by Andrew Grey
“So that was why you were able to help me today?” He liked it when Gregory smiled. Rhys had missed that and felt pretty lucky to see it again.
“Yeah. I would have gone over to see Annalise, but Jonathan is guarding her from any excitement or interruptions like a bulldog. It’s actually kind of nice that he loves her so much.” Gregory sighed loudly.
“What was that for?” Rhys asked.
Gregory shrugged. “I should just keep quiet. It’s not something anyone can do for me.”
Rhys nodded. “Loneliness is a real bitch sometimes.”
“How did—?”
“Pretty simple, really. You were free on a Friday afternoon to help me in the kitchen all day. And I know what it’s like to be lonely. Being alone is fine, but there are times when all I want is someone else’s company.”
The server returned, and Rhys ordered a bacon cheeseburger. Gregory got the same, with some ranch dressing for the fries.
“You’re alone? I doubt that… really.” Gregory seemed shocked.
“I work mostly by myself, and then… well… I haven’t had a boyfriend in a long time. Guys don’t want to date someone who works six days a week and falls into bed at the end of the day because he’s been standing on his feet for nine hours or more and is just dead tired. Don’t get me wrong—I love baking and what I do, but most guys don’t understand. They want to go out on Saturday night, and I’ve been up since six and don’t have the energy for that kind of stuff.”
Gregory shook his head. “Well, I think that anyone would be lucky to have you and they should get over themselves.” The way Gregory said it, like there was no argument, made him laugh.
“That’s nice of you to say, but I know the life I have isn’t really conducive to dating. I was thinking of getting a cat, but then I’d have to clean up after it, and the hair…. Or a dog, but I’d have the same issue, and I need the kitchen to be clean. So I live alone and pretty much work alone.” He wasn’t going to whine.
“What about your parents? I thought they were in the area?”
“Mom and Dad moved to Florida about two years ago. They wanted to retire, and six months later, my brother-in-law got a job in Tampa, so they moved there as well. So pretty much my family upped and relocated, and I’m still here.” Rhys didn’t want to make a big deal out of it. Things were the way they were, and he just needed to figure stuff out.
“Are you going to visit them for Christmas?” Gregory asked, and Rhys shrugged.
“They were going to come up here to visit, but Mom hates the cold, and they got the chance to go on a holiday cruise. They asked if I wanted to go, but I already had commitments and orders that I couldn’t cancel. I told them to go and have fun with my sister and her husband.” He was really thinking that decision had been a mistake, but it was too late to change it now. “It’s okay. Are you spending Christmas with Annalise?”
“I hope so. This pregnancy is taking a lot out of her. She’s due right at the new year, so things are really up in the air.”
The server interrupted their conversation with their food. Rhys took a bite as food-induced silence took over. He was grateful for it. Rhys didn’t talk about his family situation or his bouts of loneliness with most people. But with Gregory, he felt comfortable enough to give his feelings words, which was both nice and strange at the same time.
“This is really good.” Gregory hummed around his food.
Rhys sort of lost himself in his lips and the delight in his eyes. Damn, he wished he’d been the one to put that there instead of the food. He stifled a snort when he realized he was slightly jealous of a hamburger.
“Yeah. The trick is to have the grill at just the right temperature. If it’s too hot, the burger chars on the outside, and if it isn’t hot enough, you don’t get that ‘grilled’ flavor that makes it taste so good.” Rhys took another bite. “It took them a little bit before they found that right temperature, but they have now, and the manager is really good about her food quality.”
“Do you know everyone in food?” Gregory’s eyes twinkled with a hint of mischief.
