Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 77941 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77941 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Caleb blew out a long breath. She was right. He felt like he’d known Rhys for much longer than he had. “I guess so. It’s just…”
“He’s intense.”
Caleb nodded.
“And you’re both very passionate about what you do. I’m sure that comes out when you’re working together.”
Caleb felt his cheeks heat. “We… um… yes.”
Marianne laughed. “I don’t need any details.”
“At least he finally admitted we were working together. I hated lying to everyone.”
Marianne nodded. “That was a big step. Rhys loves it here, but it’s hard for him to be scrutinized. He’d prefer to be perceived a lot less than he is. But he was willing to come here night after night and work with you, right?”
Caleb nodded. He supposed that was a big deal. “He wants us to take a break from working together.”
“Okay, but he also needs to win, so that won’t last long.”
Caleb smiled, thinking about Rhys showing up in the middle of the night in a rainstorm because he’d decided the only way he could win the contest was by working with Caleb. “He really does want to win. Is he always that competitive?”
“He is when it has to do with something he’s really interested in or something that matters to him.”
“Like coffee.”
“Yes, like coffee.”
“Should I just wait him out, or does he need a push?”
Marianne tilted her head as she considered the questions. “Give him a few days, then nudge him. Not too hard, but enough. He’s crazy about you. It’s so easy to see it if you know him. He’s not going to want to go too long without seeing you.”
CHAPTER 26
There was a knock on the door of Frost + Foam the next morning as Rhys was sleepily setting up for the day.
He wasn’t ready to deal with Tessa yet, but when he turned around, he saw Jonah standing there. Jonah had already been many drinks in when Rhys left his party. He was sure Jonah had been up late, so Rhys had expected him to sleep in.
Rhys unlocked the door and ushered him in. “What are you doing up this early?”
Jonah grinned. “I haven’t actually been to bed.”
“Wow. I expected you to be out late, but—”
“I ended up back at Tessa’s. She has the day off, and we sat up talking until five. Then I decided to go on a walk and ended up here.”
“Do you want coffee, or are you going to go to bed?”
“I don’t work today, so sleep would probably be best, but I wanted to check on you.”
Rhys frowned. “Why?”
“You looked upset when you left last night.”
“I’m fine.” Jonah didn’t say a word, and the silence grew uncomfortable. “I was tired of people insinuating things about me and Caleb. I shouldn’t have said anything about us working together. It was better to keep it a secret.”
“It wasn’t that big of a secret.”
Rhys’s pulse sped up, and he leaned against the counter. “What do you mean?”
“You really think no one noticed you going to Cloud Nine in the evenings.”
“Most people aren’t even out in the evenings on weekdays.”
“We aren’t out late, but plenty of us go out to dinner or for drinks or knitting club or—”
Rhys groaned. “Tell me the knitting club isn’t talking about me.”
“No more than usual.”
“What does that mean?”
Jonah shrugged. “Nothing.”
It would probably be bad for his stress levels to learn more. “If people knew, why didn’t they—”
“Why do you think we all kept asking about how progress was going on your drink?”
Rhys took a sip of his coffee, trying to ground himself. “Because you’re curious.”
“We are, but you kept saying you wanted to keep it a secret.”
“When has that ever stopped Tessa?”
Jonah laughed. “True, but it usually quiets the rest of us.”
Rhys ran a hand through his hair. He’d already been having a shitty morning, now this. “Fine. But…”
“None of us were certain of anything except we’d each seen you at Cloud Nine in the evenings.”
“I could have been teaching Caleb how to pull a proper shot.”
Jonah shook his head. “Caleb is doing fine with that already.”
“Maybe that’s because of me.”
“Since when do you offer coffee lessons to anyone?”
He took a deep breath to prevent himself from yelling. “Just because I haven’t—”
“Rhys.”
“I didn’t want everyone talking about me, but I guess not saying things was just making everyone more curious.”
Jonah nodded. “I think so.”
“But I didn’t talk about it last year.”
“We didn’t have Caleb last year or Agnes on a crusade of revenge.”
Agnes was definitely not helping anything. “Is this really all because her sister’s town won more awards last year?”
“I do think she genuinely wants to help the town, and it’s partially because we’re hosting this year.”
Rhys groaned. “I wouldn’t even be in this mess if she hadn’t started all this.”
“Do you really regret working with Caleb? Would you change that now if you could?”
Rhys thought for a few moments. Plenty of things would be simpler, but what if he’d never found out what it was like to kiss Caleb or for Caleb to… He pushed away those thoughts. He didn’t need to get hard in front of Jonah. “No. I wouldn’t change it.”