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“It was all Mom’s idea,” Greg added, and Holden heard the pride in his voice at what his parents had accomplished. He’d already explained how, when Jason and Rose decided this was their dream, Rose went back to school. Holden was going to assume she’d earned her degree from the same program with which they now worked to provide experience for the students. Jason had been a comptroller for a major hotel in Denver, so he understood the financial and logistical aspects of the business.
Holden speared a savory mushroom and brought it to his mouth. The entire meal was one of the best he’d ever had, and he could taste the quality of the ingredients in every bite. What Greg’s parents had created was impressive and, as he watched them interact with each other and their son, a testament to the close connection this family shared. The warmth of the inn, its ability to combine elegance with the cozy feeling of home, all of that came down to the people with whom he was sharing this meal, and he felt every fiber of his being relax in a way he didn’t think possible.
It made Holden realize he’d been on high alert for most of his life. Since he’d first realized he was gay when he was twelve, Holden had known he had to be careful. In high school, he’d had to be mindful of who he looked at in the halls, where he looked in the locker room, putting energy into pretending to be interested in girls. It was worse in the military and then again when he’d joined Far Sight. Three decades of his life had been spent looking over his shoulder instead of at the person he was with, and he was tired of it.
Almost as if Greg had read Holden’s thoughts, he placed his hand on top of Holden’s. Greg lightly traced the veins on the back of his hand. When he looked up, Greg’s eyes sparkled from the candlelight like sunlight glinting off a crystal-clear blue lake. Holden smiled and turned his hand over and entwined his fingers with Greg’s.
Conversation at the table continued, but Holden was only half listening, his mind still caught up in his earlier thoughts. He’d spent so much time hiding and pretending and holding himself back from relationships. As he finished his meal, he laid his silverware on the plate, then reached for Greg’s hand. The freedom he felt in not having to worry about even such a simple gesture was almost overwhelming.
Greg’s fingers closed around his, a small squeeze, that made Holden turn his head to look at Greg. They shared a private smile, a quick check-in. Holden nodded slightly to let Greg know he was all right, and Greg nodded back.
“How did the two of you meet?” Rose asked, and Holden caught a mischievous glint in her eyes when he looked at her.
“Mom!” Greg protested at the same time Jason chuckled.
“What? I’m curious.”
Holden squeezed Greg’s hand lightly and tilted his head in question when Greg glanced at him. With a shrug, Greg told his mother they’d met at a club the previous week. To his surprise, she smiled and nodded, but before she said anything else, Jason stood and held out his hand for Rose.
“Come on, trouble maker, I’m sure there’s something that needs taking care of somewhere in this place.”
As Holden made to stand as well, Rose waved him off. “Stay put and relax. Have some coffee. We serve an incredible organic, fair-trade brand. And I also recommend Chef’s fried apple pie dessert. It’s served with Chantilly cream and candied pecans, and it is amazing.”
He watched Rose and Jason walk off hand in hand and felt the warmth from Greg’s in his own. Without questioning, he raised Greg’s hand to his mouth and kissed it, then turned to look at the stunning man sitting next to him. The candlelight cast golden highlights in Greg’s dark hair and pulled out the rugged lines in his face, especially around his mouth and jaw. Having met Jason, Holden could envision how those lines would deepen as Greg aged, maturing what was now almost pretty into strikingly handsome with classic features worthy of a silver-screen cowboy.
Holden wanted Greg. Of that, he had no doubt. When he raised his eyes to Greg’s, he thought he saw a reciprocated desire. With any other man, he would have assumed the flushed cheeks and softly parted lips meant that Greg was thinking about what they could do together back at the cabin, but Greg had told him enough about his asexuality that he wasn’t going to assume. He didn’t want Greg to think hehadto do anything like he had in the shower in Denver, and that was going to take a lot of talking and communication. There was still a lot for him to learn and understand, and it would take time—time Holden knew he was willing to give as he stared into Greg’s blue-sky eyes.
“Are we getting dessert?” Greg asked without breaking their stare.
“Are you kidding?” Holden asked. “After your mother’s recommendation? I wouldn’t dare disappoint her. She might relegate me to the worst room in the place.” Greg laughed just as the sparkling sound of a piano floated across the lobby. It was coming from the cocktail bar on the opposite side.
After the pianist’s opening flourish, the music settled into jazz standards and classic romantic ballads, the kind of music Holden would often find his parents dancing to in their living room. “Dance with me later?” he asked.
Greg squeezed his hand. “I’d love to.”
The dessert was, as Rose had advised them, absolutely delicious, and Holden felt warmed to his very core. This evening, hell, the past two days, had been some of the best days of his life. He knew it was going to end soon. This was only a temporary respite, and work and the real world would crowd in sooner than he wanted to contemplate. As he and Greg stood, and Greg took his hand as they walked to the lounge, Holden wondered what it would be like if this was his real world and Greg his to keep.
They ordered drinks at the bar—a Manhattan for Holden and an extra dirty vodka martini for Greg—then sat at a small table to enjoy the people-watching while their dinner settled. Both the lounge and the restaurant were surprisingly full.
“How many rooms does this place have?” Holden asked.
“Twenty-five including the cabins, but people come here from all over for the restaurant and lounge in the evening, or the spa during the day. Touristsandlocals.” Greg took a sip of his drink, then grinned. “Mom’s got a really good business brain. She always wanted to run a B and B and took notes whenever we went on vacation about the things that worked or didn’t at the places where we stayed. Plus, she recognized the potential for this property pretty early on. Keeping its environmental impact as low as possible was my grandfather’s only restriction on developing it when Dad inherited it.”
Once again, Holden was struck by the cohesiveness of Greg’s family, the way they seemed to recognize and cherish each other’s passions. He hadn’t met Greg’s sister, Monica, yet since she’d been delayed by a crisis at work. From the conversation at dinner, he’d gathered that she, too, used her marketing skills for the family’s business.
“Why don’t you work here?” Holden asked but then apologized for the bluntness of his question.
Greg waved him off. “I told you I wasn’t a great student, didn’t really know what I wanted to do, and Mom and Dad hadn’t opened the inn yet, so I went into the army. After my first tour, I knew it wasn’t what I wanted to do, so Dad was the one who suggested flying.” He took another sip of his drink. “Sometimes I think it was a sneaky way to get me to do market research for them.”
That answer intrigued Holden, so he asked Greg to elaborate.
“I get to travel and stay in hotels all over the world and then report back on ideas I’ve seen that I think will work well here. Like having the day spa on-site. That was my suggestion.”
“Think I can try it out before I leave?” Holden asked. He’d meant his tone to be light and teasing, but as he said the words, they became a reminder that this was a temporary bubble, a brief taste of something he hadn’t known was missing from his life. The words turned bitter in his mouth, and he took a large gulp of his drink to wash them away.
“When do you have to go back?” Greg asked, and Holden risked a glance at him. His expression was neutral, but Holden detected tension in the lines around his mouth.
“Two days, but I might be able to swing a few more if I ask nicely.” Holden shrugged and opted to be one hundred percent truthful. “Unless something happens with one of our simulators, and the company needs me to get there ASAP.”
