Chapter 14
Caleb tried to catch his breath as he saw the panic in Rhys’s eyes.
He’d been shocked when Rhys initiated the kiss, but no way in hell was he going to turn him down when he’d been wanting to kiss Rhys from the moment Rhys entered Cloud Nine that night.
Seeing Rhys smile about the drink they’d made, especially after seeing him so devastated the night before when he thought he’d failed at creating something worth entering, made Caleb want to pick Rhys up and spin him around.
Rhys had been so upset he’d run through the rain. He’d agree to compromise with Caleb, and even to put pie crust flakes on top of a drink he was co-signing. And if their delicious cinnamon apple concoction was their first try, they were going to end up with pure perfection.
But first, Caleb needed to make sure Rhys didn’t lose it, because even Caleb was uncertain about their kiss—not about how good it had felt, but about the potential consequences.
He watched Rhys glance toward the door, back to him, then to the door again. “Please don’t run. Just stay here and breathe. I’m going to give you space.”
“I want to run.”
“I know, but you’re safe here.”
Rhys chewed his lower lip, and Caleb could tell his hands were shaking. He wanted to pull Rhys to him, wrap his arms around him, and hold him until he was able to settle down. But he knew Rhys wouldn’t accept that type of comfort. Physical contact wasn’t going to fix this.
He filled a glass with cold water and handed it to Rhys. “Here. Drink this.” Rhys took a sip, then pressed the glass to his face. “Thank you for staying.”
Rhys nodded. “I didn’t mean to do that.”
“To kiss me?”
Another nod. “I mean, I wanted to, but it’s a bad idea.”
“Maybe, but it didn’t feel like a mistake while we were doing it.”
“No, it didn’t.” Rhys licked his lips as he stared at Caleb, and it was all Caleb could do not to kiss him again. He couldn’t remember ever wanting a man that much.
“I want to kiss you again,” he said. “I want to do a lot more than that.” Rhys’s eyes widened.
“But not tonight, because I want you to be absolutely sure of what you want. When I take you upstairs and lay you in my bed, I want you to be all in. I want to be able to make you stop thinking of all the reasons we shouldn’t do what we want.
You won’t be thinking about anything but me. ”
“Fuck.”
“Do you need me to walk you back to Frost + Foam? Or drive you home?”
“I… um… I walked here from home. I needed… I needed the exercise to calm my nerves.”
Caleb smiled. “Come on. Let me drive you home.” Caleb gestured toward the back of the store.
“You don’t need to do that. Someone might see us together.”
“Rhys, I don’t think it’s a big deal if I give you a ride home. Maybe you were at the pub and you had several drinks.”
“Everyone will know I wasn’t at the pub, and I rarely drink more than a single beer.”
“Rhys, it’s late, and you’re shaken up. You shouldn’t walk home alone. How far is it?”
“It’s just a mile and a half. Really, I’m good.”
He was far from good. His hands were still shaking, and he wouldn’t look at Caleb.
“My truck is in the back. No one is going to see us. I won’t even drive on Front Street.
” He held out his hand, fighting back a smile when Rhys accepted it and laced their fingers together like he needed Caleb to anchor him.
Caleb unlocked his truck and waited by the passenger door as Rhys climbed into the seat and buckled himself in.
As Caleb seated himself and started the truck, he noticed that Rhys kept his focus on the window.
Caleb wanted to reach for his hand again, but he squeezed the gear shift instead. He wasn’t going to push.
“Are you all right?”
Rhys nodded but didn’t speak.
Caleb turned out into the alley, then drove along a road that paralleled Front Street. They were about halfway to Rhys’s house when Rhys finally glanced in Caleb’s direction.
“Wait. How do you know where I live?”
“We picked you up for the farm today.”
He laughed. “Oh shit, right. I’m not thinking clearly right now.”
“Me either,” Caleb said.
That had Rhys turning to look at him again. “You’re not?”
“No, I think it’s going to take a while for my brain to come back online. That was a damn good kiss.”
“Yes. I mean, you’re a good kisser, but I don’t think I’m all that good at it.”
Caleb shook his head. “You’re wrong. Don’t doubt yourself anymore.”
“I shouldn’t have kissed you. We can’t be more than business partners. Anything else is asking for trouble.”
Caleb knew he was right, but he still didn’t want to agree with him. “Things would be complicated, considering what we do and how small Frostwick Harbor is, but if you’re interested, I won’t say no to another kiss.”
“We can’t. I mean, it was… Your lips are so fucking soft.”
It was all Caleb could do not to pull the truck over and kiss him again right there. Rhys was so cute, and Caleb was fairly sure he didn’t understand the power of his shy smile.
“You’re welcome to feel my lips again anytime you like.” Rhys sucked in his breath, which reassured Caleb he wasn’t coming on too strong.
Rhys didn’t say anything else, but that was fine. The fact that he hadn’t run away after the kiss and had accepted a ride from Caleb was progress. He couldn’t expect everything to change in one night, no matter how much he wanted to follow Rhys into his house and right to his bed.
Rhys was right. Anything between them would be complicated, but he thought the risk might be worth it.
He wanted to see more of the passion Rhys held tightly inside him.
He’d only glimpsed a little that night when Rhys had closed the distance and taken his lips like he was starving for him, but he knew there was so much more.
