“I didn’t ‘hook you up’ with them. All I did was suggest they check out your work.”
“You finessed them, which is something I couldn’t have done. You’re really good with people, T,” I say as we walk past a pizza parlor that smells like heaven.
He shrugs. “I’m just myself.”
“Well, yourself is pretty awesome. Have you started looking for something to fill the hours you’ll lose over the winter? We can stop in at a few places while we’re out.”
“I haven’t started looking yet. I have plenty of money, and I’m not very excited about working in someone else’s bar. I’ve helped Wyatt and Delilah keep the Taproom afloat. It sort of feels like cheating on a boyfriend.”
I laugh and pull him closer. “That big heart of yours is sliding down your arm again.”
When we reach the location of the available retail space, Dave Jacobson, the real estate agent, is waiting for us. I’ve only spoken to him on the phone, and he looks about ten years older than the picture on his website.
“Dave?” I offer a hand, and he shakes it overeagerly. “I’m Alex, and this is my boyfriend, Tristan.” Boyfriend flies easily from my tongue, and I wonder how a military uniform can make the wonderful emotions coursing through me feel rough and wrong. Even thinking about the military makes my body go rigid.
“Nice to meet you both.” He shakes Tristan’s hand and turns to unlock the door. “Let’s go inside and take a look around. I did a search of the area and I’ve got five other spaces I can show you if you have time.”
We follow him inside, and the first thing I notice is how closed off the space feels.
As Dave rattles off information about square footage, utilities, and neighboring businesses, Tristan and I peruse the space.
“Does it feel like a coffin to you?” I ask quietly.
“There aren’t many windows.” Tristan crosses his arms and eyes the space from the back of the room. “I think you could make any space work. It’s what’s inside that matters. Think about the first gallery we went into today. It only had windows out front, and the space didn’t feel closed in. You can set up each area like a different room, so the customer has a unique experience as they walk through.”
He points to the front of the store. “If you make it interesting, people will want to walk through. You could create a nook up front with two chairs, a coffee table in between, the ladder shelves you built over there with maybe a chandelier and a table. That would allow the customer to envision the whole setup in their house.”
Tristan and I discuss every inch of the space, and his vision makes me see things differently.
“Not that I’m pushing you out of your career, but, T, you really do have a knack for this kind of thing.”
“Thanks. I learned a lot from Wyatt’s father, which reminds me, you should get started on a website and the marketing materials you outlined in your marketing plan. Two of the people we saw today asked for brochures.”
“Like I said, you’ve got a gift.”
We spend the rest of the afternoon looking at properties with Dave. Tristan and I talk about everything from location to setup of the interior, to pros and cons of space.
At four o’clock I drive him home to get ready for work, and then I go back to meet Dave at the last property, which is located on the corner of the street where Jesse and Brent Steele’s restaurant is under renovation. Windows span half of the side and the entire front of the space. The minute I walk inside, I hear Tristan’s voice in my head suggesting the layout. The afternoon sunlight spills all the way to the back wall, and I feel him here with me, admiring the open, airy feel.
“Each of the properties on this block offers an outside area out back,” Dave says as he unlocks the back door. “The restaurant down the street is building a patio area for outdoor dining.” He opens the door, revealing a bare plot of land.
As I step outside, all I see is Tristan building a rock garden and filling it with all the ideas he’s kept locked inside since he was a kid. And I know this is it.
This is the beginning of the next chapter of my life. Our lives?
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Alex
TUESDAY EVENING AS I drive over to Tristan’s for the party, I think about my recent phone call with my mother. I told her about meeting Tristan but stopped short of giving her any details. I wasn’t sure how to explain what I feel, and she always half listens anyway. Besides, I don’t want her to be the first person to hear it when I figure it out. For most people it might be too much too fast. But after what I’ve been through, there’s no such thing. She asked about the award ceremony, not that she’ll remember to attend, but I realized I haven’t mentioned it to Tristan, and I need to. I grind my teeth against the idea of it as I park my motorcycle behind the cars lining the road. Receiving the Silver Star is something most military men strive for, but for me it holds too many conflicting emotions to be elated over. I want to leave that day, and those years, behind me.
