Page 36 of One Chance to Stay (Bears of Firefly Valley #4)

Seamus: What should I wear?

Patrick: Come casual. Nothing fancy.

Seamus: Work clothes?

Patrick: Not that casual.

Seamus: Tie?

Patrick: You’re bad at this.

Seamus: I’ll text Grace.

Patrick: God bless your daughter.

As his truck pulled into the space in front of Harvest a bottle of each sample we tasted, sat on their table.

They claimed they needed to stock up for impending snowstorms.

“The first sip, you’ll find the peat to be rather robust.” Reed had done his homework, proving himself more than a simple salesman. “Seamus, notice anything?”

Seamus had sipped in silence. I’d occasionally hear him give a whiskey a “Mhmm” or “Hmm,” but no actual words. I watched as he shook the snifter, his nose dipping inside for a final inhale. Watching him savor his whiskey was like being a voyeur while he made love. Not that I looked away.

He sipped, holding it in his mouth until he gulped. The audible swallow got my attention, and I shifted to hide the semi in my jeans.

“Smoke. Barley.” He smirked. “Vanilla?”

Reed came in for a high-five, and Seamus’s eyebrow shot up. I jumped in for the save, smacking the man’s palm. He rolled with it. “And that’s our tasting for tonight. Hope you folks found something you liked?—”

“Oh, we did,” Agatha said, holding up a bottle. “Do they make these any bigger?”

“—and learned a little something on the way,” Reed finished.

Julie went to the back table, helping Gloria and Agatha carry their bottles to the register. Simon gave me a pat on the shoulder as he passed. I turned, looking for his other half, only to find him draped over the table.

“How you doing, buddy?”

“Somebody needs to carry me home,” he mumbled. I could understand the sentiment. Six drinks would have done me in, too. I cheated the last two and barely sipped. “I’m making Amanda open the store tomorrow.”

“He’ll be fine,” Simon said. “It’s no worse than when he gets home from Spectrum. At least he isn’t sweaty from dancing. Helping him shower is like having a toddler again.”

The thought of Simon propping Jason up in the shower made me grin. While Jason stopped to talk to Reed about joining forces for an evening date experience, I turned to Seamus.

“Find any you like?”

“Mhmm.”

“Whoa, now. Don’t overwhelm me with your opinions. I think if I had to choose, it’d be two and six. Maybe three, but damn, I’m going to taste that smoke for the rest of the night. Have a favorite?”

He held up his snifter, taking the last sip. “My favorite is whichever is in the glass.”

“A man with diverse tastes.”

He gave me a sideways glance. My cheeks turned red by default. I hated how easily he got under my skin. Or maybe I liked it? If I admitted that, I’d get mushy, and I’m not sure I was ready for that, at least not in public.

“I’ll get a bottle of this one.” He held up number six, my least favorite. He gave me a pat on the back. “And this one.” He pointed to number two, my favorite. Dammit, Seamus yet again let his actions speak louder than words.

My hand brushed the bulge in my pocket. With a quick glance around, I couldn’t find a moment to pull out the flask. While I wanted to make him scoff, I didn’t want to do it with a room full of people watching. I wanted to savor the expression as he stared at the rhinestones.

“In that case, you can expect company.” I couldn’t leave it there. My tongue moved faster than my foggy brain. “Should we invite Abraham over? Grace strikes me as a woman with discerning tastes. I bet she’d?—”

“Just stop talking,” Jason groaned. “He’s being cute and inviting you over.” He pushed himself upright, eyes blinking wide, before he shook his head. “Nope. Nope. Bad idea. I’m gonna go sit over there in the corner.”

“We should probably help Simon get him home.” It wouldn’t be the first time I lifted a passed-out man and put him in a taxi. This would be a first for Jason.

“Lightweight,” Seamus said.

Jason slid down the wall. The goofy smile stapled to his face said he wasn’t in any pain. One more tasting and I’d be on the floor, using him as a pillow.

“And after?”

Seamus had a face made for poker. Since I couldn’t read his intentions, I imagined them.

It’d start with casual conversation and…

nah, I’d be throwing off my boots the moment I walked in the house.

