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“Have you reserved a rental car at the airport?” he asks.
“Yes, one with all-wheel drive, even though it’s summer. Rosetta said there’s a lot of uphill driving, and some roads are on the rough side. She hasn’t given me directions, but I’m sure the rental will have GPS.”
“Some of these small mountain towns don’t show up in the satellite mapping. I’ll send you detailed directions that’ll bring you to the main road into town. There’s an outpost there, and it’s a good spot for us to meet. After that, you can follow me into town. And if you run into any confusion along the way, I’m just a phone call away.”
“Wow, you really take this ‘best man’ job seriously.”
His chuckle is warm and genuine, and I find myself biting my lip to hide a smile he can’t see. “Helping people is always a pleasure for me, never a job.”
“You must be single by choice.” The comment is hanging in the air as fast as it entered my mind. “Sorry, that thought was supposed to stay inside my head. It’s none of my business why you’re not romantically attached.”
Another deep and delicious chuckle comes through my phone’s little speaker. “I’ll tell you anything you want to know. Ask away.”
“Tempting,” I say, switching to handset mode so I can have his voice directly in my ear. “But I should probably save the personal questions until we’ve known each other longer than a few minutes via a long-distance phone call.”
“I’m looking forward to that.”
“Me too.” Because he seems nice. That’s all. Not because I’ve developed a sight-unseen insta-crush on some guy I know next to nothing about. “Oh, I think you have another call waiting,” I say, when a muted double-beep sounds in the air between us. “I’ll let you go so you can take it.”
“It can go to voicemail—unless you need to get going.”
“I don’t. I’m a freelancer and work from home. Nobody’s clocking my break time.”
“Rosetta has shown me some of your work online. Impressive. You’re a talented artist.”
“Thank you.”
Interesting. There are only two reasons Ro would talk about me to her fiancé’s friend. One, because she needed to, since the man is offering to house me in his guest room. Or two, because she’s got matchmaking in mind. I should hope it’s the first option. Should.
“I wish I could say I know something about you,” I say, “but when Ro and I talk, it’s usually about her and Dak. Honestly, looking him in the eye, knowing the things I know, is going to be a struggle.”
Constantine’s rumbling laugh sends ripples of heat through me. “Do me a favor and don’t share any of that information with me.”
“So, you don’t want to know about the dildo set Dak sent for her to?—”
“Stop,” he says through a choking laugh. “Show some mercy for the guy who does have to look Dak in the eye later.”
Light laugh bubbles up from my chest as naturally as breathing. This is nice. I can’t remember the last time I found it this easy to talk to someone new. And to a man who interests me—never. Probably because this is a zero-pressure situation. Even if I find Constantine attractive when I meet him, even if he feels the same and we have amazing chemistry, it wouldn’t lead anywhere. We live thousands of kilometers apart. But a short-term fling while I’m out there… that’s a possibility. If I can pause overthinking long enough to let it happen. Going to have to fight my nature for that to happen.
And now I’ve gotten way ahead of myself. “Do you work with Dak in his construction business?” I ask, wiggling down into my collection of throw pillows, some of which are midnight-blue velvet. Not that that’s a sign or anything.
“I help with heavy lifting when he needs an extra pair of hands, but that’s the extent of my involvement. My line of work is less grueling. I own a couple of businesses in town. The Brew is a coffeehouse in the daytime and a brewpub in the evening. My other business is related—it’s a small-batch craft brewery called Bullheaded Brew.”
“Wow, that’s amazing. Were they turnkey businesses, or did you start them from scratch?”
“Scratch, but with a lot of community support. We’re big on that in Fate’s Falls.”
“Rosetta always says it’s incredible there. It’s the one thing she finds time to slide into her otherwise X-rated conversations.”
“Which you’re not going to tell me about.”
“No.” I giggle. “Not until my last day there, anyway.”
“Maybe you’ll fall in love with the place like your cousin did, and you won’t have a last day here.”
“Ro fell in love with a person, not a place. She would’ve been happy to live anywhere with Dak.” Hopefully, the envy in my voice isn’t as obvious to Constantine as it is to my ears.
“He’s completely dedicated to her also, if you had any doubts.”