Wyatt’s house sits on a dune overlooking the ocean. It’s massive compared to my little bungalow, but it stirs no jealousy in me. I like my life to feel manageable, simple. After living in military quarters for so long, I’d feel lost in a house that big.
I follow two guys and the sounds of music to the back of the house, where clusters of people are dancing and talking on the beach. A couple is making out by the water, and a few feet away a group of people sit around a roaring bonfire. Colorful lights line the crowded deck, where the band is playing a song I don’t recognize. Weaving my way through the crowd to the steps leading up to the deck, I scan the faces of the happy partygoers for Tristan. When I spot his thick dark hair and that wide, welcoming smile, my heart beats a little faster. I never knew I could miss a person over the course of just a few hours as much as I’ve missed him.
He and Charley, the flirtatious female bartender from the Taproom, are serving drinks from behind a long table at the opposite end of the deck from the band. I take a moment to watch Tristan while he’s unaware of my presence. He laughs as he mixes drinks for eager friends and elbows Charley, who rolls her eyes. A dark-haired guy reaches over the table and kisses Tristan’s cheek. Jealousy prickles my skin even though I can see Tristan isn’t interested. It’s obviously a friend, not a come-on. Two pretty blond girls approach the table. They’re holding hands, and Tristan watches them with a thoughtful gaze. He clearly cares about them. His eyes move over the crowd, and my pulse ratchets up even more. Just as his eyes find mine, a heavy hand lands on my shoulder.
I turn and find Jesse Steele standing beside me and tug him into a manly embrace. I met Jesse and his twin brother, Brent, a few years ago, when I was here on leave visiting my grandmother. “Jesse.”
“Alex? Holy shit.” He searches my face. “Man, you look great. I didn’t know you were in town. Are you here on leave?”
“I’m here to stay, actually. I inherited my grandmother’s place.”
“I’m sorry about your grandmother. Half the town showed up for her funeral. I reached out at the time and left you messages, but…”
“Sorry, man. I should have returned your calls, but I was messed up pretty badly, in the hospital for several weeks. Then I had rehab, and…Hell, Jesse, there’s no excuse. I was just dealing with a lot.”
“Don’t sweat it. Are you okay now?”
“Yeah. Scarred, you know, but whatever.” Brushing off my injuries is second nature.
“Glad to hear it.”
“Actually, I just put a bid in for the corner property by your restaurant. Don’t tell Tristan, though. If it comes through, I want to surprise him.”
“Tristan?” Jesse looks over at Tristan. “Are you and Tristan…?”
“We are.” I can’t suppress the pride in my voice. “I had no idea you knew him.”
“Yeah, I know him. I’ve known him since he was yay high.” He puts a hand by his knees. “It’s about time he found a good man.” He looks at Tristan, who’s smiling at us like a guy with
a secret. “Let’s get a drink and you can tell me about your plans.”
Tristan watches me every step of the way, looking like he wants to tear my clothes off. I lean across the table and he meets me halfway. “Missed you, babe,” I say.
“Do you know how many people are giving me the stink eye right now for this?”
“I think it’s meant for me. I’m claiming the hottest guy here.” I grab him by the collar and pull him into a blazing kiss.
“Geez, get a room you two.” Jesse yanks me away with a laugh and drapes an arm over my shoulder. “You have no idea how glad I am you’re with him.” He levels me with a serious stare. “But if you hurt him, I will kill you.”
Jesse’s a formidable guy. He’s my height, with dark hair that hangs past his collar. Tattoos snake down his arms to the leather band at his wrist. I know damn well he means what he says, and I wonder if he ever went to bat for Tristan against his asshole boyfriends. Knowing Tristan, though, he wouldn’t have allowed it. Proprietorship courses through me. I want Jesse, and everyone, to know I’m not going to be like Tristan’s exes.
