Free Blue-Eyed Soul by Fae Sutherland, Chelsea James

"Shut up. And maybe. If you're lucky."
    Aleks snorted. "I think you pretty much just promised me I would be."
    The blush got brighter as Remey seemed to realize what he'd said and how he'd sounded. Remey covered his eyes with one hand. "Jesus. Allison is always telling me I need to develop a filter." He peeked out between his fingers. "Sorry. Um... shit. Did I really offer to sex you on my couch, like, anytime?"
    Aleks laughed, nodding. "You did, indeed. Don't even think about changing your mind now. No take-backsies."
    They were both laughing pretty hard by then and drawing more than a few stares and finally Aleks reached over and squeezed Remey's arm. "Shhh. Or we'll start a scandal and the paparazzi will never leave."
    Remey snickered, trying to stifle his giggles. "And that would be a definite tragedy now. I swear. I'll be so good." He pressed his lips together, holding up two fingers. "Scout's honor."
    "I bet you were a Boy Scout, weren't you?" Aleks smiled, sipping his coffee.
    Remey laughed and shook his head. "I wasn't. My brother was big into it, and all the camping and fishing and stuff, but I never joined. I was always more interested in music. What were you into as a kid?"
    "Causing trouble," Aleks answered with a laugh. "My mother swears I gave her weekly heart attacks when I was in my rebellious phase as a teenager. Looking back, I'm sure she's right. Haven was the last place I wanted to be, and I let everyone know it.
    "I attempted to learn how to play guitar a few times, thinking I could be a badass rock star, but it never clicked for me. Carl gave lessons back then before his arthritis got too bad and he told me to stick with the piano. Which, of course, was the last thing I wanted to hear. Rock stars didn't play piano."
    "I bet." Remey finished off his hot chocolate and set down his mug. "Were you and your brother always close?"
    "Mostly, yeah. I got annoyed with him tagging along everywhere sometimes, but we've always been best friends. We'd be friends even if we weren't brothers, you know?"
    "That's really nice. My brother and I--his name's Dan--we've never been close. I mean, he's my brother and I love him, but sometimes I look at him and all I can think is, Oh my God, why are you the way you are? He can be a bit of a tool most of the time. But we get along much better now than we did when we were kids, in large part because we're hundreds of miles apart."
    Aleks chuckled. "Ah, family. Gotta love 'em. Because even if you don't, you still have to see them at holidays." He glanced at his watch and sighed. "Speaking of family, I have to get going. Willow's over at Stevan and Jess's, but it's pushing up on eight and it's past her bedtime. I gotta go."
    Remey smiled, nodding. "Okay. Don't worry about the pie. It's on me. Tell Willow I said hello. And maybe you and I... maybe we could do this again. When you don't have to run home by eight?"
    Aleks hesitated, then smiled. "Maybe we could. Maybe Tuesday. If you don't mind Willow tagging along, we could meet for dinner." He pushed to his feet and tugged his coat back on. "And hey, take your car by Bobby's shop on Pine Street. Tell him I said to give you the Aleks Winter Special."
    Remey's eyes were curious. "You have your very own special at the mechanic shop?"
    "Nah." Aleks shook his head. "It's code for 'Don't fleece the California boy.'" He grinned and had to resist the urge to bend down and take a kiss. It seemed like the thing to do, but he didn't. "See ya."
    Remey nodded. "Yeah. See ya."
    Aleks shoved his hands in his pockets as he left the café. It was still silent and the street was almost empty outside. No sign of the media. Maybe Remey was right. Maybe they'd even already left. Aleks grinned and climbed into his car.
    In which case, he would definitely be seeing Remey soon. And maybe his couch, too.

Chapter 5
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    "So you're Remey Dufresne."
    Remey turned away from the display of apples at the grocery store, his brows lifting at the man who stood