I’d have him naked halfway up the stairs, and then we’d cross things off the bucket list until we passed out.

He glanced down at my growing tent.

“Glad we’re on the same page.”

“Is it true?” asked Agatha. She and Gloria had canvas bags hanging from each shoulder. Both clanked as they stopped by the table. How long did they think the snowstorm would last? They had more alcohol than Spectrum on restock night.

“Is what true?” I yammered.

“We’re going to see you tomorrow?” asked Agatha.

“Tomorrow?”

Gloria’s giggle came out more like a cackle. “He really is smitten.”

“The bonfire?” asked Agatha.

“Oh. I knew that. I thought…” Nobody would believe whatever lie I came up with. “Will I see you there?”

“You’ll see all of Firefly,” Gloria said. She gave her bag a shake. “Depending on how long we stay up tonight.”

“You’re a terrible influence,” Agatha said. The two continued chirping as they exited Harvest & Wine. “Don’t tucker yourself out, gentlemen.” The Quilting Guild might as well be run by evil masterminds. I made a mental note to never cross those women.

I didn’t want to say goodnight, not without our clothes strewn about his house. The last sleepover had been sweet, and I wouldn’t have changed a thing, but right now, I wanted less than sweet. Unfortunately, duty called. Evelyn would owe me in a big way.

“Can we revisit this conversation tomorrow night?”

I waited for the frown, a grimace, even a downward turned lip. His eyes remained soft, and it made it even harder to resist. He gave a slight nod.

“Evelyn will be pissed if you wear him out.” Both our faces lit up, the blood rushing from my penis to my cheeks.

Simon patted me on the back as he headed toward his boyfriend.

I wanted to strangle him. Not quite murder, but a vigorous shaking.

I guess that meant the cat was officially out of the bag.

“You okay with this?” I whispered.

“Getting there,” he said.

“Seamus, can you give me a hand?” Simon’s head fell back as he let out a loud sigh. “I need help to get a very drunk boyfriend in the car.”

“It’s not my fault,” Jason said.

“Give them a hand, I’ll grab your whiskey. Means you’ll have to come see me tomorrow.” Bribery wasn’t beneath me. “Maybe they won’t be the only thing you take home,” I whispered in his ear. Then I’d be able to surprise him with his very own rhinestone-encrusted flask.

It took two attempts to hoist Jason up. He was drunk enough to be useless, but not so drunk that he didn’t laugh at their attempts. Grabbing their jackets, Jason nearly teetered onto his ass. This is not how I imagined date night ending.

“How long have you two been together?”

I spun about to see Reed with Julie behind him, arms wrapped around his waist. She rested her head on his shoulder. When I didn’t answer, she gave a slight giggle.

“Honey, remember when you looked at me like that?”

Reed chuckled. “This morning?”

“At the beginning, I’d catch him staring. I thought he might be a weirdo, but after a while?—”

“She took pity on me,” he finished.

“He had the sexiest puppy dog eyes.” She gave him a quick peck on the cheeks. “I wish you two nothing but the best. You make a cute couple.”

Couple? I hadn’t even gotten far enough to consider the options ahead of us.

He had become my ‘here and now’ while I figured out what I wanted to do with my life.

Did I imagine myself going back to college and showing up at his house with textbooks?

Would he help me write out flashcards? Everything about that scenario fell somewhere between terrifying and wonderful.

“Yup, that’s the look,” Reed said. “Best of luck, man.”

“While you’re daydreaming about your future? Want to go over the cocktails for tomorrow?” Julie let go of her fiancé and stood across the table. She went from cute to business in the blink of an eye. “I want to pull inventory to make sure we have everything.”

“Sure.”

I could focus on bartending while the rest of my world remained in a state of flux.

I had to wonder, did I need to reframe my thinking?

Maybe all these questions popping up in my head were the answers I needed?

Sure, standing on the side of a mountain in the middle of winter had been foolish, but it led me to Seamus.

What if I threw caution to the wind and took a chance? What’s the worst that could happen?

Something in my head and chest, clicked.

“Screw up tomorrow, and it’ll be gossip for the next month.”

Maybe it would be gossip. Maybe it’d be a disaster. But what if it worked?

Great. No pressure at all.