Page 23 of After Hours

I kept my eye on Wyatt, though. Men danced with him, rested a hand on hip or shoulder, and leaned in close to whispera word or two. He smiled and nodded but moved on from each one soon enough. Before long, he wended his way through the growing crowd to our side.

“Hey guys,” he said. He smiled, but his jaw clenched, and the corners of his eyes looked pinched. “I’m getting tired.”

Nodding, I turned to Oscar. “Ready to go, baby?” We made our way to the front door and out into the chilly night. Oscar shivered and mumbled something about his cardigan.

Wy looked up at the dark sky and took a deep breath. “Everyone smelled like alcohol,” he said once we were halfway down the block waiting for our rideshare car. He met my eyes. “I had fun, but I don’t think I’m the club-going kind.”

“I’m not either,” Oscar said. “I’d rather stay at home and watch movies or something.”

My brother nudged him in the arm. “We can do that all the time once we’re roomies!”

They both laughed, I groaned, and then we hurried into the minivan that pulled up at the curb with the Uber sign on it. It would be different, but at least I’d have my two favorite people in the same convenient place.

Chapter 13

Oscar

“Can you help me run this order to the Goldfinch Cabin?” Tomas asked after checking in one couple and answering questions from two other guests. “Ryan’s still out, and it’s all hands on deck in the kitchen today. Mr. Fang ordered his delivered lunch almost half an hour ago.”

Delivering meals, towels, and other things out to the cabins filled most of my time working at the inn. Regular inn guests didn’t get room service, but reserving the cabins cost more and came with special perks. No one else really wanted to go out in the chilly wind or drizzle to drive one of the carts into the woods. Even on sunny days, the other employees preferred stayinginside and had plenty to do to keep themselves busy and the guests happy.

I followed Tomas, the hotel manager, who usually didn’t do room service deliveries, out to one of the fancy electric carts. He held the biggest basket, and I had two dragging on my arms. “Isn’t Goldfinch a one bedroom? How many people are staying there?”

Tomas shot me a pointed look after turning the cart down the trail into the trees. “Mr. Fang and one guest. He requested an awful lot of condiments with the meal. Probably for licking off each other.” He chuckled after another glance in my direction, probably because of the blush I could never control.

Mr. Fang, a fit, thirty-something man, answered the door in nothing but a pair of red satin boxers. Tomas and I took the baskets in, smiled and nodded at him and the chubby redhead lounging on the bed with the sheet barely covering his private bits, and left quickly.

Halfway back to the inn, Tomas let out a dramatic sigh. “I love the fall, but spring’s so much better. Summer’s the best. The inn doesn’t get as many guests in the winter, so it’s not quite as exciting around here then.”

“Less work and potential drama, though.”

Tomas flashed me a grin. “I love the drama. What about you, though? I know you’re only super part time, but how’s the inn treating you so far?”

“I’m really grateful for Finn and Carter for letting me work here at all. And live here.” I stared off into the trees. Most of the colorful leaves carpeted the ground at that point, and the gray branches stretched into the pale blue sky. “I’m ready to move on, though. Now that I got the other job and the camp hired me permanently, I’m moving in with my boyfriend’s brother.”

Tomas’s dark brows shot upward. “His brother. Not him?”

“It’s too soon to move in with him. I mean… he hasn’t asked or anything. It’s too soon, right?” Weren’t there rules for that type of thing?

“Don’t ask me. I’ve never lived with anyone and don’t intend to. If I stay over, I better get good coffee and breakfast in the morning. That’s the extent of my long-term planning when it comes to relationships.” He said the last word as if he found the whole concept ridiculous.

“You don’t believe in love?”

He gave me his signature customer service smile again. “Sure, I believe in love.” He zoomed into the parking slot in front of the garage and hopped out of the driver’s seat. “Thanks, Oscar. Time to get back to the front desk where I belong.” With a cheery wave, he strode away and disappeared inside before I could say another word.

I believed in love. I walked across to the guest parking lot to pick up a small branch that must’ve fallen since my rounds earlier that morning before pulling out my phone. My two hours of work were technically over, but I didn’t have to be at Rocky Cove until that afternoon.

I wouldn’t start working with Rafael until the following week. He’d hired me on the spot when I stepped into his workshop. He looked up from a half-finished mandala in blue and green tile, grinned, and said, “You’ll do.” The lanky artist in unlaced steel-toed boots, dusty overalls, and a messy man bun offered me hot tea, a handshake, and twenty-two dollars an hour to start.

Zane was still at work, and I tried not to text him too much while he was driving. What was I going to say anyway? Did he believe in love? I shook my head and turned toward the bin where yard waste went to get rid of the branch. I knew Zane believed in love even if he hadn’t used that word with me yet. Icould feel it in every glance and touch and saw it in his eyes every time he looked my way.

***

Sugar trotted in front of us at the end of her retractable leash, sniffing every clump of drying ferns, mossy rock, and tree trunk we passed. Every twenty feet or so, she paused to glance back and make sure we were still following.

She seemed to love Zane’s and my frequent walks in the woods just as much as we did. I’d never considered myself a real outdoorsy type of person. I didn’t want to go camping or backpack into the wilderness with nothing but a power bar and matches. I certainly didn’t want to strap on a flimsy harness and climb up a huge cliff or mountain like Zane did. It wasn’t heights that bothered me. It was trusting my life to my fingertips, toes, and some skinny ropes.

I loved strolling under the trees with my boyfriend, though, hands clasped together and feeling cozy in sweaters and jackets. He looked really cute in his dark green beanie that made his hazel eyes look even brighter than usual.

---