“I swear, you seem so normal, and then I call you and you’re playing the same song on repeat in the background. And it’s not even a good song.”

“If you’re going to insult my favorite band, I have no problem hanging up on you,” Rhett responded to his older-by-three-minutes brother, Ryan. “What do you want? I’m busy.”

Ryan laughed so loud Rhett had to pull the phone away from his ear. “You are not busy. You’re listening to some sort of folk-rock hybrid, whatever, while you doodle table settings and lighting ideas in your sketchbook.”

“Hanging up now,” Rhett said as he pulled the phone away from his ear again.

“Fine, fine. I’ll get to the point. I ran into Neil today.”

Rhett rolled his eyes. “And how is Neil?” Overcome with the urge to stab his pen through the pages of his sketchbook, Rhett closed it and set it safely aside. He removed his glasses and rubbed at his eyes before putting them back on.

“He says he misses you.”

Rhett stood up and balled his fist. “If you gave him my number, I’m going to key your car, Ryan. I promise I will.”

“I thought you’d be happy to hear he missed you. You were a wreck when you broke up.”

Rhett exhaled an ugly laugh. “We didn’t break up. He dumped me. In public. I’m not an emotional masochist so it’s not something I care to repeat.”

“Well, then it’s a good thing I didn’t give him your number. You really ought to start dating again though. It’s not like you to be single for so long.”

It really wasn’t, but after the very public humiliation of his last breakup, Rhett decided he’d be better off not being in a relationship for a while. He missed the comfort of it, but it was something he learned he could live without.

He loved getting to know someone new, learning their likes and dislikes, the little physical tics they had, their bad habits. He liked the feeling a new relationship gave him, that glimmer of hope that maybe, maybe, this was the one.

“I’m fine on my own, Ryan. Single isn’t so bad; besides, I have Lucy.”

Ryan groaned. “A fern is not a pet, Rhett. You can’t talk to a houseplant and tell me that it’s a proper substitute for human interaction.”

“Are you sure about that? I’ve met some of your exes. They don’t exactly pass for human either.”

“Touché, baby brother.” Ryan exhaled. “Look, normally I really couldn’t care less who you may or may not be dating, but Dad asked me to ask you.”

Their dad had done the best he could to raise them on his own after their mother died when they were in the eighth grade. He owned his own company, and it continued to make a nice profit over the years. Rhett and Ryan had never wanted for much, but when it came to the emotional things, like worrying about your kid’s happiness, their dad had always had a hard time talking to them. He’d said it was because he wasn’t very close with his parents, so he wasn’t sure how to talk about certain things. He’d said their mother had always handled that. And now, with her gone, it was his method to approach one boy when he was concerned about the other. He found it easier to just relay his concerns and hope they sorted out the issue between the two of them with no further need of his input.

Rhett sighed; there was only one possible way to get Ryan off his back and stop their dad from worrying. He had to lie.

“Look, I didn’t want to say anything, but I’ve been seeing someone. It’s new, but I really like him and I don’t want to jinx it, okay? Happy now?” He hated lying and tried to never do it, but that meant when he finally did lie to someone, they were more apt to buy into his bullshit. Like Ryan did—hook, line, and sinker.

“You little shit. Who are you seeing? You have to tell me. I know just about everyone in town.”

“I’m not telling, Ryan. I like him, a lot. He’s good to me. He’s...nice.”

“Nice? That’s the best you can give me? Is he hot? Does he give good head?”

“I’m not telling you that.” Rhett wrinkled his nose. In his head, his imaginary boyfriend was absolutely hot. He refused to think of anything more than that while still on the phone with his brother.

“Fine, be like that. Look, I have to go, but I’ll call you later and harass you for more details about your mystery man.”

“Talk soon,” Rhett said as he ended the call. He looked at Lucy, the potted fern that sat on his table. “Don’t look at me like that. I had to tell him something. He’s relentless. Three minutes older and he thinks that somehow makes me less capable of running my life than he is.”