“I can take you if it comes to that,” I say in jest. “But it won’t. That man’s got me wrapped around his finger. He’s already messed with my head so badly I called him ‘babe.’ ‘Babe’? I mean, what is that? And it just came out, like I’ve said it every day of my damn life. I’m a soldier.” I pound my fist against the center of my chest like a silverback gorilla. “I took bullets and nearly died. But that man up there? He turns me into melted butter, and if anyone wants to fuck with him, they’ll have to go through me first.”
I never could have admitted that to the men I shared trenches with. The men I fought to protect. There’s something really messed up about that, and for the millionth time in the past few months, I’m glad I’m out of the military.
Tristan
IT’S AFTER ONE o’clock in the morning, and the party’s gone from a crowd of fifty or sixty to a handful of my closest friends. As we often do after our parties, we’re sitting around the bonfire raising our glasses to random toasts. Cassidy is circling the group with her camera, taking photos for one of her many albums. Brandon and Brent are strumming their guitars and flashing goofy grins. Cassidy lowers her camera.
“Do you have to act like fools in every picture?” she asks woefully.
Brent and Brandon shrug.
“Not every picture,” Brent says, and lays his guitar across his lap. “Take one now. I’ll behave.”
Jesse coughs out a, “Yeah, right.”
Cassidy lifts her camera again, her engagement ring glistening in the light of the moon, and Brandon puts up bunny ears behind Brent. It’s a pretty typical night around here, except for the man sitting next to me, who is anything but typical. Alex’s hand rests on my thigh, and he looks as relaxed as a horny man can. We’ve been exchanging hungry looks and heated kisses all night, but he’s respectful of my friends’ presence, and they’ve already taken to him like he’s one of us. I’ve never experienced that before, but it’s easy to like Alex, and I know what my friends see. He’s been checking on me all night, never straying far, making sure I don’t need anything. He’s acting like a boyfriend, only it’s obvious there’s no acting involved. There’s no pretense about the man.
Brooke holds up the beer she’s sharing with Jesse and says, “To mine and Cassidy’s newest clients, the Woodleys. We’re catering their wedding in October.” She and Cassidy work together to offer catering and photography through Brooke’s Bytes. Their business has been going well, and several of Cassidy’s photographs have ended up in local magazines and newspapers.
We all clink bottles and say, “Cheers.”
“To the newly engaged,” Jesse says as he holds up his drink.
Wyatt reaches up and pulls Cassidy into a loud, sloppy kiss.
Another round of “Cheers” follows.
“I cannot wait for your wedding,” Delilah says from her seat beside Ashley. “And for a niece or nephew!”
Cassidy stumbles in the sand, her eyes wide. “What? Oh, no, Dee. We have tons of time before we even think about kids.”
“She means tons of time to practice,” Wyatt says with a wink.
“On that disturbing visual,” Delilah says, “to Alex and Tristan.”
“Now, there’s a toast I can get into,” I say, and touch my beer bottle to Alex’s. He gives me one of his scorching-hot leers, and my body ignites.
“I’m glad you came over, Alex.” Wyatt pulls Cassidy onto his lap. “Right, babe?”
She kisses him. “Definitely.”
Wyatt and Delilah had such a hard time when they came to live in Harborside the summer after their parents died. I’m glad to see them both happy and settled.
Alex slides his hand up my thigh, and I want to drag his ass into my bedroom, but it’s important that he has a chance to bond with my friends, so I’m trying to behave.
“Oh, good, you’re still here,” Charley says as she and Livi come around the side of the house. She sits beside Brandon, and he hands her his beer.
“What a night.” Livi plops onto the sand beside Alex.
“I’m beat,” Charley says, and takes a swig of Brandon’s beer, ahhing loudly. “And I’m sick of men.” She points at Alex and says, “I owe you an apology. I had no idea you were gay. I never would have made a fool of myself by hitting on you.”
Alex reluctantly shifts his eyes away from me and smiles at Charley. “You didn’t make a fool out of yourself.”
“I have the worst luck,” Charley says. “I need men to wear banners that say something like, ‘Straight.’ ‘Smart.’ ‘Nice.’ ‘Not an Asshole.’”
