Page 71 of All Tied Up

“Yeah. The first night that we bought this property, Daddy and I camped out right around here with our ex, Henri.” Jamie tried not to stiffen at the name. It was such a bittersweet memory. “When we woke up, the meadowlarks were singing. Daddy and I didn’t know what they were called yet, but we spent about an hour trying to imitate the calls while we scoped out the landscape.”

“That’s what he whistled at you last night, right?”

“Yep. We like to pretend it’s our secret code.”

“That’s really sweet. I love the name, too.”

Jamie made a face. “Our ex wasn’t a big fan. But he was in such a snit about camping that we didn’t realize he was serious. Daddy sent off the paperwork to register the corporation that afternoon and then Henri was annoyed for weeks.”

Neil narrowed his eyes. “I’d mention that companies can register use names, so you could have kept the corporation name and put something else on the sign. But I’m glad he didn’t make you change it. It’s right for you guys and that beautiful memory.”

“Yeah. I love it. We don’t go camping as often because, you know, we live right here. But we still make s’mores around the fire. It’s almost the same.”

“That sounds lovely.” Neil gave him a longing look.

“You should join us some time.”

Neil looped his arm around Jamie, pulling him close. “I’d like that.” It sounded like a promise.

The bird hopped a little closer to them, greeting them with a few chirps and a falling warble.

Jamie whistled back at it.

“Wow! That was really good.” Neil tried it himself, then grimaced at the result.

“You just need more practice,” Jamie told him, snuggling into his chest.

“I’ll be sure to work on it,” Neil told him with a kiss on his head. “If you don’t mind me knowing your secret code.”

“Nope. Not at all. We can practice around the campfire.” Jamie titled his face up for a long, lingering kiss.

11

Neil

Neil stood awkwardly in front of the check-in desk. He’d eventually gone upstairs to change clothes after the hose incident, and then just sat outside in the sunshine because Sebastian was at the store and Jamie had to return some calls about rock climbing trips.

Neil was pretty sure they were both available now, though. He just didn’t know what to do about that.

Neil had even put on the shirt from Levi that said BOY in sparkling rhinestone letters against the black fabric. He’d seen other guests walking around the hotel all weekend in all manner of dress and undress, so he was pretty sure it was OK in general.

He just wasn’t sure if it was asking too much of Jamie and Sebastian.

Was it too much to want to spend more time with them? What was the protocol for hook-ups? Neither of them seemed to mind him hanging around earlier, but he’d made very sure to be helpful.

He actually enjoyed the work he’d done with both of them, but mostly he wanted to absorb the feeling of being around them. Even with the financial troubles, living and working here, being a temporary part of their beautiful relationship, seemed like a slice of paradise.

But surely the two of them wanted time to do things on their own.

Maybe he was expecting too much from them. Jamie had asked him to stay for a few more days, but that was different from following them pathetically around all the time.

Neil figured that perhaps they wouldn’t mind spending more time with him if he took them out to dinner.

That was a normal thing, wasn’t it? It didn’t have to be a date. It was just that the two of them spent their lives cooking and cleaning and leading climbs for other people. It had to be nice to have someone waiting on them once in a while, right?

Neil reminded himself that Sebastian had said he would act like Neil’s Dom for the whole weekend. Would that make it weird if Neil was the one asking him to dinner? Really, he just wanted to be around the two of them and do something nice in return since they’d given him so much.

That was why he was standing awkwardly in front of the check-in desk. Should he ring the bell? No, definitely not. That would be just… no, for so many reasons. But he wasn’t sure if he should go behind the counter to the office either. He’d spent most of the morning there, but it wasn’t like he’d been invited back.