Authors: Mary Calmes

Quiet Nights (9 page)

BOOK: Quiet Nights

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I nodded because all the pleasantries were going to kill me. “So listen, about last night, I’m so sorry that Coz and I were figuring things out when you were trying to—”

“Oh, no, it should be me apologizing,” he rushed out, moving closer. “I didn’t… remember you at first, and that must have made you feel like crap.”

I shrugged.

“No, I—I’m really so sorry. We had a wonderful couple of days, and I even offered you a ride to Boston, and I didn’t follow through.”

A ride.

He’d thought he was giving me a lift; I’d understood that he wanted me in Boston to be with him. It was exactly what Coz had said: I’d heard what I wanted to, and when I didn’t get it, I turned Britton into the guy who used me.

“I’m so sorry.”

“No,” I soothed. “I’m the one who should be sorry.”

He looked confused, brows furrowed, scrutinizing me. “For what? You were nothing but good to me.”

What could I say?
I feel like an ass for thinking you were a bastard all these years
?

“You taught me so much about myself over that weekend. You showed me what I could have if I found the right guy.”

And that person was never going to be me. I had never blipped on his radar as husband material, but whereas before now that would have made me sad, now I just felt bad for him and that he was still looking for his Prince Charming.

“You know, even after I slept with you and figured out what the big deal was about sex, I still decided to hide who I was for close to a decade before my life finally imploded.”

I had no idea what the protocol was for hearing confessions.

“I came clean with Kennedy last night,” he explained to me. “She was decidedly––”

“Who?”

“My girlfriend,” he reminded me. “You met her at the restaurant.”

“Oh, sorry, yes.”

“I told her everything, and she was so angry, but as pissed off as she got, I was madder at myself,” he sighed. “I mean, I’m gay and I’m still hiding it from my parents, my colleagues, and everyone back in my old life but my sister,” he rambled, his gaze settling on me, waiting.

“Keeping secrets is hard” was all I could think of to say.

“It is, but now that I’ve moved here, I feel like I can have a second chance at a new life,” he finished, raising his head, smiling at me. “Do you think that maybe I can count you among my friends here?”

I had no idea what I was supposed to say.

“Or will it be too weird for you?”

And then suddenly I did know. Extending my hand, I smiled at him. “No, I think I can do that.”

The relief washing over his face made me realize that even though I wasn’t important to him in the way I’d thought I should be, in a romantic vein, I still had a part to play in Britton’s life, as a friend.

Coz came out into the living room as I was closing the door behind my new friend.

“Who’d I miss?”

“Britton.”

He stopped moving. “I’m sorry, what?”

“You heard me,” I called over to him as I walked back to the kitchen. I was surprised that he followed me so quickly, and even more so when he gently turned me around to face him. “Yes?”

“Listen,” he began, and I heard the wariness and fear in his tone, neither of which had ever been present before. “I don’t want that guy around here.”

“No,” I agreed, reaching up and wrapping my arms around his neck. “The only one who’ll be around here, in this house, sleeping in my bed, will be
you
, Officer.”

His smile told me how pleased he was.

“We’ll have lots of days like this and long, quiet nights.”

“At home,” he clarified before he wrapped his arm around my back and bent and kissed me. “Just you and me.”

It was all I’d been waiting to hear.

Mangrove Stories

By Mary Calmes

Blue Days

Falling for a coworker is rarely a good idea, especially for a man getting a last chance at salvaging his career. But from the moment Dwyer Knolls sees the beautiful but socially awkward Takeo Hiroyuki, he seems destined to make bad decisions.

Takeo’s life is a string of failed attempts to please his traditional Japanese father. Unfortunately, succeeding in business turns out to be just as difficult for Takeo as changing from gay to straight. In fact, the only thing Takeo seems to truly excel at is taking notice of Dwyer Knolls.

When Dwyer and Takeo head to Mangrove, Florida on a real estate buying trip, their tentative friendship combusts and becomes much more. Is their sudden connection real enough to bank their futures on, or should they chalk the whole thing up to the daze inspired by the blue ocean breeze?

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com

About the Author

M
ARY
C
ALMES
lives in Lexington, Kentucky, with her husband and two children and loves all the seasons except summer. She graduated from the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, with a bachelor’s degree in English literature. Due to the fact that it is English lit and not English grammar, do not ask her to point out a clause for you, as it will so not happen. She loves writing, becoming immersed in the process, and falling into the work. She can even tell you what her characters smell like. She loves buying books and going to conventions to meet her fans.

By
M
ARY
C
ALMES

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