Page 19 of Mixed Motives

I nod.

As we walk around, he points out some additional income opportunities I could consider, like having an afternoon tea hour in the gazebo out back. “Or you could offer wine tastings in the evening.” He grins. “I know where you could get some good wine at cost.”

“You don’t have to do that,” I say.

“It’s marketing for me.”

We continue chatting about wine packages to bundle with the rooms and which other local businesses might be interested in reciprocal arrangements, and I realize how suited he is for this kind of work.

But more importantly, how suited he is for me.

Because this is a tourist town, we’re blessed with more nice restaurants than you might expect based on the population, and Keane takes me to one of the best ones—an Italian trattoria. It’s the kind of place with white tablecloths, fresh flowers, and sparkling glassware. We get a booth in the back and snuggle up next to each other.

Even though he’s a wine expert, he listens to the server, who’s younger than me, and doesn’t lecture him when even I know the guy gets something wrong. Instead, Keane just orders a quality bottle, and we proceed to have a delicious meal.

After our salads, Keane looks at me intently. “So… when we do this…” He gestures between me and him.

“I note you say when,” I say hopefully.

“Right. When.” He gives me a sweet but suitable-for-public-consumption kiss. “I’m going to be straightforward with Kerrigan. We’re not going to hide as if we’ve done something wrong. The app put us together. We went on a date and hit it off.”

“And we liked each other before then, too, though I suppose we can leave that part out when talking to Kerrigan.”

“We did. I suppressed it because you were with him, but once I let myself like you… I really, really like you. It feels selfish because you have your whole life in front of you, and you may regret being with someone so much older?—”

I cut him off with another kiss. “I want to be with you. Period. And the future will take care of itself.”

“That sounds good to me.” He nods. “When do you want to tell him?”

Biting my lip, I think about it. Part of me wants to tell him right away, even though I know it’s reckless, because I feel like this thing with Keane is strong. But I should be smart about it. “Want to give it a month?” I ask. “That way, we can be sure. Or do you think that’s too soon? Or too long?”

“A month sounds perfect,” Keane says.

And with that resolved, I enjoy dinner with my new boyfriend.

CHAPTER 8

KEANE

Over the past three weeks, Henry and I have gotten into a rhythm where we basically see each other every night. Either he stays over here, or I stay at his bed-and-breakfast. I’ve also been helping him simplify the work—and setting things up so he doesn’t have to do it all himself—while letting the business be profitable. Together, we’ve come up with some cost savings, as well as revenue-generating ideas.

All in all, these have been some of the best days of my life—and I hope they’re just the start. Henry is charming, and when he looks at me, my heart leaps.

I’ve been shut off from my emotions for so long that they feel rusty. But rust can get cleaned off. Underneath, I’m solid.

We’ve found that we have many things in common. We like to talk about art and decoration, we’re both into food and wine, we appreciate the same quirky old movies and listen to overlapping styles of music. But we also have similar ways of looking at the world. He’s more introverted than I am, but I’m not entirely extroverted, either. We both recognize that we were lonely before—and it’s sad that he was lonely when he was with my son. And now that we’ve found each other, we don’t want to let each other go.

We’re at my place this morning. He’s hired a part-time cook at the bed-and-breakfast, so he doesn’t have to be there first thing every day.

He’s also updated his website and is restyling the inn as an LGBTQ-friendly travel destination. With some of the money his aunt left him, he hired staff to do a deep cleaning and some minor repairs, and he’s refreshed the sheets, towels, and toiletries. That made him feel more comfortable raising his prices. And it seems to be working—at least, he’s getting steady reservations.

So now he can enjoy a lazy Friday morning with me. I need to get to the winery, but things start later for me than for him, and I can indulge for a while.

We woke up together, and once we were done in the shower, I finished shaving while he went to make coffee.

“Hey,” I whisper, coming up behind Henry as he pours a cup of coffee and wrapping my arms around his waist. His bare back is cool against my warm chest. I hook my chin over his shoulder and kiss him on the cheek.

Henry shivers in my arms. “Hey,” he replies. He opens his mouth to say something else, but the key sounds in my lock, and then the front door opens.

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