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I watched as he pulled out his phone, snapping a photo of the citrus bounty. He hadn’t seen me yet. He was still turned away from where I was at the far end of the bar, and he leaned over his phone for a moment. My phone vibrated a second later, and when I checked it, I couldn’t keep a huge smile from my face.
He’d sent me the picture of the oranges. So simple, so sweet, and it melted my heart instantly.
I jotted him a quick message.
>>Rome: Behind you.
Casey finally turned to look my way, and the surprise on his face was instantaneous.
“Well, hello, stranger,” he said, walking over. He paused for a moment as he got closer, hesitating before leaning in for a hug.
And I hated how good it felt to hug him. He smelled like fresh citrus and likehimself, a scent I remembered all too well from when I was in his house, tangled up with him under his tree.
“So, are you taking up a new job as a citrus delivery person?”
Casey sat down on the stool next to me and pulled off his scarf and jacket. His cheeks were still pink from being out in the cold. He looked so cute it almost physically hurt a little.
“You got it,” he said as he settled in. “I decided to ditch the tech work and start a new life as Citrus Santa.”
“It certainly made Harlan happy,” I said, nodding over.
“He’s just that happy every time he sees Sawyer,” Casey told me. “Those two weremadeto be best friends.”
“It’s so sweet.”
“Unfortunately I am not giving up my coding career for California orange delivery. I just saw Sawyer needed some help as I was walking in, ready to toss back several piña coladas.”
I knitted my brow, staring at Casey. “Did you just say piña coladas?”
He nodded once. “Yeah. I’m really craving them.”
“You’re going to have a fucking piña colada a week before Christmas?”
A smile crept onto the edge of his lips. “Do I sense I’ve just stepped into a snake pit?”
“You haven’t just stepped into a snake pit, you just cannonballed into a tank of piranhas. Hell, you just woke up an angry, vengeful grizzly bear.”
Casey raised his eyebrows. “Oh yeah?”
“Piña coladas should be downrightbannedin wintertime, as far as I’m concerned,” I said. “It’s not only the middle of December in a mountain town, it’s also actively snowing outside, right now. You just took off a scarf, for God’s sake. And you want a pineapple coconut island drink? It’s blasphemy.”
Casey pushed his hair to one side. “Because pineapple and coconut blended together with rum is goddamn delicious,” he said. “And the date on the calendar doesn’t change that.”
“I should’ve known,” I said, shaking my head slowly.
“That I was a filthy cocktail outlaw?”
“That you were capable of flying in the face ofall reasonlike this, yes,” I said. I reached out and gave his shoulder a little shove, chuckling to myself now. “What am I going to do with you, Casey?”
“You’re going to watch me drink a piña colada, if you stay here,” he teased me. “And you’re going to like it.”
I leaned back on the barstool, smiling to myself as I took another slow sip of whiskey. A minute later, Harlan came over and Casey ordered the drink, and when Casey had it in front of him, he made every effort to show just how much he was enjoying it.
“Didn’t think my night was going to end up like this,” I said. “One moment, a guy’s just sitting at the bar enjoying his whiskey, and the next…”
“The next moment, he’s witnessingmeenjoying my drink.”
“I’m glad you like it, Casey.”
