Page 14 of Flake It Til You Make It

No, to everyone else it needed to look totally legit.

And what would be more legit than heading over, first thing in the morning, to Jolly Java?

It was decently busy for a Friday morning, especially after a big event.

The town—and its tourists—needed a shot of sugar and caffeine after a late night partying at the tree lighting.

Rocco split time between the register, playing at the friendly, charming new business owner in town, and the shiny rose gold espresso machine he’d had installed when he’d bought Jolly Java. It was a serious upgrade over what the prior owners had, but of course, not a single soul had mentioned how much better the coffee was.

No. They’d only mourned the loss of pumpkin freaking spice.

By ten, he and Rebecca had dealt with the crowd, then he turned to stocking the pastry case as Rebecca leaned against the counter and watched him.

“So,” she asked, “what did you do after the lighting? Please tell me you didn’t actually come back here and bingeThe Real Housewives of Duluth.”

“I . . .uh . . .actually, I went to Rudolph’s.”

He did not mention that after his single espresso martini, he’d come home. Thinking the whole time, as he got ready for bed and lay there, sleep eluding him, of the insanity he’d suggested to Taylor Hall.

Taylor Hall, that tall, quiet hunk of a guy who had set his pulse racing the one time he’d stopped by Jolly Java, to welcome him to Christmas Falls.

Rocco had remembered the way his quick, brisk handshake had felt for ages after. For someone who pushed paper all day, he had nice hands. Big and not too soft. Just calloused enough.

Rocco shivered again, thinking about them.

Whathadhe been thinking?

That they could solve both of their problems, possibly, and also the third one, which was Rocco’s current dry spell.

“Oh yeah? Meet anyone interesting?” she asked casually.

Which told him that the bartender at Rudolph’s, had probably noticed him talking to Taylor and had mentioned it to someone else, who’d probably spread it to the whole town.

Rocco rolled his eyes. “Who told you?”

“Mrs. Lil mentioned it to me when I walked to work this morning.”

He’d assumed he understood the small town gossip mill from his time in Indigo Bay, but Christmas Falls had a whole other gear that he was still adjusting to.

“What else did she say?”

Rebecca grinned. “How cozy you two looked.”

If Taylor had agreed to Rocco’s plan, this would’ve been a great way to lay their groundwork. Spotted together once, and now the town was already ready to couple them up.

“We had one drink, and it wasn’t even like we came in together. He was there and I just sat next to him.”

“Lots of seats in Rudolph’s,” she pointed out.

And okay, yes that was true.

After they’d met for the first time, Rocco had done his research—easy in this town, where all you had to do to find out about anyone was ask—and discovered that Taylor Hall was gay and single and had not, in anyone’s memory, dated anyone at all.

If he was dating or even hooking up with anyone, he was being so discreet even the town rumor mill hadn’t learned of it, which meant thathisdry spell was possibly quadruple Rocco’s own.

Knowledge Rocco told himself he wasn’t interested in and didn’t need to do anything about.

But then he’d gone and made that suggestion last night. Half of the blame rested firmly with his own desperation to make this business work, and half was almost definitely generated from the kernel of that knowledge, buried deep inside, that he’d been unsuccessfully attempting to ignore.

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