Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 125936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
“Then they can buy it from Stella’s booth. That coffee is paired perfectly with the whiskey. They complement each other,” Zane replied. “And Pilar was smart enough to turn on the space heater I had built into the booth. It’s in the ceiling and has a fan that keeps it toasty warm.”
“What? I’ve been freezing my ass off for three days,” Van complained.
“All you had to do was ask,” Zane countered. “Or look up. Or press the on button next to the register. Now go back to fighting. I’m more interested in that. You both found a tourist to tempt back to your lair, but you can’t decide which one.”
“Why should they have to decide?” Nate was still wearing his uniform. “They’re young. They could date both. Are they both tourists?”
“I think mine will be here for a couple of weeks.” At least Hale hoped she would.
“I’m pretty sure mine will leave in a day or two,” Van hedged. “She’s going to find out this place is weirder than she imagined. She seems cool, but sometimes Bliss can be a lot. Especially some of the wilder citizens.”
Excellent. Van was making his point. “So we should see mine. You can call yours and tell her you’re busy. She’ll be gone as soon as the festival is over.”
“I’m afraid she might not make it through the whole festival, so I would like to see her before she leaves,” Van argued.
“Or—to reiterate—you could see them both,” Zane pointed out.
Hale stepped away from the oven, which seemed to be heating up nicely. “I don’t want to see anyone else. I’m interested in her. I have always followed Van when his heart or brain or dick decided to chase after a woman. I think this once he can follow me.”
“My heart, dick, and brain are concentrating on the woman I met.” Van proved he was a stubborn asshole.
Was he really not going to give him this one ask? He’d never asked before. “I’m not going to cancel my date. She’s going to be here soon. I don’t want to cancel on her. I want to see her.”
Van got a stubborn look on his face, his arms crossing over his chest. “Then I guess we should each date on our own.”
“Is Van Halen breaking up again?” The sheriff was excellent with sarcasm. “This is an eighties nightmare.”
Zane groaned. “That was cold, man. I thought you two were a solid pair.”
“I did, too.” Van stepped away and started toward the employee locker room.
Hale was left feeling like the world had violently turned on him.
He’d never dated a woman on his own. Never. He’d had sex. In some of the group homes he’d lived in, there had been young women who’d invited him to their beds. And a young man. He’d tested the waters and decided he was wired one way, though he’d enjoyed the intimacy of being with the man. He’d enjoyed how close they’d been, how much of themselves they could share.
Then he’d met Van, and while they never got sexual with each other, they had the deepest relationship of Hale’s life. He didn’t have a brother who bailed him out. He didn’t even have siblings he couldn’t count on but who might at least give him some sympathy.
He had Van, and now he was starting to wonder how much longer his best friend would be around. Was it worth losing Van for a woman who would walk away in a few weeks? Was he pushing this because internally he wanted to get to the moment when he had to choose between Bliss and his best friend? Just so he could get it over with?
Nate pointed a finger his way. “Don’t.”
“Okay.” He wasn’t sure what he wasn’t supposed to do, but it seemed better to agree with the sheriff.
Nate’s eyes narrowed. “Tell me you’re not thinking about calling the woman you’re interested in and telling her you can’t see her.”
It wasn’t like she would be around forever. She was here to do one thing and then she would go back to her home.
On the other hand, it seemed like Van was getting tired of the life they shared here, and he might be ready to move on, too. Hale couldn’t be sure he would even get an invite to go to Dallas.
He definitely wasn’t sure he wanted to leave Bliss.
This was the moment when he would normally retreat and go back to his quiet place somewhere at Van’s side.
But something was changing. He was changing. He could walk away or he could test these new relationships. One path was fairly safe and put off the conflict. One made him vulnerable, but maybe that was okay here.
“Yeah, that was going through my head.” Hale chose his path. Maybe before Dallas he would have receded, but after spending all those months watching how a chosen family could work, he wanted more for himself. Being here in Bliss around multiple families like the one he wanted had helped too. “Am I making a mistake?”