Chapter 24
Maverick
Linc Tate approached with his reporter’s notebook in hand. “Hey, guys! Enjoying the festival?”
“Yeah, it’s great,” Damon said, voice a little flat.
I cast a concerned look his way. He’d seemed in a great mood when he first showed up, but he’d wilted over the past hour.
Was it because people were noticing us together?
Maybe this was all too much for him. We hadn’t even discussed him coming out or whether he even wanted a real relationship with me.
We’d had a couple of private dates and some great sex, but if he was ready for something real, he’d have taken me out somewhere, right?
Linc nodded, gaze scanning the crowd. “It’s hot as hell, though.”
“Can I get you some water from inside?” I offered.
He turned a brilliant smile my way. “That would be great. Thanks, Mav.”
Damon crossed his arms over his chest. “Where’s Darren?”
Linc blinked. “Oh, I’ve been out here working, but he’s meeting up with me any minute now. We’re hitting the beer garden with some friends to celebrate finally setting a date.”
“A date?” Damon asked.
Uh-oh. Linc seemed to realize he’d misspoke just as Lula Miller of all people zeroed in on us.
“You set a date?” she crowed. “You’re the mystery grooms!”
“Oh, no. A date for, um, our vacation…”
Lula shook her head. “You’re not fooling me, Linc Tate-soon-to-be-Rafferty! I’ve heard all about this mystery wedding from Silas. He loves to torment me with this secret, but here you are setting a date! It has to be you and Darren!”
“Oh, look!” Damon exclaimed loudly. “There’s a poodle in the pet parade that looks just like Iola!”
“What?” Lula spun.
I grabbed the door to Rainbow Garden and waved Linc inside. While Lula peered into the crowd, we dashed inside. I locked the door behind us.
Not a second too soon.
She slammed into the door like a creature out of a horror movie, pressing her face to the glass. We all ducked out of sight like we were hiding for our lives.
I broke first, giggling into my hands.
Damon smirked. “Just another day in the life of small-town gossip.”
Linc slumped against the wall beside the door. “The sun must have fried my brain. I can’t believe I let it slip. Darren is going to be so pissed.”
“I’m sure he’ll understand,” Damon said. “You couldn’t keep it a secret forever.”
My heart fluttered. I tried not to read anything into his words, but I wanted to believe he meant that about us, not just Linc.
“Damon’s right,” I said softly. “You’re getting married. Soon, everyone will know.”
Linc waved his phone. “We’ll see. I just texted him about it.”
“Well, in the meantime, let me get you that water.”
I rounded the check-out counter and went into my back room, where I did a lot of my arrangement work. I had a refrigerator back there stocked with bottles of water, soft drinks, and a few makings for lunch in case I forgot to bring something better.
Damon followed me back.
I opened the refrigerator. “Do you want some water, too?”
“Oh, um. Sure. It’s hot out there.”
I grabbed three bottles and handed one off to him. His fingers brushed over mine as he took it from me. “Thanks, Mav.”
“Of course.”
He took a swallow of the water, then licked the moisture from his lips. I moved in to sneak a kiss. Just as I did, he pulled back. “You left your flower cart out there unattended? Is that—”
“It’s fine,” I said, stepping back, heart sinking.
Was he avoiding kissing me because Linc was in the shop? Or because the reality was setting in for him that we couldn’t keep this a secret forever, just like Linc couldn’t keep his engagement a secret?
“What’s wrong?” Damon asked. “You look upset.”
I shook my head. “Nothing. You play with fire, you get burned. That’s how it works.”
“I don’t know what that means.”
There was a rapping on the door, and Linc called out. “It’s Darren! I’m going to let him in.”
I stepped around Damon and headed back to the front of the store with the bottles of water in hand. We arrived just as Darren swept Linc into a kiss.
It wasn’t one of those polite long-time couple kisses either. He’d wrapped one hand around the back of Linc’s head, fingers sinking into his hair, while his other held Linc’s hip. The force of his kiss bent Linc back, but his arms supported his weight.
It was a Hollywood-worthy kiss.
“Damn,” Damon murmured beside me.
I cast a sidelong look at him. “Taking notes?”
He chuckled. “Maybe I should be. They’re hot together.”