Rhett walked past Lucy, and headed for his bedroom. He slipped into a pair of clean jeans and a long-sleeved burgundy t-shirt that he’d stolen from one of his exes because it looked better on him.

Walking past Lucy again, he nodded to the plant. “Don’t wait up,” he said as he walked out the door.

Usually he’d stay home and marathon one of his favorite television shows, but his conversation with Ryan had left him unsettled and in need of a distraction. And if he was willing to admit that Ryan was right—which he wasn’t—a potted plant really wasn’t a good substitute for human interaction.

Living a few blocks from downtown, Rhett left his car in its spot and walked to Tubby’s. Being tourist season, it was busy as hell, but Rhett managed to get a glass of something on tap before finding an empty seat at the far end of the bar.

He drank half his beer, then stared at the other half, suddenly unsure why he’d come out to begin with. He wasn’t in the mood to chat up a random stranger. His best friend, Penny, was at home with her husband and their baby, and she’d murder him in his sleep if he called and woke Tyson. He was just about to go home and be content with the fact that he’d at least had different scenery to be miserable in for a while, when someone sat down next to him.

“Hey, Rhett. Long time, no see.”

Rhett turned his head and came face to face with Cole Mallory and his gorgeous sage green eyes. Not only was he the heir to the Mallory Vineyard, but he was a walking wet dream and his brother’s best friend.

“You saw me last week. I was at the Vineyard with Macy for the Carlson-Schmidt wedding.”

Cole leaned closer, his cologne light and rich, enticing and slightly spicy. “I meant outside of work. In a place like this.” Cole took a sip of his drink and eyed Rhett. “What are you doing here anyway?”

“My brother is a pain in the ass.”

Cole’s eyebrows shot up, then he nodded. “A pain in the ass who doesn’t answer his phone.”

Rhett rolled his eyes. “He was probably talking to me. Dad is worried because I’m single.”

Cole’s laughter surprised him and Rhett stared at him until he was done.

“You and I have more in common than I thought.”

“Is your family on your ass, too?”

Cole stood up and motioned to the back corner where a booth had just become available. Rhett grabbed his drink and followed, taking the seat opposite him.

“Is there some sort of rule parents have that says their kids need to be settled down by the time they’re twenty-five?” Cole began to rant. “I wasn’t aware that I was the male equivalent of a spinster. In a brand new twist of fuckery, I have to get married or the vineyard will go to my idiot sister, who probably only cares how many vacations she could fund with the proceeds of its sale.”

“Spinsters were unmarried, but they were also virgins. You haven’t been a virgin since the ninth grade.”

“Your brother has a big mouth,” Cole said, taking a swig of his beer.

Rhett grimaced. “Please don’t talk about my brother like that. I don’t need the details.”

Cole choked, covering his mouth as he coughed and hacked until his face turned slightly red. He managed to not do a spit-take all over the table, but only barely.

“Your brother and I are close, but not that close.”

“Too bad, or you could marry him and shut your family up. He’d do it just to get to drive that fancy car of yours.”

“No one would believe it. They know Ryan and me too well. We love each other, but we’d kill each other. It wouldn’t be believable. My spouse would have to be someone they’d be able to see me with.” Cole looked at Rhett, raking his gaze over him as if he were examining him.

“What?” Rhett patted his cheeks, feeling suddenly self-conscious. He’d never had Cole Mallory pay such close attention to him before. Rhett had always been the non-entity in the background. Not exactly ignored, Cole wasn’t rude like that, but he was Ryan’s friend and Rhett and Ryan had always run with different crowds. “What?” he asked again when Cole’s smile grew.

“It’s not a bad idea. At first, I thought I was nuts for even considering something like it, but I think it could work.”

“What?” Rhett was beginning to feel a little like a parrot and he drank the rest of his beer as Cole’s smile brightened.

“I could marry you.”