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.”
Had Rhys really heard him right? “You do? You forgive me?”
“I know you were scared. I was too. It is a big deal to announce that we’re together. I understand that. I just wanted to be able to talk to you about it.”
“Sometimes talking isn’t easy for me.” Rhys took hold of Caleb’s shoulder and pulled him down so he could place a soft kiss on Caleb’s lips. Caleb sucked in his breath and stepped back as a round of applause went up around them.
Rhys smiled, and they both began to laugh, but he buried his face in the side of Caleb’s neck. Caleb held him there, shielding him from all the people staring at them.
“When you decide on something, you go all in, don’t you?” Caleb asked.
“I guess I do.”
“Maybe we should get out of here now.”
“Yeah. That sounds good.”
Caleb waved to the crowd, then took Rhys’s hand. They walked out of the square with everyone watching them. Rhys didn’t like it, but he did like Caleb’s hand in his, and he felt better than he had in days. He had a chance with Caleb, and that made being stared at worth it.
“Tessa and Finn didn’t really need to meet me here, did they?” Caleb asked.
“No, they said that so I could find you here. I wanted to talk to you in public so you’d know I was serious.”
Caleb squeezed his hand. “You did a lot of planning for this.”
“I did, and I hope we can test our drink again and still do the festival together.”
“We can. I never wanted to do the festival alone. It’s not the same without you.”
Cloud Nine was closer than Frost + Foam or Rhys’s house, so they headed there, holding hands the entire way.
Once they were inside, Caleb pulled Rhys into the back and turned to face him, not sure what to say.
Nothing had felt real since Rhys had called out to him.
Was he actually about to get everything he wanted: Rhys, a festival win—he had every confidence in their entry, a chance at a real relationship?
The world felt bright again, even though the sun was setting.
Rhys smiled at him. “Kiss me.”
“Anytime.” Caleb pulled Rhys into his arms and devoured him the way he’d wanted to in the square. That reserved brush of lips hadn’t been nearly enough. He wanted so much more. They were interrupted by angry meows that seemed far too loud to come from an animal as small as Mallow.
“Is that a cat?”
Caleb nodded. “It’s Mallow.”
“Who is Mallow?”
“A kitten I found in the alley behind the shop.”
“Are you keeping her?”
Caleb nodded. “I am. I hope you like cats.”
Rhys smiled. “I do. Can I meet her?”
“Really? You want to?”
“Of course I do. You remember when we were with the rabbits, I told you I wanted to get a pet eventually.”
“I know, but I…”
Rhys took Caleb’s hands in his own. “What’s wrong?”
“I found a cat when I was with Adrian, but he wouldn’t let me keep her. He took her to the shelter while I was working.”
“Without you even saying goodbye? That’s horrific. If he ever comes near you again, I’ll make sure he regrets it.”
Caleb smiled. “Don’t worry. He won’t, but I appreciate you wanting to defend me.”
“He sounds like a monster.”
“More or less, but I don’t want to talk about him anymore. Let’s go see Mallow.”
Rhys followed him upstairs, and as soon as Caleb opened the door of his apartment, Mallow jumped up and climbed his leg, telling him how annoyed she was that he hadn’t come to feed her yet.
“She’s so cute and so fluffy.”
He turned to face Rhys. “Mallow, this is Rhys. He wants to be your friend.”
Mallow meowed and leapt from Caleb’s chest to Rhys’s shoulder. He winced as her claws dug into him. “Sorry.”
“No, it’s okay.” He picked her up and cuddled her. She settled against him and started purring. “I think she likes me.”
Caleb grinned. “Of course she does.”
“So I was wondering…” Rhys looked down at Mallow, and Caleb stepped closer to him.
“Wondering what?”
“I wanted to see if you’d have dinner at my house and maybe stay with me tonight.”
“You want me to spend the night at your house?” Caleb wanted to be sure he’d heard right. He’d never even been to Rhys’s house before, and he knew how Rhys felt about privacy.
“Yes.”
“I would love that, but I’d need to bring Mallow with me.”
“She can come over, or we can stay here if that’s easier. I would just need to go get our dinner.”
Caleb pulled Rhys to him, and Mallow jumped down and headed to the kitchen. “You’d really let Mallow stay at your house?”
“I’d love for her to.”
If it were possible, Caleb loved Rhys even more in that moment. “I want to see your house, and I’d love to spend the night there.”
“I’ll have to move a few plants and put a blanket on the couch. I could get Mallow a scratching post and a litter box so—”
“You don’t have to do all that. Just knowing you’re okay with her is enough.”
“I’ll do anything to make you and Mallow comfortable.”
Caleb kissed him as Mallow meowed loudly from the kitchen. “Thank you. Obviously, I have to feed Her Highness before we can leave.”
Rhys laughed. “Obviously.”