Page 22 of The Cowboy's Home
Jessica was waiting outside their hotel room, and the three of them went down to the hotel lobby, then through it to the moderately-priced restaurant just off of it. Craig focused on his breathing and tried very hard not to think about the fact that he was about to be directly involved in someone coming out, which meant, of course, that he was about to come out, too. Right in front of Jessica, who could tell others, if she wanted.
They walked in together, and Craig felt his heart pounding away. Dimly, he wondered if he was going to pass out. How pathetic would that be, being so afraid of mere words that he could actually faint because of it?
In that way, it was a relief that Jessica was there. If this were going to happen, if he were going to come out of the closet to anyone, having her there would keep him on his feet. He liked her, and more than that, he respected her.
The restaurant wasn’t that busy, and Craig glanced around and immediately saw a woman that he would have recognized as Skyler’s sister, even if he hadn’t seen her on Facebook when Skyler had added her. She had the same wide, round seafoam-green eyes, the same lips. Actually, all of her features were the same, just slightly more delicate.
“Oh my God,” she cried, jumping to her feet, and then Craig saw very clearly the difference between the two siblings. While Skyler was restrained and thoughtful, Hannah was anything but, and that became very apparent when she rushed away from the table and flung her arms around him, hugging him tightly and enthusiastically. “Sky, I can’t believe you’re here. I really can’t!”
Okay, to be fair, she was getting married in a few days, and she was probably more exuberant than usual. Still, when Craig tried to picture Skyler doing the same thing, the thought of it brought a small smile to his lips. It was impossible.
“You must be his date,” Hannah said, turning to Jessica and wrapping her arms around her, too. Some people would have been startled, but Jessica was also a hugger and was more than happy to return the impulsive, affectionate embrace.
“Sort of,” Jessica replied, which was a pretty accurate response, but made Hannah give Jessica a little bit of a thoughtful look. At that moment, she looked so much like her brother, with the same expression as he so often wore, that Craig stared in wonder.
“Okay. And who’s this?” Hannah asked, turning her gaze toward Craig and gazing with a very familiar, forthright energy right up at him.
“This is Craig Hart,” Skyler introduced. “Craig, as you’ve no doubt figured out, this is my sister, Hannah West.”
“Hey,” Craig managed, through a throat that felt like it had a lump roughly the size of a golf ball lodged in it.
“Hello,” Hannah replied, and her voice wasn’t exactly unfriendly, but she was sizing him up. How much did this woman know, Craig suddenly wondered, about what had happened between Skyler and his parents? Craig hadn’t thought about that much before. Skyler had wanted to come here for her wedding, and that had been more than enough for Craig.
But what did she think about Skyler’s sexuality? Did she know? All of a sudden, he felt like the ground wasn’t entirely certain under his feet, and he had no idea if this was a hostile situation or not.
“Hannah, Craig is …” Skyler started, and Craig had the sudden urge to scream at him to stop. Couldn’t he feel the danger in the situation? Dull panic hummed through his veins, and his stomach clenched into knots.
“Hannah?”
There came a new voice, and Craig turned to see one of the most handsome men that he had ever seen approaching them. The epitome of tall, dark, and handsome, nothing short of chiseled perfection, the newcomer walked over to Hannah and put his arm around her, pressing a kiss to her cheek.
It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that he was probably her fiancé. And the kind of man who immediately made Craig feel awkward, too broad, his face too rugged, his clothes probably not expensive enough or the right brands. For all of his attraction, Craig found him sort of off-putting in a way that he didn’t fully understand.
“Oh, hey, Matt,” Hannah replied, and she turned to look up at the man with a smile and an expression of complete and utter adoration. “My brother was just about to tell me something.”
Interesting. Matthew, Hannah’s fiancé, was not looking at Hannah with the same expression that she looked at him. He wasn’t looking at her at all. Instead, his gaze was fixed on Skyler, which was natural, Craig supposed, because she had just been talking about her brother.
“Hey, Sky,” Matthew murmured, and there was something in his gaze, some familiarity, which rose prickles of misgiving down Craig’s spine. “It’s been too long.”
A silent conversation took place then between Matthew and Skyler, the two men locking eyes, something that only the two of them were privy to. There were depths here that made Craig suddenly, unaccountably, jealous. This man, this Matthew was, after all, Hannah’s fiancé, and no threat to Craig.
But there was something in Matthew’s dark, piercing gaze that seemed to contradict that.
“Hello, Matthew,” Skyler replied, and Craig would really be just as happy if Skyler stopped looking at Matthew entirely. But it was so hard to get Skyler’s attention off of something once he was looking, and he was definitely looking at Matthew.
Fifteen
Skyler
More than anything, Skyler had hoped he was wrong. He had to be. Way back when he’d gotten the invitation, he had looked at the name that had been paired with his sister’s and had told himself that it was a very common name and that it couldn’t possibly be the same person.
And yet, there it was. Therehewas. Matthew Davis, all grown up, and, if anything, even more gorgeous than he had been. The first man, and the last, really, until Craig, who had managed to turn Skyler’s head.
The rest of the meeting sort of passed in a blur for Skyler, who felt transfixed by those dark, penetrating eyes. He forgot entirely about introducing Craig to Hannah as his date, and Hannah, as it turned out, was happy to chatter on about her wedding plans. Mostly to Jessica, who was smoothing over the awkward social situation as if by instinct.
“So what’s the schedule look like?” Jessica asked. A question that Skyler was only dimly aware of. Mostly, he was focused on the panic, on the sense of uncertainty, the complete lack of knowledge about what he should do.
“Well, the rehearsal dinner is tomorrow,” Hannah burbled cheerfully, apparently unaware of what was going on between Skyler and Matthew right in front of her. And what the damn hell was Skyler going to do about that, anyway? What was he going to tell his sister about his history with her fiancé? “And then the wedding is the next day.”
