Page 5 of Harvest Heat

“I need to run. I’ve got to get back to the bakery.” She lifted her cup in a salute. “Thanks for this. Do you need me to increase your order for cinnamon rolls tomorrow?”

Caleb glanced at the nearly empty pastry case. “Definitely.”

“No problem. See you later.”

He waved goodbye and watched her go. He hadn’t realized he was still staring out the window until a customer interrupted his thoughts.

“If you like her, go for it. She’s a great girl.”

He looked down to see Agnes, an older lady who served as the president of the Chamber of Commerce. Did she think he had a crush on Tessa? He could see how it might look like that, but Tessa wasn’t the one he’d been musing about. “Oh, no. I don’t⁠—”

“It’s okay, dear. Your secret is safe with me.”

Caleb doubted that, and he didn’t need rumors going around about him mooning over Tessa. “She’s great, and she’s been so helpful as I pulled Cloud Nine together, but she’s not my type. I’m gay.” He’s assumed most people knew that, considering the number of rainbows all over his store and the way he’d decorated everything in bright colors. He’d also mentioned his ex-boyfriend to a few people. He’d decided before moving that he wasn’t going to hide anything about himself. The town either took him as he was, or he’d have to come up with a new plan.

“Oh, that’s too bad.” She sucked in her breath as if realizing how that sounded. “Not you being gay. That’s just fine. That’s wonderful, but Tessa needs a man. I’ll find her someone eventually.”

He doubted Tessa needed her help, but he just smiled. It probably would be a lot easier if he were attracted to Tessa. As far as he knew, she was single, her baked goods were to die for, and she was easy to talk to. Her brother, Finn, was also great, though much less extroverted than his sister, so Caleb hadn’t gotten to know him as well, but if he were interested in anyone in town, it was Rhys, the one man who didn’t want to talk to him.

An alarm went off on Agnes’s phone, and she glanced down at it. “Lunch break is over already. How did that happen? I’d better grab my iced coffee and go.”

Caleb was relieved. He could hurry her out and not have to answer any more awkward questions. He took her order, made her drink, and handed it to her.

“See you tonight,” she said.

“Tonight?” He’d planned to celebrate opening day by collapsing on his couch with a beer and his favorite show.

“For the special meeting of the small-business association. You’re coming, aren’t you?”

Shit. That must have been in the email he’d ignored. “Um… Sure. I think so.”

Agnes narrowed her eyes. “Did you read my email?”

He tried to look contrite. “I’ve been really busy.”

His sad puppy face must have worked on her because she smiled. “Well, of course you have, but you have to be there. We need you. We’re going to talk about the Harvest Festival. It’s vital for the town.”

Caleb smiled back. Vital was surely an exaggeration, but like most of the other residents of Frostwick Harbor, Agnes took the Harvest Festival very seriously. “Okay.”

“Good. We need you.” She waved as she hurried out the door.

He loved how quickly most of the town had embraced him and his shop. And he was determined to win over Rhys and any of the other doubters.

CHAPTER 3

Rhys left the Temporarily Closed sign on the door since he wasn’t prepared to face any customers after that disaster. He shut himself in the back office, sank down into his desk chair, and dropped his head into his hands.

What the fuck was he thinking? He’d touched Caleb’s espresso machine without permission. He hadn’t even said hello first. He’d just blurted out his criticism, then taken over. Damn. The whole thing had gone even worse than he’d imagined.

But the temperature did need to be fixed. He didn’t want to sell burnt drinks.

True, but that was not the way to handle it.

It wasn’t, and now Rhys looked like a dick. Everyone in line had stared at him, and he’d wished he could disappear. The story would be all over town in no time. How the hell was he ever going to face Caleb again?

He’d heard Caleb call out that it was okay, but surely he was just saying that to be nice. It was his opening day. He wasn’t going to yell at customers, no matter how asinine they acted.

Rhys’s phone buzzed, and he saw a message from Tessa. He knew he’d better respond, or she’d come looking for him. He didn’t want to talk to anybody, but he was going to have to go back out front and run his store. Sam wasn’t available on Mondays. They volunteered at an animal shelter, so he couldn’t even call them in, and he didn’t trust anyone else to work alone.