Damon wasn’t wrong, but I was a little surprised he was acknowledging it. If he was retreating into the closet, openly admiring dudes kissing was the wrong way to go.
Linc and Darren broke apart. Linc was adorably flustered, cheeks glowing pink as he smoothed his hair. “Darren forgave me.”
I laughed. “Well, I hope he wouldn’t kiss you like that if he was mad.”
Darren grinned and shrugged. “I’ll always want to kiss him. It’s why we’re doing this thing, right?”
Linc smiled at him. “Yeah. Still, I should have kept my big mouth shut.”
“Well, your big mouth is one of the things I love.” Darren wiggled his brows.
“Darren!” Linc smacked him as he blushed harder. “Stop. Maverick and his boyfriend are going to think we’re horny pervs!”
“Oh, we’re not boyfriends,” I said quickly. “We’re just—”
“Mav,” Damon cut in, voice tight. “Can I talk to you alone for a minute?”
Shit. Shit shit shit!
Linc looked between us. “Uh-oh. Did I put my foot in it again?”
“Maybe we should go,” Darren said, reading the room appropriately. “Thanks for all the work you’re doing to help us with the floral arrangements. We’ll be in touch.”
They slipped out the door, the chime echoing into the tense silence left in their wake.
I turned slowly, dreading what Damon might say.
“I’m so sorry,” I blurted. “I didn’t tell anyone we were a couple. Linc just assumed, I guess, and I don’t know what Iola’s said. I shouldn’t have asked you to come by the festival. I wasn’t thinking.”
Damon blinked. “Well, I thought we were a couple. I guess I got it wrong, huh?”
What?
“But you’re in the closet.”
“Am I?” he challenged. “I told Lyle right after we hooked up. I told my family today too. I admit, they heard the rumors and asked, but I never planned to hide anything. Do you really think I’d have gone through Iola for that date if I was worried about secrecy? She’s a huge gossip.”
My heart fluttered with hope. “So, you’re okay with people knowing about us?”
“If there’s an us,” he said. “I wasn’t sure by the way you kept deflecting.”
“I was doing that for you!” I exclaimed. “You haven’t taken me out anywhere or said anything about a relationship. I thought maybe I was just, you know, some sexy fun.”
His eyes softened, and he closed the distance between us. “Maverick, I knew you wanted a relationship when you went along with the matchmaking. You went on all those shitty dates, and I knew you deserved better. I’d never have started something with you just to string you along.”
“Oh.”
His smiled sadly. “But if I’m not the kind of boyfriend you want, I’d get that. I didn’t exactly make a great impression on you with the pranks. And let’s be real, I’m not great at relationships, which apparently the whole town knows about.”
“I pranked you back just as much,” I said, realizing it was true. Our prank war could have been one skirmish. It took two to keep it going. “If I’m honest, I liked pranking you. I kind of miss it.”
He chuckled. “Really? Does that mean you won’t kick my ass if I prank you again?”
“Oh, I won’t kick your ass. But I will pay you back tenfold.”
He grinned. “I like the sound of that.”
“So, you’re really okay with people knowing that we’re dating?” I asked nervously. “Because I’ve kind of been strung along before. I guess I was projecting some of those fears onto you, which isn’t fair, but I really don’t want to be that foolish again.”
“And I really don’t want to be the asshole ex again.
” Damon raised his hand to my cheek, cupping it and leaning in to kiss me.
“I promise that I’d never make a fool of you, Mav.
You might have been my pain-in-the-ass neighbor all these years, but I’d have lain down in traffic for you.
That’s the truth. All this time…” He licked his lips.
“I guess I was kind of crushing on you. I just didn’t know it. ”
I grinned. “Aw, you had a crush on me. That’s so cute.”
He rolled his eyes. “Don’t think I won’t prank your ass if you embarrass me right now. I’m trying to be vulnerable here. Lyle told me the key to relationships was communication, so I’m telling you way more than I normally would. Hopefully, this doesn’t backfire on me.”
I laughed softly. “No, you’re doing great. Better than me. I, uh, really like you. I have all along. I just didn’t think I had a shot with you in a million years.”
“You’ve got one now.” He paused. “If you want to take it?”
“I do.” I kissed him again, a little more forcefully. “But you can’t ever reject my cookies again.”
He used his finger to draw an X over his heart. “Never again.”