Rhys chuckled. “Pretty much. Once word got around about my baking, it seemed every foodie wanted to be a customer.” He took another bite and swallowed before finishing his answer. “It isn’t everyone who’s willing to spend nearly a hundred dollars for a cake. But that’s what it costs if you want one that’s custom-designed and made. At first I wondered if it would be worth it, which is why I started at home instead of a stand-alone bakery. But people have responded, and I get a lot of business. But it was still a struggle. It takes a lot of customers to keep a place like mine going. I do wedding cakes, but that’s only a single occasion. Everyone only has one anniversary or birthday a year. Let’s see. So I get three cakes per customer per year… plus maybe some other order. It takes a large number of customers.” Rhys had figured all that out before he decided to try to make a go of it. “Finish your dinner, and we’ll go shopping.” He was delighted when the mischief crept back into Gregory’s eyes. Someone might not be much of a cook, but he was a shopper. That was awesome.
Gregory ate a little faster, and soon he had paid the bill, and they walked across the shopping center lot to the craft store. For as tentative as he was in the kitchen, he seemed to burst with energy once they entered the store, which was exciting and attractive as hell.
Chapter 4
“WE COULD use this for the centerpieces, and this ribbon on the favors. They coordinate, but don’t look too matchy-matchy,” Gregory said.
“I thought you weren’t into this stuff?” Rhys asked.
“Oh, I can’t make shit worth a damn, but I can coordinate color and things like that really well. I’m kind of klutzy, in case you didn’t get that from the whole pans-on-the-floor incident, but I understand and love working with color.” Gregory put the ribbon in the basket.
“Great. We have a theme for the party. Peppermint. We should get a number of bags of hard candy that we can use. Fill some glass jars, and we can use them as part of the centerpieces. We could use artificial flowers and greens, but they look flat.” Rhys set down the fake poinsettias. “We could get real greens and put the decorations together a few days before the party. That way they would stay fresh, and the space would smell like pine and peppermint when the guests arrive.”
“Sounds awesome.” Thanks to Rhys, Gregory was getting into the spirit of this whole exercise more and more. He added some artificial berries to the basket, and they continued through the store, getting all the supplies they needed. Gregory consulted the list once again. “Chocolates for the favors.”
“Order them from Wymer’s. They have a two-piece truffle box. I’ve seen them in a red-and-white box, which will go with your theme,” Rhys offered.
Gregory made a note. He would never be able to pull this off if it weren’t for Rhys. “That will be the last of it for the favors. The decorations should be good, other than the baguettes.” He couldn’t help rolling his eyes at the idea, but if Annalise wanted them, then that was going to happen. “We have a plan for the food and dessert.” That ticked off everything on the list, and Gregory felt so much better than he had a few days ago. “I guess all we need is the time to do all this.”
“We can start on Sunday if you like, and then finish off next Sunday with the decorations. The food will need to be done two days before.” Rhys grinned. “But you got this.” He put his hand up and Gregory slapped it, wishing they were smacking something else together.
He needed to stop thinking about Rhys’s lips and the intensity in his eyes. Gregory wasn’t nearly as sure as Rhys was, but his energy was catching, and Gregory liked it. Someone else having confidence in him gave him a jolt of it himself. “Let’s pay for this stuff.”
Rhys followed him to the registers, and Gregory put the purchases on a credit card. He always tried to be careful, and he figured that Annalise would pay him back when the bill came, so he wasn’t too worried about it. But even now, he thought about it
and wished he had the cash just to pay for it. He watched his expenses, because it would be so easy to get mired in credit card debt, and he desperately wanted to be able to save for a house of his own.
Gregory took the bags and carried them to where Rhys was waiting. “I really want to thank you for all of this,” Gregory said, and Rhys smiled as they stepped outside into the cold and now-windy night air. He didn’t really want to say goodbye, because in the back of his mind, if he did, then Rhys might disappear and…. Gregory sighed, needing to put this out of his head. They weren’t in college any longer—they were adults, responsible ones from what he’d seen. “I’ll see you on Sunday?” he asked.
“Absolutely. Come to the house at four. We can work at the table to get some of the preliminary things done and prepared, and this time I’ll cook for you. We can try out some of the recipes your sister provided.” Rhys grinned.
Gregory said good night and headed for his car. He put the bags in the trunk and closed it, then unlocked the car and opened the door to get inside.
