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Rose waved a hand in the direction of the main staircase. “We had a plumbing issue in one of the rooms, so he’s dealing with that.”
“Should I go help?”
“Jason’s fine.” She linked her arm through his and started walking him back to the front door. “Let’s get you and Holden settled, and then you can show him around. I put you two in the Founder’s Cottage since your sister arrives in a few days, and we’ll have her and the kids in our place, which doesn’t leave any rooms to spare, and I didn’t want you to have to move after only one night. Careful, dear. I’ll have to get Jason to look at that flagstone and make sure it’s not loose.”
Rose steadied Greg, but he hadn’t stumbled because of a loose spot on the floor.
He glanced over his shoulder at Holden as his mother continued to talk about his sister and how much the boys had grown since Greg had last seen them, but he wasn’t really listening. His mind was on the man trailing behind them, and his mother’s assumption they would want to stay in the same room. He hadn’t given his mother any reason to assume one way or another, and Holden had been perfect the previous night, nor did he want his time with Holden to end, but that was all a far cry from spending the next couple of days in the same bed. That’s what had caused him to stumble.
As they reached the SUV, Rose’s phone buzzed with an incoming message. She whipped the phone out of the back pocket of her jeans and glanced at the screen.
“Shit,” she muttered, and Greg heard Holden snort. Yeah, she didn’t look like it, but his mom could curse with the best of them. She’d been the only girl in a family with five boys. “I’ve got to go take care of something,” she said as she texted a reply. She finished up her message, flashed a smile at both of them. “Holden, it was a pleasure. We’ll see you two at 6:30 in the restaurant.” She handed Greg a key card. “You remember the way?”
“Yes, Mom.” Greg took hold of the card, and with that, Rose was off, already placing a call to someone to deal with whatever crisis had just landed on her plate. For a moment, both he and Holden stood in silence, the air around them settling in Rose’s wake. “Just so you know,” Greg said quietly, “I take after my dad more than my mom.”
Holden’s deep laugh echoed under the portcullis. “She is kind of—”
“—a hurricane?”
“I was going to say force of nature, but yes, hurricane fits that definition.” Holden ran his fingers through his hair. “So…the Founder’s Cottage?”
“Yeah. I’m sorry about that. I didn’t…I don’t…” Greg scuffed his feet in the slush near the SUV’s rear tire. “We don’t have to stay together. I mean, we didn’t talk about it, and there are plenty of places for me to stay if you’d rather have your own room.” He peered at Holden and shrugged.
Greg held his breath as Holden stepped closer to him, and a gentle touch lifted his chin. “We didn’t exactly talk about it, no, but the chance to spend another couple of days getting to know you better and have you in my bed? I’d be an idiot to pass that up. That is, assuming there’s only one bed in the cottage.” Holden winked at him.
This time, it was Greg who leaned forward and closed the distance between them. “Thank you,” he whispered just before his lips touched Holden’s. He sighed when they parted. “Either you are the most patient man I’ve ever met, or you are one hell of an actor.”
Greg had meant it as a joke, a self-deprecating poke at himself and the insecurities that lingered from past partners who complained about blue balls or called him a cock tease when kisses didn’t deepen or lead to fooling around and orgasms. It was clear from Holden’s frown that he hadn’t taken it as a lighthearted comment. He leaned his forehead against Greg’s and kissed him on the nose.
“I don’t know what kind of assholes you’ve been with in the past, but I am not them. I will not rush you or push you or insist that you do something only because I want it. I will never make you feel guilty about being true to yourself.” He kissed Greg. “I wish those other fuckers weren’t living rent-free in your brain and intruding on my time with you. I’m starting to feel a little jealous because I want you all to myself.”
The words were said with a smile, but Greg felt the tension in Holden’s body and nodded. “I’ll do my best.”
“That’s all I can ask. Now.” Holden stepped back. “Where’s this Founder’s Cottage?”
Chapter twelve
Holden
TheFounder’sCottagewasset toward the back of the property in the middle of a grove of aspen. With the mountains rising above it, the trees encircling it, and a stretch of the Roaring Fork River running behind, Holden thought it might be as close to paradise as he’d ever seen. It was breathtakingly beautiful. Not to mention remote. The main building where they’d met Greg’s mother was about a half mile down the road, and the closest cabin was no longer visible once they’d turned down the cabin’s driveway.
The building itself had been the first structure built by Greg’s grandfather after he purchased the property. According to Greg, it had been a fishing cottage back then, a place where his grandfather and his buddies had hung out on the weekends. Back then, it had been heated by a fireplace and didn’t have running water or an indoor toilet. Fortunately, his parents had renovated the place into something that retained the rustic charm but also provided the kind of luxury their guests expected. Solar panels, a composting toilet, and precipitation collectors on the roof meant the cabin was self-sufficient and kept its environmental impact as low as possible, though it had its own well in case there wasn’t enough rain or snow and a generator.
“Because we can’t have guests unable to draw a bath or run the hot tub,” Greg said as he unlocked the door and stood aside to let Holden enter first.
“Of course,” Holden said, but any additional comment died in his mouth when he saw the cabin’s interior. “That’s…that’s definitely not rustic,” he said as he took in the finely milled cabinetry, the giant four-poster bed, a claw-footed copper bath, and the fieldstone fireplace. But that wasn’t what had taken his breath away. Nope. That honor went to the floor-to-ceiling windows that took up the entire back wall so he had an unobstructed view of the stream and the mountains beyond.
“Wow,” he said, feeling as if the word was completely inadequate for the view. Once again, Holden was reminded that when it came to Greg, nothing was as he expected it to be. He turned to take in the man still standing in the doorway and shook his head. Definitely not as he expected, but so much better than he could have imagined.
“This is amazing,” Holden told him without taking his eyes off Greg. “Why would your mom put us here? I mean…” He paused, not wanting to give voice to the words, but the thought was there. He and Greg weren’t a couple, and it was too soon—much too soon—for them to be feeling anything beyond attraction. They’d barely begun to get to know each other. And yet…
Greg laughed. “Knowing my mom, she had a couple of keys in her pocket. If you’d turned out to be an asshole or someone she thought didn’t deserve me, you’d be in the main house, and I’d be sleeping in the guest room in their residence.”
“So, this is your mother’s seal of approval?” Holden cast another glance around the cabin and out the windows at the view. “I’m not going to complain.”
“Neither am I. Come get your bag from the car. I might have to play porter for the next couple of weeks for my parents, but you can deal with your own today.”
“Not going to take pity on the old man?” Holden asked.
