Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
CARLOS
I’m sitting at a table in Watchfire on Valentine’s Day—along with half of Winsome, apparently—dressed in my best shirt and jeans, with a red rose I bought at the florist sitting on the table.
I’ve never really gone all in for the hearts-and-Cupids romance schtick before… but then again, I’ve never really had anyone I wanted to get romantic with until now.
Until Erick.
When my guy announced on a video call yesterday that he wanted to drive up for a long weekend, my tongue had nearly tripped over itself rushing to agree.
I’d practically sold a kidney to Jenna, Ames’s second-in-command and my sister’s bestie, to score a last-minute reservation for tonight.
And I’d texted Erick a few hours ago to meet me here as soon as he got to town.
Now, I’m checking my phone for the third time in five minutes… when the door finally opens and Erick walks in.
Even bundled up in his expensive wool coat, he takes my breath away.
After all those months of video calls and text messages and questioning whether my feelings for him were real, the weekend we spent together in New York a couple weeks back was like a drop of water to a man who’s been wandering the desert.
A glorious relief, but not nearly enough.
Now, I want to drink Erick in, gulp him down. To keep him with me, because everything’s better when we’re together.
Keeping him permanently is not in the cards right now, and I know that—Erick’s got his life in New York, and I’ve got my life here—but he’s going to be in Winsome for four whole days on this visit, and I’m going to enjoy every minute.
Tomorrow, I’m taking him to meet Mamá for what will probably be a heinously embarrassing trip down memory lane, complete with baby pictures and stories about my childhood exploits. The day after that, we’re all having dinner at my sister’s place so Erick can meet my niece and nephew.
And all the times in between—all those mornings and evenings, all those afternoons and middle-of-the-nights, it’s going to be just the two of us, talking and laughing and touching. Getting to know each other more deeply. Savoring this relationship we’re building.
Because as far as I’m concerned, this is the real deal. The realest deal.
And tonight, I’m going to officially ask Erick Nelson to be my boyfriend. No impulsive helicopter ride required.
I wave to catch his attention, and when his face lights up at seeing me, my heart makes an audible ga-GUNG, just like it did when I first saw him last October. Like it’s saying this one. Him.
This is what I want my future to look like, I realize. All of it. And that thought doesn’t scare me one bit. It feels good. Feels right.
Later, I’ll wonder if I was so caught up in how right everything felt… that I didn’t realize right away when things start going so fucking wrong.
Erick’s eyes light up and takes his first step toward me, when Watchfire’s front door opens again and Robbie Wojcik and his girlfriend step inside, blocking Erick’s path.
Robbie’s wearing only a Winsome FD vest over his shirt, but the guy’s so big he’s probably impervious to the cold. Lissa’s pink-cheeked and practically bouncing.
I’m too far away to hear what she’s saying to Ames’s mom, who’s working the host stand at Watchfire tonight, but I recognize the pride when Lissa thrusts out her left hand for Ames’s mom to oooh and aaah over.
Seems like Robbie and Lissa have an extra-special reason to celebrate this Valentine’s Day.
Everyone in town knows Ames and Robbie are best friends—the legendary ride-or-die kind—so I’m guessing they’ve come to share their engagement news with Ames.
I can’t say what makes me look to the right when the rest of the restaurant is craning their necks to the left, trying to glimpse Lissa’s ring. But when I do, I see that Ames’s face has gone pale, and it looks like he’s going to be sick.
That’s not the face a man gets when he learns his friend is about to be married. It’s the look of a man whose heart is breaking. And while I don’t immediately understand why he looks like that, I do feel a deep, instinctive stab of sympathy for him.
That sympathy starts to evaporate, though, when Ames’s panicked gaze darts around his restaurant and lands on Erick, who’s still standing by the door, smiling politely and trying to edge his way around the happy couple.
“Oh my god! Erick?” Griffin calls out in surprise from the corner table he and Beckett are sharing and waves in Erick’s direction. “Hey! I had no idea you were coming to Winsome!”
Erick’s shoulders tense as a dozen mostly strangers stare at him. “Oh. Well. Actually, I’m here to meet—” His gaze finds mine, and he swallows nervously, like he’s not sure how much he should say.
I hate that he has to question that even for an instant. I’m halfway out of my chair in the span of a breath, ready to storm across the floor and claim my man in front of the whole town, gossips be damned.
But I’ve barely taken a step when I hear a voice say, “Me! He’s here to meet me!”