“Gregory,” Rhys said from behind him, and when he turned around, Rhys leaned closer and kissed him. It was quick and rather chaste, but it had happened, and Gregory smiled. “I just wanted to put that out there. I hope a kiss is okay.” He shifted from foot to foot nervously, and Gregory nodded and smiled even bigger. “I remember that you were always the shy one, and sometimes I get impulsive, but I didn’t want to let you go without… well, telling you somehow that, well, I still like you and I should have chosen you when I had the chance.”
“I like you too, and the kiss was nice.” Gregory touched his lips. “I’ll definitely be looking forward to Sunday.” He continued smiling, and his heart beat a little faster as he got into his car.
ALL DAY Saturday Gregory kept thinking about Rhys and that kiss. It had taken some guts for him to do that, and Gregory had not only liked it, but it took away some of his nervousness about what Rhys wanted. Granted, it was only a kiss, but it signaled a lot of possibilities. Gregory tried not to let his head get too far ahead. But he had been excited all of Saturday, and the clock couldn’t move fast enough toward four o’clock on Sunday.
“Come on in,” Rhys said when he answered the door.
Gregory stepped inside, and Rhys stood just outside the hall area while he took off his coat. He could tell Rhys was nervous, so Gregory stepped up to him and returned his kiss from Friday. “Is that okay?”
“Yes. And here I was afraid I had acted like an idiot. I should have said something instead of just kissing you the other day. When I got back here, I wondered if I’d been assuming things, and then….” He took a deep breath. Gregory remembered that Rhys tended to ramble when he got nervous, and how cute it was, because at least he wasn’t the only nervous one.
“You read things right.” Gregory sighed and followed Rhys into the dining room, covered with Christmas craft stuff. “I brought the things we bought.”
“Perfect. The party is in a week, so I thought we could make the favors for each place. We can then add the chocolates when we pick them up, and we’ll be good.”
Gregory sat across from Rhys and tried to keep his attention on the task rather than on Rhys. Now that he knew Rhys was interested, things took on a whole new light, and the heated looks he got in response only took on more meaning. Gregory definitely remembered how Rhys had been in college. Hell, it was etched on his memory, including the little mole on his hip, and the way Rhys—
“What are you thinking?” Rhys asked as he leaned over the table.
Gregory blushed but didn’t turn away. Rhys clearly knew what was on his mind, but he refused to be ashamed of it. “Well….”
Now it was Rhys’s turn to blush, and Gregory chuckled. Clearly the two of them had the same idea. Rhys cleared his throat, and Gregory pulled his attention back to the present.
“Okay. What are we doing?”
“Based on your sister’s instructions, she envisioned something like this.” Rhys lifted up an example with some crystals. “It’s nice, but I was thinking we could make these.” He held up a bow of about the same size, but made with more ribbon, that incorporated the crystals as well as the peppermint candies in a sachet. “We can put the chocolates here, and this will go with everything else we’re doing.”
Gregory wasn’t sure at first, but then shrugged. “Let’s go with the blingy one. We bought enough ribbon, right?”
“Yes. These are prettier.” Rhys came around and took the seat next to his. “Let me show you to make them. It’s just a matter of technique.” He got some wire and demonstrated how to hold it and loop the ribbon. Then he finished it off and cut the tails. “That’s all there is to it. We can make the bows and then attach the rest when we’re done.”
Gregory nodded, girded his loins, and dug in. It took them about two hours to make all the bows, and after the first couple, Gregory got into it and his turned out almost as nicely as Rhys’s, who fluffed his and made them prettier. Then they finished up the embellishments and set all twenty aside in a box.
“Well, that’s done.” And Annalise was going to be so pleased.
“Yup, and I found some jars.” Rhys lifted a box from one of the chairs. “None of them are really huge, but they’re varying heights, and once filled with the peppermints, they should look great as part of the table centerpieces, which we’ll make next Sunday. That should finish up the decorative items, and we can then do the cooking just before the party.” Rhys stood, and Gregory followed him into the kitchen.
“What now?”
