Page 8 of Sweet Treat for the Mountain Man

I chuckled. “Thanks. I had a lot of help.”

His gaze held mine.

Pain reflected in his eyes, deep and dark, and my heart lurched. I wanted to fix him. To heal him. To show him the love he deserved.

But did he want the same thing?

We made small talk, mostly Colleen and Greg filling in the chatter, and when I said my goodbyes, I couldn’t scamper off fast enough.

Confusing.

I busied myself with the costume contest, giving out the awards to the best in each category. My costume won for the best idea, and my parents won for the best couple. Everyone had a lot of fun voting and playing.

Yet as the night wore on, I couldn’t stop scanning the room. And as the party ended and the guests filed out, I said my goodbyes to my friends, my parents, my co-workers, leaving behind just the staff.

And one cute guy in an Eeyore costume.

Coast…he stayed…

CHAPTER FOUR

Coast

I was an idiot. I already knew that.

But I showed up. Because it was the right thing to do.

I couldn’t stop thinking about her. How sad she looked when I turned her down. How beautiful she was and made me smile. How she made me forget my hurt, made me want to try again with love. How could I ignore any of that?

So yeah, my costume was dumb. But with Halloween tomorrow, there weren’t many left.

“Hey,” I waved at Amora as I walked over to her.

“Hi.”

“I thought you might need help taking everything down and cleaning up?”

Amora burst into laughter and I raised an eyebrow. “What’s so funny?”

“It’s hard to take you serious when you’re wearing a sad donkey costume.”

I laughed along with her. “I didn’t have many choices at the store. Especially for a guy my size. Besides, I thought I made a cute sad donkey.”

“You do. Thanks for the offer, but I’ll come back tomorrow to clean. I’m exhausted tonight.”

My shoulders fell. I didn’t want to leave yet. “Yeah, I bet you are. Well, it was a great party. Have a good night, Amora.” Fuck, I was such a chickenshit. I turned to go when her hand shot out and rested on my arm. My whole body stiffened.

“Wait—Coast?”

“Yeah?” I turned back, my heart lifting in my chest.

Amora studied me for a moment, opened her mouth, and closed it again. She shook her head. “Never mind.”

She doesn’t want to be rejected again, idiot.

“Want to go for a ride? I can take you by my Halloween display.”

Her face lit up. “I’d really like that.”