I freeze in place and send a shocked glance at Erick, who stares back at me like a deer in headlights.
Ames dashes over and wraps an arm around Erick’s waist before either of us can process what’s happening. “Because Erick and I have an announcement too!” he continues. “Surprise! We’re… together.” Then, as I watch in disbelief, Ames squeezes Erick against his side. “Tell them, honey bunch.”
“What the fuck?” I growl, loud enough that several heads turn my way. I don’t give a shit, though.
Ames fucking Axford just stole my boyfriend.
Ames’s mom looks poleaxed, but she’s smiling through it, trying to smooth things over while congratulating both “couples.” All I can see is Ames’s arm around Erick’s waist. All I can hear is the blood rushing in my ears.
And I want to do something very fucking impulsive indeed.
Possibly something that will end with my knuckles bruised and Ames on the floor.
“Congratulations, Robbie and Lissa,” Ames says brightly. “Come to the kitchen with me, pookie.” He grabs Erick’s hand. “Let’s… get our Valentine’s Day on!”
Robbie looks like he wants to follow them, but Lissa catches his arm. Ames’s mom is making just settle down motions with her hands while everyone looks to her for answers.
But I’m on my feet and following before Erick’s even through the swinging door, not caring when the kitchen staff stops cooking to stare at us. When Ames leads Erick through the kitchen to his office on the far side, I’m right on their heels, slamming the door behind us.
“What the fuck was that?” I demand, my voice rough with anger and hurt.
Erick immediately steps away from Ames and comes to me, hands reaching for my face.
“Baby, it’s okay,” he says softly, and the endearment cuts through the worst of my temper.
But not all of it. Not by a long shot.
“It’s not,” I say, pulling him close. “He just claimed you were his, Erick. That you two were together. And I—”
Erick kisses me, cutting off my words, and for a second, the world narrows to just him. Just us. When we break apart, I see love and reassurance in his eyes.
“Happy Valentine’s Day,” he whispers against my lips with another quick kiss.
Behind us, Ames makes a choked sound of surprise. “Hold up. You two are… are a you two?”
I turn my head to look at him while keeping both hands on Erick. “You have a problem with that, Axford?”
Ames holds up his hands. “Of course not. I just… I thought you were straight, Carlos. I figured the thing between you guys last October on the patio was just a one-shot deal. I didn’t actually believe…
” He runs both hands through his hair. “Fuck. I wasn’t thinking at all, okay?
I saw Robbie and Lissa, and I… I panicked. ”
I frown at him. Angry as I am, the man sounds utterly devastated. Like the heartbroken look on his face earlier was only the tip of the iceberg.
“You had to know this was coming, though. Robbie and Lissa have been dating for a while,” I say cautiously.
“Since April twenty-seventh of last year.” Ames sinks into the chair behind his desk and stares at the wall like he can see through it.
“He told me, back in October, that she was eager to get married. And I thought… fuck, he’s going to ask her at Christmas, right?
But then Christmas came and went, and I thought I’d dodged a bullet.
I thought maybe he’d started to rethink, to have doubts…
” He inhales a shuddering breath. “Fuck.”
“Does Robbie know?” Erick asks quietly. “That you have feelings for him?”
Ames shakes his head, and I can’t tell which question he’s answering or if he even remembers we’re in the room. His eyes are still locked on the empty wall like he’s not seeing it but replaying some private nightmare.
“Rob’s my best friend. I want him to be happy. I want him to have… whatever he wants. Whoever he wants. And he really is straight.” He blinks away from the wall and locks eyes with me, his lips tipping up in an impersonation of a smile. “Unlike some people, eh?”
I take a deep breath. “I’m bi. And Erick and I are…” I take Erick’s hand. “We’re…”
“Together. Boyfriends.” Erick shoots me a look. “Right?”
My heart’s beating a mile a minute at this easy acknowledgment of what I thought I’d have to make a big production out of asking. “That’s right,” I agree. “We haven’t told many people because I didn’t want to light a huge gossip fire, but it’s been going on for a minute.”
Erick’s bright smile both kills me and brings me back to life. “Since October, more or less, when—”
“When I caught you making out on my back patio?” Ames can’t quite manage his usual sarcasm. He sounds empty and defeated. “Then I’m even more sorry for dragging you into my… whatever the fuck that was.” He waves a hand toward the dining room.
“What were you trying to do?” Erick asks with a lot more patience than I feel. “I went along with it because I figured I owed you one for turning a blind eye back in October, but what was your plan here?”