“Thank you, dear.” She gripped the glass with her delicate fingers now adorned with several rings. She took them off when she was working, but, as soon as her shift was over, the bling came back on.
Before stepping away from the table, he glanced out into the living room to make sure Mason was okay. He couldn’t see his face, but the blanket was tucked snugly around him. Otho smiled, his chest going warm at the sight.
Joslyn huffed a sigh. “So, have you proposed yet?”
He glared at her, but he couldn’t work up the energy to do it properly.
“Oh no, you have, and I missed it.” She faked a shocked gasp and touched her hand to her mouth.
“I haven’t done anything.” Otho turned back to the potatoes—potatoes understood him.
“Good, good. We’ve trained for this, remember?”
He ignored her.
“I’m serious, Otho, no more broken hearts because you think he’s the one.” She made air quotes.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Lyn. I fished him out of the river. I know he’s not here for me.”
“They never were and yet you gave them your heart in five minutes flat.”
Otho growled. “Do you want food or not?”
“I want food.” She grinned and took a sip of her wine. “But, I feel it’s my duty as your best friend and the one in charge of picking up the pieces when things go to hell to remind you that just because someone smiles at you, it doesn’t mean they want to get their happily ever after with you. It’s why you moved out into the middle of nowhere—to reduce the number of cute guys smiling at you and you falling head over heels, remember? Men are bastards and they’ll take advantage of anyone they can, you need to be careful.”
This time Otho glared. “Are you done?”
“I would’ve reminded you earlier, but your phone isn’t working.”
He sighed. Right, the phone. “It took a dive into the river.”
“You seriously walked out on the ice for him?” Joslyn narrowed her eyes. “Are you out of your mind? You could have died!”
“Shh.” Otho glanced toward the living room.
“Oh, come on, he’s heard every word we’ve been saying. Your house is tiny, remember?”
A second later, Mason appeared in the doorway.
* * * *
Mason wasn’t sure he liked Joslyn much, and he almost wished he’d come here for Otho just to prove her wrong. Heck, if he’d known Otho existed, he might have…one day. He shouldn’t eavesdrop but listening to their conversation gave him more clues about Otho than anything else had so far. And now he knew he liked cute guys. Too bad Mason wasn’t a cute guy. He was an ordinary guy, an average looking guy, a guy other men, as Joslyn put it, took advantage of.
With a groan, he got to his feet. He wouldn’t have come for Otho, he lacked the confidence to do something like that, but he could stop Joslyn from making Otho feel bad for being nice.
His body had thawed some and his muscles obeyed him. With a shiver, he dropped the blanket on the sofa and headed toward the kitchen. The view greeting him robbed him of words. The kitchen was small, but there was food everywhere. Christmas dinner
Mason’s stomach rumbled. God, when had he last eaten? And when had he last had homemade food? Joel didn’t cook and Mason all but set fire to water any time he tried.
“Where’s your blanket?” Otho hurried over to him, gently guiding him to the unoccupied chair next to Joslyn. “Sit, I’ll go get it.”
Mason grabbed his hand. “I’m fine, you don’t have to—”
“Nonsense, you need to stay warm.” He rushed out of the kitchen before Mason had the chance to say anything else.
Joslyn grinned at him, her expression a stark contrast to the harsh words she’d dealt Otho. “If you cherish your freedom you should run now, because he’ll never let you out of his sight if you don’t.”
Mason snorted. “He’s being nice.”
She nodded and sipped on her wine. “That’s Otho—nice, warm, caretaking, self-sacrificing.” All humor left her face as she hissed, “And if you hurt him, I’ll hunt you down and kill you, are we clear?”
Mason stared. Was she serious?She looked serious.
“Here you go.” Otho wrapped a thick fleece in light gray with white snowflakes around his shoulders. “More hot chocolate?” He smiled, his blue eyes warm again and Mason could breathe a little easier.
“I’m fine, thank you. You want me to help with anything?”
Otho waved a hand. “No, no, you sit. I’d give you a glass of wine, but the paramedics said no alcohol.”
“So, you’re staying the night here?” Joslyn twirled her glass and gave Mason an innocent look. He glanced at Otho. Should he leave?
“Of course, he is, Lyn! The man almost died.”
“True, I just figured since he has a pricey room at the resort…” She shrugged.