but he’d taken any chance he could to go to one, and he’d loved spending time with anyone who had dogs or cats.
Adrian had refused to get a pet, even when a stray cat showed up at the shop.
Caleb had been watching for the kitten he’d spotted behind the shop, but they hadn’t shown up again.
“All right, if my employees are comfortable on their own, then I’ll come. I’ll let you know for sure tomorrow.”
The next few days were all taken up with work at Cloud Nine and plans for the Harvest Festival.
Not only did Caleb have to develop a drink, but he also needed a nice setup for the booth where he would serve coffee and his special creation.
He knew he probably needed to ask for help.
He’d tried to sketch out a plan, but he was no artist, and nothing looked right.
He could call Kate for advice, but he didn’t want to keep bothering her.
All of his new friends were probably helping Rhys with his setup.
Would they mind helping him too? Probably not, but he could wait a little while before asking.
Friday was the busiest day yet at Cloud Nine. He was thrilled to have so many customers, fall tourists, as well as locals and students from the nearby university who probably wanted to escape from campus for a while.
By the time the last customers left, Caleb was exhausted.
But if he were going apple picking on Sunday, he needed to spend the evening working on his festival entry.
He’d yet to come up with an idea unique enough, and time was running out.
He couldn’t let himself come up short. This contest obviously mattered a lot to Frostwick Harbor, and he needed to have his best offering available.
If he and Rhys could take first and second in the competition, the town would be over the moon. Agnes was determined the town would sweep every category they entered, but all he could do was work on his own entry. He really wished Rhys had agreed to do this together.
He tried a drink with a maple-forward flavor, but it was too sweet, even for him, and the maple was too dominant.
No one wanted to wonder if they were just drinking coffee-flavored maple syrup.
Next, he tried an apple-flavored concoction, but he didn’t like it.
The apple didn’t taste real enough. After multiple iterations of the maple and apple drinks, he attempted a pumpkin chocolate chip muffin latte. It was better, but still not right.
His stomach growled, and he realized it was way past dinnertime.
Most of the neighboring businesses were closed by now, but he saw a light on at Frost + Foam.
Was Rhys working on his drink too? He squashed the urge to go and find out.
Instead, he grabbed his jacket and hat and headed toward the pub.
Up ahead, he saw Rhys step out of his store and cross the street. Caleb accelerated his pace to catch up with him and arrived at the door right behind him. “Hi,” he said as Rhys reached to open the door.
Rhys whirled around, looking startled. “Oh, wow. I didn’t know anyone was behind me.”
He looked so damn cute when he was flustered. Caleb wished he could wrap his arms around him to settle him down, but he was afraid that would make things much worse, so he grabbed the door, holding it open for Rhys. “Go on in.”
He hurried inside, and Caleb followed. “Are you meeting someone here?”
Rhys nodded. “Tessa. I was working late, trying to…”
“Test out drinks for the festival?” Rhys looked away nervously as he nodded. “So was I.”
“I saw your lights on.”
Caleb smiled. “I saw yours too.”
Rhys glanced back at him, and their gazes held. Caleb tried to say something else, but he couldn’t get over the beautiful darkness of Rhys’s eyes.
“I didn’t know you were going to be here, Caleb,” Tessa called as she moved their way.
He quickly looked away from Rhys. “I hadn’t planned to be, but I was working late and thought I’d come down here and grab something to take back to Cloud Nine.”
“We walked in at the same time,” Rhys said. “So I haven’t gotten a table yet.”
Suddenly, Tessa pulled her phone from her bag, looked down at it, and frowned. “Actually, Rhys, I’m so sorry to do this, but maybe you should get something to go, or you two could eat together. I actually have to run.”
“What do you mean? What’s wrong?”
“It’s Marianne. She needs me. She’s got… um… a baking emergency.”
“Are you sure you’re all right?” Rhys looked utterly confused.
“Oh, I’m fine. I’m really sorry, but I’d better run. It sounds like she’s really in a bind.”
Could she be any more obvious? Caleb did not need her trying to push him and Rhys together. “Okay. Good to see you, Tessa.”
“Yes, good to see you too. Why don’t you get a table together? I’m sure you need a break from working late.” She hurried out the door before either of them could respond.
“She was acting strange, right?” Rhys said.
Caleb smiled. “Absolutely.”
Rhys shrugged. “She’s kind of high-strung. Sometimes I have no idea what she’s thinking.”
Caleb wasn’t about to fill him in. “So how did you and Tessa meet?”