Page 56 of Claim to Fame

“I heard about it from Mac when he came to confession.”

Ethan turned at the sound of the newcomer as Gavin’s brother, Caleb entered the kitchen, his pristine white priest’s collar in stark contrast to the black shirt and pants he always wore. Ever since Caleb had returned to Aster Bay to take over as the priest at St. Anthony’s, he’d become a fixture at their monthly family dinners, falling right back into his role as the big brother who teased all of Gavin’s friends.

“I thought you weren’t supposed to tell anyone what someone says in confession,” Gavin said.

“He didn’t say itinconfession. He was talking about it with Mrs. Greene in the narthex.” Caleb held his hand out to Ethan, pulling him in for a quick handshake and hug. “How’s your dad doing?”

“Are we going to skip over the fact my love life is apparently fodder for the St. Anthony’s gossip mill?” Ethan groaned.

“Don’t you know by now that any PDA is fair game for the grandma gang’s gossiping?” Baz asked.

“So, who’s the girl?” Caleb asked.

“No one,” Ethan grumbled.

“Not no one,” Gavin protested. “Her name’s Hannah. She’s staying with Ethan for a little while.”

“Living with a woman out of wedlock?” Caleb shook his head in a mock admonishment. “That’ll be five Hail Marys.”

“Fuck off.” Ethan shoved Caleb’s shoulder. The priest laughed.

“Catch me up. She your girlfriend?” Caleb asked.

“She might as well be,” Baz said.

“They’re sleeping together,” Gavin told his brother.

“Shut up. We’re not talking about this while you’re wearing that.” Ethan waved a finger in the direction of Caleb’s priest collar.

“I’m still a priest, even if I take the collar off, you know,” he said.

“Why don’t you just talk to her?” Jamie asked as he finished wiping down his prep station.

“I tried.”

“Did you, though? Or did you just kiss her and expect her to figure out what it meant on her own?” Caleb asked.

“Oooh, you’re good at this,” Gavin said.

Caleb shrugged, reaching for some of the leftover cheese. “Part of the job.”

Ethan scowled. As much as he hated to admit it, Caleb had a point. He hadn’t actually told Hannah he was interested in something more serious with her—at least, not since their last weekend in Boston, and even then he hadn't exactly been clear about how he felt about her.

The swinging doors opened again. This time Jo poked her head through. “Are you guys done gossiping or what?” Her eyes fell on Caleb and she grinned like she knew a secret. “Hey, Father West. It might as well be a silver fox convention in here.” Caleb rolled his eyes as Jo swung her gaze around the room.

“We’ll be right out,” Jamie said. Jo winked and disappeared back into the dining room as Jamie skewered Ethan with a serious look. “Talk to Hannah.”

Simple. Talk to her. He could do that.

“And if she’s not interested?”

Jamie clapped him on the shoulder, guiding him towards the doors. “Then at least you’ll know. And when she goes home next week, you can move on.”

∞∞∞

“No, I never officially met any of the other guys,” Hannah said as she reached for another slice of bread from the basket in the center of the table. “Though Beckett and Nico did come to opening night.”

“Can we stop talking about Midnight Storm like we’re a bunch of teenage girls?” Ethan grumbled. He dropped his arm over the back of Hannah’s chair, not quite touching her, but close enough that she could feel him.

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