Page 9 of The Stargazers of Copper County
Theo was holding a glass of lemonade in the scene, and he was looking right at the viewer instead of at his friends and family. The very edge of a telescope could be seen in the corner of the illustration, poking out of the open observatory dome.Written on the optical tube, as if it was a brand name, were the tiny wordsInvite Me Up.
I sucked in a breath.
There was no way I could invite him up. No way I could open the door to a physical encounter…
Could I?
CHAPTER SIX
THEO
I didn’t haveto wait a full week before finding the next puzzle. I came out of Lyon’s Imperial on Wednesday afternoon to find a folded piece of paper tucked under my windshield wiper, and when I opened it, I found a logic puzzle written in Bennett’s exacting hand.
This one featured a lone stargazer in his observatory, observing various constellations each night. The clues to determine which constellation was seen on which night were straightforward, but the final clue set my heart racing:
Theo Ross joined the stargazer in the observatory the night Cygnus was spotted…
I hopped in my truck and reread the puzzle to determine which night the stargazer found Cygnus.
It was…Friday.
Two nights from now. The same day I’d finish work at his house. The day I normally indulged in a late-afternoon dip in his pool. And now,finally, Bennett had invited me to join him.
When I got home that day, I looked up Cygnus—the swan—and learned as much as I could about it. And then I sat down with my favorite Prismacolor markers and spent the rest of my night trying to draw waterfowl that would make Bennett laugh.
The rest of the week crawled by. Every landscape job seemed to take months instead of hours. When I was in town, I scoped out my surroundings like a superspy in hopes of spotting my target, but no luck.
By Friday afternoon, my entire body vibrated with nervous desire. I wanted nothing more than to kiss Bennett Graham. Touch Bennett Graham. But I also wanted to ask him a million questions.
Did he make logic puzzles for fun, or was it something he did just for me? Was he going to stay in Copper County permanently or just long enough to see his niece through her final year of high school? Was he gay, bi, or something else? I’d seen a pride flag on his mailbox a couple of summers during Pride month, and I’d heard enough opinions from my brother and his friends to know most everyone assumed Bennett was into men. And then, of course, there’d beenThe Incident.
If he wasn’t into men, he’d been incredibly turned on by the scent of a freshly mowed lawn.
Was he looking for a quick hookup, or was he open to more?
Not knowing the answers to these questions, I prepared for various scenarios. I could play it cool and accept the friend zone if that’s the way the wind blew (lie). Or I would be down with a one-off orgasm exchange if that was his preference (down for it, yes, but notsatisfied). Alternatively, I would go along with a “first date” situation in which we spent time getting to know each other to assess whether or not there was potential for more there (there was, therehadto be).
And obviously, I would be thrilled with a combination of orgasm exchangeandget-to-know-you conversation (understatement).
Nerves tumbled in my stomach until it was finally time to go to the Observatory House. As I parked my truck and began removing the lawn mower from the trailer, I wondered how ourinitial meeting would happen. Would I have to knock on the door and ask to come in, or would he come outside and invite me?
Before I could even start the mower, Bennett came striding out of the house.
“Hi,” he said. The man was clearly nervous, but he seemed to be putting on a brave face. “I… you… uh. It occurs to me that I’ve never officially introduced myself. I’m… Bennett. Graham. Bennett Graham.” He winced, and I did my best to keep from grinning.
Of course I knew who he was. Even if this hadn’t been a tiny town where everyone knew everyone, his name was on my invoice. I was pretty sure he’d said his name the day ofThe Incident, in fact.
But I didn’t mind one bit. His flustered state was adorable, and it meant that maybe,maybe, he was almost as nervous as I was.
“Hi, Bennett Graham,” I said, offering him a smile. “I’m Theo. Ross. Theo Ross.”
He closed his eyes and exhaled. “I’m awkward as fuck.”
I stepped closer, wanting to touch him but feeling like that might make him bolt.
“I like awkward as fuck,” I said. “It pairs well with my apology for being a voyeur and invading your privacy a few weeks ago.”
Bennett’s eyes widened. “You?You’rea voyeur? It wasn’t like you had a choice! I was horrified. Iamhorrified. Please accept my heartfelt?—”
