“Then your guess is wrong.”
“It’s not. A straight man doesn’t normally show off for other men.”
His jaw shifted and he growled, “You think I was showing off?”
It was time to put him on the spot, the same as he had done to me. “Weren’t you?”
“Why are you here? You need to answer that question before I consider answering yours. Did you come up here to check on me again?”
“It’s been three weeks,” I stated matter-of-factly.
“I hadn’t paid attention.”
“Don’t you get bored being alone up here for weeks at a time?”
“Do I look bored?”
“No, you look…”
He cocked an eyebrow.
“You know how you look,” I finished in a rush.
“I haven’t given it much thought.”
I have. I sighed. “Can we start over?”
“Why?”
“Because we could be friends.”
“I don’t have any openings in that department,” he announced, patted Timber on the head, gave him a quick scratch behind the ears and then began the short trek back toward the cabin.
I stood there for a second and watched him go.
With my dog trotting on the man’s heels, wagging his tail.
Traitor!
I sighed again, then shouted, “We have a lot in common.”
“No, we don’t,” he shouted back over his shoulder, not stopping.
I jumped into motion and chased after him. I was worried that if he went inside the cabin, he’d lock me out. That wasn’t just a worry, there was a real chance of that happening. “We’re both authors.” Dumb.
“So?”
“Timber is loyal to us both.” So weak.
His step stuttered and he paused, looked down at my dog, then continued up the porch stairs. “That’s two things.”
“We’re both men.” For shit’s sake, that answer was even worse.
With his back to me, he shook his head.
“Gay men.”
He paused again, this time with his hand circling the door knob, but he remained facing the door.
“I’ve been the only gay man in this town since I moved here over a decade ago.”
He stayed frozen in place.
I continued quickly since I now had his attention. “I haven’t shared that with anyone.” That was true. Everyone in town only assumed I was straight, the reason they kept trying to push their single female relatives on me.
If someone came out and asked me, I’d tell them the truth. But not one person ever questioned me on why I remained single and shrugged off all attempts at their matchmaking.
Chase released the knob and turned toward me just as I reached the bottom of the porch steps. His face was expressionless. His eyes guarded. His body stiff. “I never said I was gay.”
I didn’t climb those steps. I stayed at the bottom and licked my lips, giving myself a second to think of an excuse on how I knew he was gay.
He added, “And even if I am, that’s no one’s business but mine.”
“I agree. It’s why I never told anyone.”
“You just told me.”
“Because I can relate.”
“Again, I—”
“Now we share a secret.” Holy shit, what was I? Ten?
“I don’t have secrets.”
Was he serious? “None?”
“It’s only a secret if you don’t want anyone to find out.”
Right, and Chase was lying about not having secrets. But I didn’t want to let the cat out of the bag about me discovering his late spouse was a man.
“What about pen names?” I should just go back to town since I clearly lost any skills I had when it came to effective communication.
Something flashed behind his eyes but he quickly hid it. “You don’t have one. You use your full name.”
I hadn’t told him that. I never told him my last name really was Williams. And I certainly didn’t tell him my real middle name or initial.
“And you know that how?” I asked, somewhat surprised.
Even though his face was now blank, the slightest flare of his nostrils gave him away. He’d looked into me, just like I had done with him.
Interesting, but why?
“It’s obvious,” he finally answered. “It’s also on your business card.”
Shit. “You didn’t throw it out?”
“Why would I throw it out?”
Because you can’t help being a huge dick sometimes, that’s why. “You can use the number on the back at any time.”
“That won’t be necessary. Now, I need to get inside to change.”
He was dismissing me, but I wasn’t done with him yet. “I’ll wait. I have something in my truck to give you.”
“Whatever it is, I don’t need it.”
“I also have a favor to ask.”
“Do I need to remind you that we’re not friends?”
“Not yet.” Okay, I was stubborn to a fault. I knew it and now Chase was learning it, too.
He dropped his head and stared at his bare toes. I couldn’t resist glancing down at them, too. He had really nice feet and I noticed a few dark hairs decorating his big toes. He had the perfect amount. Manly but not cavemanly.
I don’t know why the hell I found them sexy—I’ve never paid attention to feet before unless they looked like cloven hooves—but with Chase, I did.