“Dinner—I’m starved. You know where the aprons are,” Rhys said, and Gregory got one. “I thought we’d check out the quiche recipe of your sister’s. It looks a little off to me, and I want to test it. I made the shell this afternoon, so I’m going to talk you through the filling, and then we’ll bake it.”
Gregory was nearing panic. “You have to be kidding.”
“You can do it.” Rhys put his hand on his shoulder. “We’ll do it together.” He got out the eggs and cream, and cut up some bacon to brown off. He also got some ham, spinach, and a chunk of cheese, which Gregory managed to grate without cutting his hand up.
“Awesome. Cut the ham in small cubes while I finish the bacon, and then we can start.”
Gregory was so careful with the ham, it took forever. But when he was done, the bacon was drained and Rhys had squeezed the liquid out of the spinach. “Is this right?”
“Perfect. I put the ingredients out for you. Here’s the recipe, and I’ll let you do it while I watch.” Rhys stepped back, and Gregory slowly went through the steps. Rhys showed him how to whisk and slowly blend in the wet ingredients. “Add an extra egg,” Rhys said. “I think that’s what’s wrong. Does your sister get fresh eggs?”
Gregory nodded. “A friend has chickens.”
“That’s why. We’ll need one more for extra body since ours are store-bought.”
Gregory did as Rhys asked and finished whisking the mixture. He added the bacon, ham, cheese, and spinach and stirred them in the way Rhys told him as he turned on the oven.
“Go ahead and pour it into the shell… slowly. You want to keep from dripping over or it will stick to the pan.”
Gregory poured and didn’t spill anything. Rhys used a spatula to clean the bowl, and then once the oven beeped that it was up to temperature, Gregory slid the quiche in and closed the door. Rhys had him set the timer, and Gregory heaved a deep breath. It seemed like he’d been holding it the entire time. “I did okay?”
“I think it’s going to be amazing. When I’m doing some other baking, I’ll make the shells ahead, and you can finish them. I think your sister will be pleased.” Rhys cleaned up the work area and opened a bottle of white wine. He poured a couple of glasses, and they sat, sipping and making a salad, while they waited for it to bake.
“What else do we do now?” Gregory asked.
“Hmmm,” Rhys said as he wiped his hand and came around the island to where Gregory sat. “How ab
out kiss the cook?” He leaned down, and Gregory closed the distance between them. This kiss was less chaste and more hot… a lot more hot. Rhys certainly hadn’t lost his touch in the kiss department, and Gregory felt it all the way to his toes. “Damn. You were always so responsive.” Rhys blinked, his face so close to Gregory’s. “You always put your whole self into everything you did. I forgot how attractive that is.” Rhys kissed him again, and this time he was in no hurry to stop. Gregory slipped his hands around Rhys’s neck, drawing him closer, increasing the pressure between them. Rhys parted his lips, and Gregory teased his tongue to Rhys’s lips, moaning when Rhys sucked on it lightly.
“Damn,” Gregory whimpered, not even sure if it was audible, but he didn’t care. His head spun, and when Rhys pulled back, Gregory gaped and tried to get his bearings because… wow.
Rhys stood straight and took a deep breath. “I think I need to back away now.” He went to the other side of the island.
“Did I do something wrong?” Gregory asked.
“Oh God, no. But if I don’t put a little distance between us, I’m going to pull you up the stairs and pick things up where we left them off in college, quiche and house be damned, because if I get you upstairs, the place could burn down around us and I wouldn’t be able to stop.”
“Oh.” He swallowed hard. “Okay.”
“Yeah, and I think you and I need to get to know each other again before that happens.” Rhys picked up his wineglass and drained it, then poured another. “You deserve that after what happened, and I want you to be able to trust me. I’m not the same stupid kid I was then, but you need to see that for yourself.” He set down his glass and peered into the oven. “Oh, that looks beautiful. You did a great job.”
“Thanks.” Gregory had to drive home or he’d have pounded his wine as well. “I guess you’re right, but….” Damn, he wanted that upstairs, bedroom… and maybe all-night thing. His entire body zinged with anticipation, but he forced himself to calm down. They were here for dinner and to help his sister because of the bachelorette evening.