Page 2 of Crushes and Confections
“Everything okay, Claire?” he asked seriously, his warm and weathered voice washing over me.
“Yeah,” I said, the weight of his attention on me making me feel a little heady. “I just wanted to check and see if you needed anything and introduce you to a friend of mine, actually.”
His shoulders relaxed at my words and a lopsided grin stretched against his face.
“I’m good, Claire,” he said, closing his laptop and putting it in his bag. “I’d be better if you took a seat and joined me for a drink. Introduce me to your friend and we can chat if you have a few minutes?”
“She’d love to,” Riley called out from behind me.
A laugh spilled out of me and I shook my head at the gorgeous alpha. “That’s a yes. Let me grab him and the drinks before he explodes.”
I walked back behind the counter, making sure my crew had everything handled before Riley grabbed my hand and all but dragged us to that table.
He put his drink on the table, not letting go of my hand as he looked at me expectantly.
“Vance, this is my wonderful best friend Riley. Riley, Vance.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Riley,” Vance said, taking his hand in his and holding it for a second with a knowing look, his nostrils flaring as he looked between us. “Here, take a seat and we can actually get to know one another more than just our names. I’m still pretty rusty when it comes to socialization skills sometimes.”
He went around and pulled the two chairs on the other side of the table out for us expectantly. Riley and I blinked at each other for a second in disbelief before we both quickly took the offered chairs.
The gesture was making me feel the same way his warm voice had when he said my name and it took me a second to recover.
“Well, luckily for us, I’m excellent at holding a conversation,” Riley flirted. “Plus Claire here is the best person in the world and we’ve lived in Holiday Hollow our whole lives. If the welcoming committee hasn’t gotten their hands on you…well, I’m sorry Vance, but you’re doomed.”
Vance’s eyes widened in a somewhat cautious alarm. “What do you mean I’m doomed?”
“This is Holiday Hollow,” I said. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but you’ve been here longer than a normal tourist so I’m assuming you’re now a new resident. If the welcome committee hasn’t given you the full red carpet well, there’s really only two options left.
“One, you or someone in the community clues them in. They’ll fuss after you for months and you’ll probably be roped into more things than you dared dream of. We do love our hospitality here,” Riley said, picking up the conversation from me seamlessly. “Or option two, you let us be your welcoming committee and you get a more laid back experience.”
“Don’t forget the perks of extra coffee and treats,” I said seriously.
Vance’s eyes darted back and forth between Riley and me, that smile not slipping off his face. “Well, I think I know exactly which option I want to take.”
There was underlying heat in his words, and I shifted in my chair as Riley let out a little curse under his breath, his confidence slipping for a moment before he took a deep breath and settled.
“Smart man,” Riley said. It was almost comical to see Riley thrown off his game. Though anyone who didn’t know him as well as I did would hardly notice.
“How are you liking the small-town life?” I asked to give Riley a moment to recover.
“Well, it just got a little better,” Vance said. I swear the man was flirting with us right back and that had me ready to hide. Having Riley be flirty was one thing, but I wasn’t quite used to someone else flirting with me. As if he sensed me feeling uncertain he continued on. “It’s definitely an adjustment. Paris was full of life and people, but it lacked the heart Holiday Hollow has. Here it’s just as busy, just in a different way.”
“And you haven’t truly experienced enough events in this crazy town to have a full snapshot,” Riley laughed.
“Bigger than that Christmas event?” Vance asked, clearly surprised.
Riley’s laughter had both Vance and me zeroing in on him for a moment. The way he lit up with joy was almost hypnotic. I swallowed hard and took a drink of my coffee to keep from getting derailed.
“Christmas is basically a give me, but Valentine’s Day is huge here too. It’s different and over the top every damn year,” Riley explained. “The whole town will look like cupid exploded on it.”
When Vance smiled at that a small dimple showed through on his left cheek and if I wasn’t taken before, I was now. I could lick chocolate from that dimple and die a happy omega.
Oh, chocolate. With Valentine’s Day coming I could make a cherry chocolate pastry. No one can resist a heart shaped treat in Holiday Hollow.
“Claire!” Riley’s exasperation shook me from my thoughts. “You thought of a new recipe didn’t you?” The accusation had a blush glowing on my cheeks.
“Maybe,” I hedged playfully as I plucked my phone from my apron and made some quick notes.