Page 65 of Tinsel & Tools
“Good thing this isn’t Hallmark,” he whispered into my ear as his hand slipped into the waistband of my pants. And just like that, the movie was forgotten.
The next morning, I got to the inn early. Snow had started to crust around the edges of the lot, but Dale’s guys had cleared the walk enough to haul tools in. I was running wire through the studs when Ryan’s truck pulled into the lot, and he and Allie climbed out.
“Thought we’d stop in,” Ryan called as they came inside. “Allie wanted to see what you’ve done so far.”
I wiped my hands on my jeans. “Sure. Come on up.”
We climbed to the second floor, and Allie’s eyes went wide as she stepped into one of the rooms. “Wow. Once we get paint on the walls and the new furniture in place, this’ll be gorgeous.”
Ryan’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and glanced at the screen. “I need to take this. Be right back.” He stepped into the hall, leaving me with Allie.
She turned to me, her smile warm. “So, how are you feeling about it?”
“About what?” I adjusted the spool on my arm.
“Being the muse.”
I furrowed my brow. “Muse for what?”
“For Gavin’s book.” Her tone was light, like it was obvious. “He told me he’s writing your story. The nights at your place, dinners together, you decorating a Christmas tree together—it’s all in there.”
The wire slipped in my grip. “Um, what?”
“Yeah. He’s excited. He hasn’t written this much in months, and he said you gave him the words back.”
Gavin had told me he was writing again, and even mentioned a scene with two men who stopped pretending. I thought it sounded close to our story, but I didn’t know it was us. Not our private nights, not our intimate moments, not the parts of my life I hadn’t shared with anyone else.
Allie’s smile faltered. “He didn’t tell you?”
“No.”
“I’m sorry, Cole. I didn’t mean?—”
I cut her off with a shake of my head. “It’s fine.”
But it wasn’t fine. Gavin hadn’t told me he was writing our story. My story with a man. And I couldn’t get past the thought of it sitting on a page for anyone to read.
24
Gavin
The sun was starting to set, but I didn’t bother to flip on any lights. The glow from the Christmas tree lights and my laptop was enough. The house was quiet except for the low hum of the heater, and I had the blanket I’d basically claimed as mine wrapped around me. I was two chapters in for the day, and with a newly poured coffee next to me, I was ready to bust out some more.
Zach and Nico were dancing around admitting the full extent of their feelings for each other. Both were scared to admit they were falling for the other, but deep down, the two of them knew what they shared was the real thing.
My fingers continued flying over the keys, the push and pull between the characters playing out clear as day, when headlights lit up the front windows before turning off. A minute later, the door opened.
“Hey,” Cole said, kicking off his boots. His voice was lower than usual. Maybe it’d been a rough day at the B&B.
“Hey,” I replied, my eyes still on the screen until I finished the sentence I was writing.
When I looked at him, I saw a slight frown marring his face. He paused by the arm of the couch and glanced at the laptop. “You still working?”
“Yeah.” I dragged a hand through my hair. “Sorry I didn’t start dinner. This scene was speaking to me.”
He shook his head. “You don’t have to cook for me. I’m able to feed myself.”
“Good.” I chuckled. “Because some days are like this. If I stop, the words might disappear, and I’ll be stuck again.”
