Page 4 of Love Around the Corner

He hated the thought of meeting Camaro89 and feeling disappointed, but far worse was the idea of seeing disappointment in Camaro89’s face. What if there was just no spark?

Nervously, he toyed with his phone. God, maybe they should have exchanged photos already. Or maybe meeting itself was a mistake. One way or another, tonight would change everything.

Spiked by anxiety, he found himself typing:Excited/nervous about tonight. You?

The thing was, if they didn’t meet, their relationship couldn’t evolve. It would remain static—an intense, cerebral connection. But Leo wanted more than that, he always had. He wanted companionship and love, he wanted cozy evenings on the sofa and passionate nights in each other’s arms. He wanted a partner in life, a friend. A lover.

“You know,” Dee said, “if you’re after a boyfriend you could do worse than looking locally.”

He peered at her over his coffee. “In New Milton’s vibrant gay scene, you mean?”

Her turn to smile. “Alfie Carter’s handsome and—”

“Carter? God no. He hates me.”

“Alfie doesn’t hate anybody,” Dee protested. “He—”

“He thinks I’m—and I quote—‘an arrogant, prissy little prick’ who he wouldn’t fu— sleep with if I was—quote—‘the last gay man on earth’.”

Oh yes, Alfie Carter had been an absolute sweetheart at that excruciating Christmas party last year, hitting on Leo with all the subtlety of a truck and then getting resentful and pissy when Leo hadn’t been interested. And hehadn’tbeen interested, despite Carter’s smoldering good looks—or maybe because of them.

Truth was, physically speaking, Carter wasexactlyLeo’s type, and he reminded him way too much of his unlamented ex, Grayson Sands. Well, Leo was done with all that. He wanted more, and he’d found it in Camaro89. He and Carter were polar opposites. Like matter and antimatter, they were so different they probably couldn’t exist in the same room at the same time.

As if to prove the point a new message flashed up on his phone.

Camaro89: Definitely excited. Can’t wait to meet you at last.

His heart warmed just looking at the words, his misgivings evaporating. It would be fine. It would be wonderful, it would be everything he hoped for. Because it would be Camaro89.

“If you got to know Alfie,” Dee persisted, oblivious to Leo’s inner dialogue, “you might find he surprises you. Why don’t you come along to tomorrow’s meeting about the Christmas market? I could introduce you. You’ve got a lot in common, and Alfie—”

“No.” Absolutely the last thing he needed was Dee trying to set him up. Besides, he had a boyfriend—almost. Dee opened her mouth as the coffee shop door opened with a jingle of bells, but Leo cut her off before she could speak. “I mean, come on. Have youseenthe sign outside his shop? Alfie’s Auto’s? With that horrible misuse of an apostrophe?”

Her eyebrows rose. “Leo—”

“No, Dee. I’m sorry but I require at a least basic level of literacy, even in a hookup.”

An odd, strained silence followed his words. The kind of silence that never meant anything good. Leo’s skin prickled along his neck, the side of his face glowing with the intense awareness of a pair of eyes on him. Jaw clenched against the inevitable, he turned his head to see Alfie Carter watching him from inside the door.

Shit.

Carter’s brows were drawn low over his dark eyes, smoldering with anger rather than interest. And maybe something worse, something suggested by a flush visible beneath the stubble on his jaw, something like embarrassment. Leo winced and for a moment they just stood staring at one another. In the background, Bing had moved on toSilent Nightas if to make a point.

Then Carter looked away, breaking the spell as he cast his eyes over the half-empty coffee shop. “Don’t worry,” he growled, “the feeling’s mutual. I require at least a basic level ofcivility, even in a hookup.”

That stung. Leo was civil. He was perfectly civil! It wasn’t his fault that Carter had been standing therelisteninglike some kind of vengeful Heathcliff at the window. “Eavesdroppers never hear any good of themselves,” he said, aware he may have sounded rather prim. Aware, too, that he could have just said sorry. That he should have, probably. And that maybe hewouldhave, if Carter hadn’t been so damned provoking.

“I wasn’t eavesdropping,” Carter said, coming to stand at the counter next to him, dominating the space without trying. Damn, but the man had presence—tall, broad, and carrying with him the cold tang of a winter’s morning. A total lumberjack fantasy with that square, scruffy jaw, dark hair peeking out from under his watch cap, and long powerful limbs. Carter’s eyes slid to Leo’s and away again. “You should be careful, running your mouth about folks like that,” he drawled. “People are gonna start thinking you’re an asshole.”

“Well…Takes one to know one.” Leo grabbed his cup and headed for the door, wincing as his own words caught up with him.

Takes one to know one?Christ, a quip worthy of Oscar Wilde himself. Pulling open the door, he stepped out onto the sidewalk, the blast of frigid air a relief against his burning face.

He told himself he didn’t care what Alfie Carter thought about him. Or what anyone thought about him, for that matter. He had Camaro89, his soulmate. He slipped his free hand into his pocket, curled his fingers around his phone and held on, feeling his pounding heartbeat start to slow.

Yes, it was okay. Nothing mattered apart from tonight.

When he pushed open the door to his silent shop, breathing in the comforting scent of used books and wood polish, he took a moment to type out a quick message:There are too many assholes in the world. I’m so glad I met you.

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