Page 149 of Resting Beach Face
Cash’s eyes creased up as he grinned. “Good. No one’s ever accused me of being fancy, and I wouldhateto disappoint.”
The two men exchanged a look.
“Cash,” I scolded as I reached them. “Your flirting filter is turned off again.”
“What? I didn’t…” He paused and laughed, running a hand through his dark hair, looking more gorgeous than anyone had a right to be. “I didn’t meanme,as in you’d be in the mood for— I meant the B&B, me as a host, but not…”
“Keep digging that hole,” I teased.
“Ugh.” He grabbed a handful of my shirt and tugged me close enough to kiss. “I love this guy.” His eyes held mine. “Only this guy.”
“We figured that out on our first day here,” Truman said with a smirk. “Those heart eyes wouldn’t fool anyone.”
Cash grinned, not the slightest bit embarrassed. “Good. I want everyone to know I’m Declan’s boy toy.”
I shoved him back a step. “Don’t start with that Daddy crap again.”
He laughed. “But it’s so fun to see you glare and get all surly. You hardly ever give me resting bitch face anymore.”
I shook my head, eyes rolling up. The man exasperated me. Damn, but I loved him.
“I’ll let you all make your plans for the day,” I told them. “I need to check on a few things out in the greenhouse.”
Cash turned back to Truman and Lyle. “Oh, make sure you check out the Master Bites Food Boat if you get out on the lake today.”
“Master Bites?” Lyle said with a laugh. “That’s almost as bad as Glazed Holes.”
The two guys were from Granville, where Fisher had family. We’d started seeing a trickle of guests from there, won over by Fisher’s tales of how awesome our quirky lake town was.
Late last year, Garrett Rafferty and his boyfriend Kevin, the prettiest guy I’d ever seen—who also performed as a drag queen across the lake during their visit—brought their family to the B&B. Cash had dragged me to the show, and I had to admit, Sassy Solo was impressive. All the queens were, but there was a special energy to Sassy’s stage presence that really captivated me.
So much so that Cash teased me all the way home, pretending to be jealous and offering to wear lace for me. I told him to wear anything he wanted, but all I needed was him.
Garrett’s grown son and daughter—Darren and Emily—had also come along, along with their partners. They were all close in age to his boyfriend, so that must have made for aninterestingsituation when he started dating Kevin. But they were such a loving couple I was glad it hadn’t stopped them.
Not like Cash and I were exactly close in age either. I just didn’t have any kids running around. I tried to imagine it and shuddered.No, thank you.
Not long after the Raffertys left, an older gay male couple had booked with us for a weekend. LeRoy and Eugene spent most of their time out on a fishing charter, but they must have had a good time, because a few months later a little family of three: Hunter, Clark, and a kid named Toby, who was eleven or twelve years old, turned up.
By now, we were used to seeing Granville folks visit. In fact, we jokingly said that Glazed Holes were a part of the booking fee, and they always brought us a few treats. Good thing too, because we were all becoming addicts.
I left Cash to his work and set about doing mine, meeting up to help him turn over a couple of rooms near the end of the day before showering and dressing for dinner. I wore my usual button-down white shirt, though I paired it with jeans these days.
Cash was more casual, in a pale blue shirt that stretched across his chest, snug enough to show his body’s form, red basketball shorts, and flip-flops.
“Did you call Kat?” I asked Cash as we headed out.
“Yeah. She might come stay this weekend. She says Dad is getting on her last nerve.” He shrugged. “Rehab may have dried him out, but he’s still a miserable bastard.”
I winced. “She can move in more permanently if she wants.”
He smiled faintly. “She knows, but she and Mom have gotten so much closer in the last year. If Dad steps out of line, MamaBear isn’t gonna put up with it. Not at the risk of losing her baby girl.”
I chuckled. “Well, good.”
Cash nudged me. “But thank you. Knowing she has a place to go makes all the difference. She’ll never feel trapped again.”
I pressed a kiss to his temple. “As long as you’re both happy…”
