Total pages in book: 51
Estimated words: 49490 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 247(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49490 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 247(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
Not too surprising. Mateo knew practically everyone in town and had a great rapport with college students. I spotted him taking selfies with the girls’ basketball team and five minutes later, he was chatting with a group of octogenarians about the family of raccoons that had taken residence in the alley behind the Chinese restaurant.
Mateo switched gears easily. He had a knack for recalling names and oddball events from ten or twenty years ago and was somehow up-to-date with the latest TikTok fad. And on top of being charismatic, he was ridiculously gorgeous.
I wasn’t the only one who thought so. I overheard two old women twittering on the sidewalk outside our shops the other day.
“Oh, that Mateo is a looker, all right.”
“What I wouldn’t give to be fifty years younger.”
They’d giggled like schoolgirls and winked at me as I’d pushed open the door to the pizzeria. I wanted to tell them I was as smitten as they were. It was true. I had a big ol’ crush on Mateo Cavaretti…a thousand times bigger than the one I’d secretly harbored in college.
Now I knew him. The real Mateo.
I could tell his real smile from the polite one reserved for customers. I knew how to tease him, make him laugh, and turn him on. I’d mapped every inch of his body, kissed his scars, and tasted him…over and over again. He was prickly yet kind, edgy yet somehow relatable. And he was so good with people—customers, family, friends.
His interactions with his cousins were always entertaining. They were like brothers to him, and his colorful Aunt Sylvie was like a second mother. And his mom…well, he adored her. For some reason, that made me like him even more.
Or maybe I was already in too deep.
Something had changed between us after the morning we’d gone surfing. I found myself listening for the sound of his voice, staring at him across the counter, or finagling a way to brush against him in a crowded room. This was what happened when you had prolonged episodes of amazing sex: You developed…feelings.
I didn’t want to have feelings for Mateo. Nothing serious, anyway.
We’d agreed on a no-strings “friends with bennies” deal, and I was determined to stick to my end of the bargain.
Unfortunately, feelings were leaking out and people were beginning to notice.
Okay…Amber noticed.
“So…funny story.” Amber flipped her curly hair over her shoulder and wiggled on the barstool at my kitchen island. “I drove by your house last night, and Mateo’s car was in the driveway. I thought, ‘Wow, those two have come a long way. I love that they’ve set aside their differences and have embraced the bake-off challenge.’ I wondered what you could possibly be collaborating on at this late stage of the game, and whatever it was, I didn’t want to disturb you. But gee, guess whose car was still here this morning?”
“Amber…”
She lifted her coffee mug and hid her smug grin for a beat. “Sharing is caring. What’s going on, Robbie?”
“I…uh…”
I fiddled with the cap to my water bottle, wishing I’d had my speech better planned. I’d known this day would come. Amber knew me too well.
“Are you and Mateo…more than friends?”
“No. I mean…yes, but it’s not serious,” I said in a rush. “And it’s not—no one knows, so—”
“Oh, honey. Let me stop you right there.” She cast a sharp no-nonsense look my way. “I know.”
I gulped. “Ah.”
“Okay, I didn’t know for sure, but I had an idea.” Her eyes twinkled mischievously. “For the record, I approve.”
“It’s not…we’re not…” I cleared my throat and tried again. “We’re friends who…”
“Do the nasty,” she finished. “Got it. And you’re acting weird about this because…why? You’re out and he’s out and—”
“But I’m not out…all the way. And I don’t know what the media BS will be like. It could be nothing.”
“Or…it could be sensational. NFL star and his former college teammate—oh. Mateo was drafted too. Two NFL stars reunite in their college town to—”
“No. See, that’s what we’re not going to do.” I wiped my clammy palms on my jeans, then crossed my arms and stared at the ocean view through my kitchen window. “I’m nervous enough about doing this on my own. I’m not dragging Mateo into a potential shit show.”
“Hey.” Amber stood abruptly and skirted the island. “What makes you think it’ll be a shit show?”
“The operative word is potential. I don’t know what to expect, Am, but I’d be foolish to think I’ll be hailed as some kind of queer hero. And I don’t want that, anyway. I want a quiet life. That’s why I moved here. I don’t want a spotlight. I just want to get the coming-out part over with so I can run a bagel empire in peace. But first, we have a bake-off to win. Or lose.”
Amber studied me. “Have you talked to Bill?”