“I like the ‘Not an Asshole’ banner,” I concur.
We all laugh, and Livi nudges Charley. “What happened with Blind Date Brian?”
Charley rolls her eyes. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
She texted me after their date to say she’d arrived home safely, but she hadn’t said a word about him since. Wyatt and I exchange a concerned glance.
Jesse leans forward. “Did he get out of line?”
“Not in a way I couldn’t handle,” she admits. “Why do guys always expect more than a kiss on the first date?”
“Because you’re dating the wrong guys,” Brooke offers.
“You don’t want my opinion,” Ash says, and kisses Delilah.
“If T and I are any indication,” Alex adds, “maybe the right guy will come along when you’re not looking for him.”
Charley nods. “Maybe, but I’ve spent a lot of time not looking. I want someone like these guys. Someone who cares about more than just themselves and sex.”
“Don’t overestimate me,” Brandon says with a wink.
Alex scoots close to me, and I swear we’re throwing as many sparks as the fire. I need a little space to clear my lust-filled head before I throw him down and embarrass us both.
I push to my feet. “I’m going to start cleaning up.”
“I’ll help,” Alex offers, rising beside me with a seductive glint in his eyes.
Perfect. We can slip into my bedroom.
Cassidy pulls Wyatt to his feet. “Come on, we all should help.”
Before I can say they don’t need to, everyone’s heading for the deck. I hold on to Alex’s waistband to keep him from following the crowd.
“I’m sorry this is dragging on so long,” I say after the others are out of earshot.
“I like your friends, T. It’s fine.” He slides his hands to my lower back, holding me against him, and I can feel he’s every bit as eager to get into the bedroom as I am.
“I’m glad, but I can’t keep my hands to myself much longer.”
“What about your ‘going slow’ rule?” He presses his hands harder against my lower back.
“You make me want to break all my rules.” I pull his mouth to mine and kiss him with all the pent-up passion I’ve been holding back.
“Get a room,” Jesse hollers over the deck
railing, and the group descends on the beach.
Alex and I join the others in cleaning up, and half an hour later I’m standing at the sink washing glasses when Cassidy comes in and says, “That’s the last of it.”
Jesse puts a bottle of tequila in the cabinet, and Brooke pulls him outside again. “Come on,” she says, smiling at me. “Ash and Dee are cuddling by the fire, and I need someone to lean on.” I know she can tell I’m dying for time alone with Alex, who’s talking on the deck with Wyatt.
Alone in the kitchen, Cassidy sidles up to me with a curious expression. She leans against the counter wearing one of Wyatt’s hoodies, which covers her shorts completely, and asks me if I need any help cleaning up.
“No, thanks. I’m almost done.”
“I really like Alex.” She tucks a lock of her long brown hair behind her ear and asks tentatively, “Is he as good to you as he appears to be?”
I dry my hands on a towel and set it on the counter, meeting her hopeful gaze. She and Wyatt were best friends before they became a couple, and during the weeks when they were figuring things out, she and I became close. I know I can tell her anything.
“He is, Cass,” I admit. “Why? Am I missing red flags?”
“No, and stop it,” she says adamantly. “I know you don’t trust your own judgment, but if there were red flags, you’d know. You knew with Ian; you just chose to ignore them.” She glances at Alex again. “He’s been nice to everyone, and he looks at you the way Wyatt looks at me.”
“You noticed?” I’m sure everyone noticed.
She leans in closer as Alex and Wyatt come through the door and whispers, “I got a few pics of you guys. They’re going to be hot.”
I breathe a little harder as Alex’s eyes find mine and he closes the distance between us.
Wyatt reaches for Cassidy and heads for the stairs. “I’ll get the rest of the dishes tomorrow, Tristan. See you guys in the morning.” We have a rule at our parties. No one from the group drives home after drinking. Jesse, Brent, and Brooke limit themselves to one drink so they can drive home since they have to be at work earlier than the rest of us.
Tempting Tristan Page 10
