Page 6 of No Reservations

“Mr. Gilliam explained the um, misunderstanding in the restaurant. How the two guests accosted him and how he invited you to dine with him as a sort of distraction.”

My eyebrows shot up and I looked over at where Cole sat looking very uncomfortable. It was such an understatement of what had actually happened that it made me a bit angry. Ask anyone and they’d tell you I was a pretty easygoing guy, but this was all too much. Dee’s words sank into my brain, and I had spent the past few hours wondering what the outcome of my impromptu lunch date would be. “He pretended we knew each other. He called me baby. My picture showed up online with him.”

Carter cleared his throat. “We’ve taken steps to make sure the two guests who did this will not have the opportunity to do anything like that again.”

Confusion started to transform into anger. “What steps? You can’t stop people from gossiping or posting on social media about something this juicy. ‘Ruggedly handsome paramour?’ ‘Intimate meeting dispels rumors?’” I spoke with audible air quotes pulling verbatim phrases from the online posts.

Cole turned his head my way and spoke up for the first time. “Well, they got one thing right. You are ruggedly handsome.” His eyes widened the moment he said it as if he was shocked the words had escaped his lips before he tore his gaze back toward Carter.

Something very strange happened inside of me at that statement. My anger flared up like a kicked coal before it was smothered quickly by some kind of sweet honey gooiness. The feeling flowed through my mind, body, and settled somewhere below the waistband of my plain gray shorts.

I shifted on the chair and stared at the side of his head as he pointedly refused to look back in my direction. “What?”

Carter cleared his throat. I looked back at him in time to see him sigh and lean forward with his hands crossed on his desk. “Look. We can only do so much to keep the public from taking interest in guests of your standing. We’re not a gated resort. We made this very clear when you first inquired about a reservation.”

Cole set his jaw as he turned all his attention to the inn owner. “Carter. May I call you Carter?” At the quick nod, he continued. “I don’t hold you or the inn responsible for any of this. I’m sorry if I caused any trouble. I honestly just wanted some time to relax, and this place is beautiful.” He rubbed his fingers against his eyes and grimaced. “I’ll leave, if necessary, but—”

“No.” Carter interrupted with a raised hand. “The two guests who caused the problem are checking out in the morning. You are free to stay for your whole reservation. We can’t promise that other guests won’t recognize you or…” He glanced at me before slumping back in the chair and turning back to Cole. “If you have any suggestions, I’m open to them.”

Silence spun out for a couple of minutes as Cole rubbed his eyes and stretched his neck from side to side. “I’m going to ask the publicist I work with, Brooke, to contact you. She’s the one that handles all this type of stuff for me.”

“That’s fair. I can clear my schedule for her call at any time.”

They discussed times and names and options, and I found myself growing more irritated by the second. As someone in the digital marketing and brand reputation game, I understood the type of public relations issues that companies and big names had to deal with. In all the plans for publicist meetings and managing online access and such, Carter and Cole seemed to forget all about the little nobody caught up in the whole mess.

“Why am I even here?” The words came out a bit angrier than intended, but all the warm honey sweetness had disappeared over the past ten minutes.

They both stopped talking and looked at me. Carter frowned, and I could sense an apology ready to form. I didn’t need to hear it from him and waved my hand. “I mean, I could just go back to my cabin and drift back into obscurity, right? I’m not sure why I’m here.”

Cole gaze trailed over my face, down, and back up again. “They posted pictures of you online. Us together. They made assumptions.”

“I know that. I know how the digital gossip mill works. Surely people will lose interest soon enough when nothing comes of this mysterious lakeside paramour thing.”

Instead of answering, Cole gave Carter a wan smile and stood up. “Brooke will contact you in the morning. Thank you for your help, Carter.” He caught my eye again and tilted his head toward the door, brow raised in question.

Sighing, I got to my feet and strode out into the night with Cole at my back.

He stepped up beside me, and we headed down the path toward the cabins together. “Your name is Matthew?” he asked after a long moment.

“Yeah, Matthew West. And you’re the famous Cole Gilliam.”

He huffed out a low laugh. “Right.” He halted and reached out to touch my arm to stop our forward motion. “I’m so sorry for what I did in the restaurant. It was completely out of line. Those two confronted me, and I just… I just wanted to shut them up.”

His eyes met mine. Even in the dim light of the moon and low lamps along the path, I could see the strain and dark circles under them clearly.

“I looked at you and it’s like my brain switched off. If I could just prove to people that I was gay…” He trailed off and chuckled darkly. “Not that it’s anyone’s business, but I’m so tired of it all. Any man that would consider dating me now would have to deal with the scrutiny. Where does that leave any chance of an actual relationship?”

I didn’t know the man standing before me on the path, but his words showed me a glimpse under the shell that he probably spent all his energy on showing the world. Something soft and probably stupid unfurled deep inside me. The anger dissipated. The lingering memory of the warmth of his fingertips on my arm cast some strange spell over any practical thoughts. I wanted to help him. “What if the man you dated didn’t actually want a real relationship?”

He scowled in my direction, which did nothing to disrupt his handsomeness. “I’ve been let down by enough that only wanted me for my fame or money. No thanks.”

“No, no, no. That’s not what I mean. What if a man would date you with no expectations of anything like that?”

“What are you talking about?”

“A fake relationship.” Whatever madness had taken over my mind with wouldn’t stop talking. “What if a man posed as your boyfriend for a time just long enough to stop the rumors with no expectations of a real relationship or anything? Then you don’t have to worry about it anymore.”

Silence spun out on the dark path through the pines. Cole stared at me, his lips pressed together, and eyes narrowed. He huffed out a quick breath, then shook his head. “Who would do such a thing? It’s absurd.”

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