When he pulled up in front of Rhys’s small, white cottage, he reached across the cab and laid a hand on Rhys’s thigh. “Thank you for working with me. We’ve got a good start, and I know we’re going to find the perfect drink, whether it’s a different version of this one or something else.”
“You really think so?”
“I know so.”
“I should go.” Rhys still didn’t look at him.
“I know. You need to get some sleep, and so do I.”
“Are we working together again tomorrow night?”
“I’m up for it if you are.”
“All right. I’ll come by after work. I’ll bring dinner this time.”
“Sounds good.”
Rhys turned for just a moment and gave him a small smile. It was enough. They’d see each other the next day, and who knew what might happen. So much had already happened in the last twenty-four hours it made Caleb’s head spin.
“Good night, Rhys.”
“Good night, Caleb.”
He waited until Rhys had unlocked his door and disappeared inside, and then he drove back to Cloud Nine, not sure if he would be able to sleep or not since he’d be thinking about nothing but Rhys.
Kate called when Caleb was almost home, and he remembered he’d promised to let her know how apple picking went. “Hi, Kate. How’s it going?” Maybe he could get her talking about herself while he had more time to figure out what he was willing to say about Rhys.
“I’m okay,” she said. “But everything is tense. I hate this stupid case I’m working on, but you don’t want to hear about that any more than I want to talk about it.”
Caleb would have happily listened to all the details of her horrible case because he cared about her, not just because it would keep him from having to reveal too much about Rhys. “You know I’m here to listen to whatever you need to share.”
“It’s even boring to me.”
“Ugh, it must be bad.”
“Wow. Thanks.”
“You’re the one who said it.”
She huffed. “How was apple picking?”
“Fun. I brought home tons of apples, and I’m playing around with an apple puree for drinks.”
“Did you get some of the famous doughnuts?”
“Of course, and they were everything they were hyped to be. It’s too bad I can’t get those to sell in the shop.”
She hummed her agreement. “You should see if Tessa and Finn can make some.”
“I don’t think they want to add frying doughnuts to their busy baking schedule.”
“I guess that would be a big production. Is that why doughnuts usually have their own shop?”
“Yes.”
“Was Rhys there?” Caleb was surprised it had taken her that long to get to the question she surely wanted to ask first.
“Yes.” He wasn’t going to lie, even though he was tempted to.
“Any new developments?”
So damn many, but he wasn’t going to share all of them. Their kiss felt too private. For now, it was only for them. He was certain Rhys wasn’t going to tell anyone since he didn’t even want his friends to know they were working together.
“We talked some. They have rabbits there, and he loves them, so we stayed by the hutch, feeding them treats for a while.”
“Just the two of you?” He heard the interest in her voice, but he wasn’t going to encourage her. Things with Rhys were fragile at best.
“Yes, but don’t read too much into that.”
“Mmm-hmm.”
She obviously didn’t believe him, and telling her about their partnership was only going to add to her skepticism, but he needed someone he could talk to plainly about the festival. “We decided to work together on the festival after all.”
“Ooh, that’s exciting. Are things going better?”
“We’ve only met once, but yes. We made an apple pie latte that isn’t perfect yet but we both agree is a viable candidate. We’re going to try some other ideas tomorrow night.”
“The two of you. All alone. At night.” He didn’t need to see her to know she was smiling maniacally.
“Kate, I told you how difficult it would be for us to be anything but friends.”
“But you would say you’re friends now.”
“Tentatively.”
“He’s not being as ass to you, is he, because—”
“No. He’s not. He knows he doesn’t compromise easily, but he’s trying.
I promise he’s nothing like Adrian.” The thought of comparing the two of them was laughable.
Rhys might get scared and run from whatever was happening between them, but he wouldn’t deliberately hurt Caleb or deceive him.
Caleb was sure of that, and he’d known Adrian was an asshole all along.
He’d just taken forever to admit that Adrian wasn’t going to change.
He wasn’t going to be fooled like that again.
“I’m also not the same person I was when I met Adrian. ”
“You’re not, and I’m so glad. All I want is for you to be happy.”
“I know, and I am happy here. This town is great, and now Rhys and I are friends.”
“Good. Just be careful.”
“I know how to protect myself. I thought you wanted me to make a move on Rhys.”
“I don’t want you holding back your true self or not going after what you want, but I also want to protect you. I’m your big sister. I don’t have to be logical.”
Caleb laughed. “That’s for damn sure.”
He kept talking to her as he let himself into the shop and climbed the stairs to his apartment.
Kate gave him a few details about her case and complained that it seemed like it could go on and on forever.
She wished the client would just settle out of court.
Caleb explained a little more about Briarwood Orchard and how things had been going at Cloud Nine, but he managed to avoid saying any more about Rhys until the end of the call.
“Have fun tomorrow night,” Kate said as she was about to end the call.
“I always have fun when I’m creating drinks.”
“Sure, but it’s got to be so much better with a hot guy.”
“It’s not like that.” Or it might not continue to be, even if he wanted it to.
“Whatever you say?”
“Why do you think you’re so right about this?”
“I know you. I know how you sound when you’re falling for someone, and I know how you act when you’re deflecting.”
Caleb huffed. “I don’t like sisters.”
“Take care of yourself, little brother.”
“I will. Don’t work too hard.”
“I’ll try.”
Caleb got ready for bed, but as he’d suspected, he was too wound up to sleep. He had a feeling the next night was going to be a hell of a lot of fun, but he had no idea how serious the consequences of that would be.