Page 14 of Finding Forever in Cedarwood

“I’m sorry about Katie. I used to date a man named Jeff. It ended roughly and he sometimes tries to come back to the farm.” Stone scrubbed his forehead with the back of his hand. “Then there’s my brother. He knows how to drive me crazy. I got my heart broken once and it’s taken time for me to want to get back out there. I’m slow.” He opened the truck door. “Maybe I’m scared.”

“You can’t rush things.” Who was he to give dating advice? He was the king of rushing.

Stone joined him in the cab of the truck. “I guess.” He stuffed the key into the ignition and started the vehicle. “If you like to lift, the community center has a fantastic weight room. We have a nice running track and trails, too. The pool is nice. I don’t use it enough. My friend Steve used to lifeguard there.”

“Friend?” He tamped down the twinge of jealousy. Swimmers had great physiques and no matter how much he worked on his body, he’d never be that perfect. “I see.”

“He’s married to my friend Farin. They’re cute together.”

“Was he the one who got away?”God.This wasn’t his business, but he couldn’t help himself.

“No. He’s too young. He’s got to be ten years younger than me.” Steve flexed his hands on the steering wheel. “I’m partial to guys closer to my age.”

“How old are you?”Do I really want to know?

“Thirty-seven.”

“Ah.” He wasn’t as old as he’d expected, but he wasn’t sure how old he thought Stone might be.

“You’re not?”

“I’m twenty-eight.” Shit. He should’ve made up a higher number, but if they ended up getting together, he’d hate himself for lying.

“Well, that changes things.” Stone chuckled. “I thought you were older.”

“I’ve lived a lot in my twenty-eight years.” Wasn’t that the understatement of the year?

“You’ll have to tell me about it.”

“Only if you promise I can have another one of those kisses.” Against his better judgment, he reached across the seat and palmed Stone’s thigh.

“Well…” Stone clicked his tongue. “I like forwardness.”

“And I like honesty.” He kept his hand on Stone’s thigh. Touching him felt right. A vision of him riding to the rescue with Stone came to mind. They could be partners. They could rescue together and spend their nights making love.Whoa.He’d gotten ahead of himself. Besides that, he wasn’t good at being honest.

Stone said nothing and pulled into the parking lot at the shopping center. He parked next to Liam’s rental SUV. “I enjoyed the afternoon. If you want to run together some time, let me know.”

“I will.” He hesitated. “Do you mind if I call you?”

Stone placed his hand on Liam’s. “I hope you do.”

“I’m not too young?”

“Nope.” Stone laughed. “You are, but you’re growing on me.”

Liam squeezed Stone’s thigh, then fished his keys from his pocket. He left the truck. Stone turned the truck off and joined him next to the vehicle. “Are you heading inside?” Liam asked.

“You said you wanted a tour.” Stone toyed with his keys. “Or are you tired of me?”

“No.” A little off-kilter explained his situation a bit better. “Let’s go inside.” He checked his SUV, then reached for Stone. “I don’t know where to go.” He stayed next to Stone and entered the building. The smell of sweat filtered to him. The atmosphere on first viewing appeared nice. He spotted kids on the basketball courts and two women walking around the indoor walking track. He could’ve sworn he heard the clink of weights.

Stone shook hands with a gentleman who looked like he could be in the movies, so suave and put together, he made Liam look dowdy. Despite being sweaty, the guy was handsome. Another twinge of jealousy hit Liam. He liked that Stone knew people, but he appreciated the monopoly he’d had on Stone’s time and attention.

He left Stone with the sweaty man and headed to the desk. If he was going to stay in Cedarwood, he needed a place to work out. “Hi. I’d like to get a membership. I’ve got my ID and a piece of mail. It’s my rental agreement. I just moved here three days ago. Here’s the statement from the electric company saying they’ve switched the account to my name.” He pushed the documents across the desk. “Will they work?”

“You’re ahead of the game. Most folks don’t have everything.” The woman handed him a clipboard and form. “We’re still a pen and paper outfit. Fill this out while I get your file started. Make a check out to the Village of Cedarwood. The fees are sixty dollars a month if you pay monthly, two hundred fifty for six months if paid in one lump and five hundred for a year-long membership.”

He wrote out a check for the full year membership. Once he completed the form, he handed everything to her. “There you go.”

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