Blue-Eyed Soul (8 page)

Aleks glanced down at his pie, then up to meet Remey's gaze again. "So the spotlight might be dimming in a week or so. Think you can behave long enough to get rid of them?" Maybe his voice was a little suggestive. He had to admit there was a hell of a lot of appeal in the idea of the main protest he had against Remey being gone. If it was only temporary, maybe he wouldn't mind getting to know the resident hot celebrity a little better. Maybe a lot better.

"Why, Aleksander, are you suggesting there might be something in store for me if I do?" Remey bit his lip, blue eyes warming.

Aleks shot him a heated look. "There might be. If you're interested."

Remey's brows shot up. "
If
I'm interested? You have no idea." He glanced around, then leaned in, lowering his voice. "I'm definitely interested. If you hadn't been sending 'back off' signals since the first time I laid eyes on you... Well, we could've broken in the brand-new couch in my living room. We still could."

Aleks laughed. That was another thing he found surprising about Remey, how awkward he could be. It was adorable and, damn it, Aleks had always had a weakness for adorable boys. "Well, there goes all your mystique, Remey. Do you want to take a second to wrap a bow around yourself, too?" he teased.

Remey blushed and wrinkled his nose at Aleks. "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.

"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 a few feet behind him, grinning once he got a decent look at his face. "And you're Stevan."

"My brother talks about me so much you recognize me?"

Remey laughed and shook his head, bagging up his apples and setting them in his cart. "No. But you look very much alike." He offered his hand to shake, and Stevan took it. "Nice meeting you."

"Same. Aleks does talk about you, though," Stevan told him, hooking his thumbs in his belt loops, and Remey pressed his lips together. He was dying to ask what Aleks had said, but he wasn't going to pry. He hoped, after yesterday, at least some of what Aleks had said was good.

"Yeah, he was... Let's just say he wasn't thrilled with me being around at first." The paparazzi were still hanging around--they'd been waiting outside Remey's house when he'd left for the store--but he thought there were less of them than a few days ago. He sure hoped there were. The sooner they all left, the sooner that stumbling block between him and Aleks would be gone. Remey could hardly wait.

Stevan snorted. "Don't let his 'I am king of this land and you are not welcome' routine intimidate you. Much to his disappointment, he doesn't
actually
own the Berkshires."

Remey smiled. "Good to know not everyone wishes I'd crawl back to California."

Stevan leaned his hip against the cart, shaking his head. "He might have thought so before he met you, but trust me, he doesn't anymore."

Remey blushed, eyes hopeful. "He doesn't?"

Stevan seemed to belatedly realize his brother might not want him spilling such tidbits and cleared his throat. "So, uh... I hear you're going to be doing a little concert thing for the festival this year?" He gave Remey a mock-annoyed look. "My wife is going to be flailing for weeks after, I hope you know. She's a huge fan."

Remey laughed and pushed his cart out of someone's way, glancing up to meet Stevan's eyes. Geez, he was every bit as tall as Aleks and made Remey feel like an absolute midget. "I'm excited about it, too. It's for an awesome cause, plus it gives me an excuse to sing every Christmas song I can. You'll be there?"

Stevan laughed, shaking his head. "If Jess didn't make sure I went, Aleks would. This youth center is totally his baby. He's been trying to come up with ways to get funding for it for ages. But, yeah, we'll definitely be there, along with half the town. The winter festival is a big thing here in Haven."

"I'm looking forward to it. L.A. doesn't have stuff like it. The big events are all celebrity stuff and not for everyone else." Remey had been to his fair share of those events, and he ended up being bored out of his mind nine times out of ten. He was sure the Winter Festival would be anything but boring.

"Our little festival is more your speed than an awards show after-party?" Stevan asked, and Remey nodded.

"Believe me. They're always the same thing, ostentatious and crowded."

Stevan shrugged. "I think it's a case of 'the grass is always greener,' honestly. Aleks felt the same way for the longest time growing up and once he got away and realized the big city had its own set of downfalls, he turned Haven into this mythical sort of Wonderland in his head and would stop at nothing to come back."

Remey was so curious, but was hesitant to probe too deeply. "Do you think it'll turn back in the other direction and he'll start wishing for the city again?" If things ever went anywhere between him and Aleks, maybe some kind of bi-coastal thing... but it was way too early for those thoughts.

"Maybe." Then Stevan grinned. "Hey, you busy tonight?"

Remey blinked, surprised at the question. "No... why?"

"Because I'll be a hero with my wife if I can get you over to our house for dinner. And because Aleks brings Willow over for dinner on Thursday nights."

Remey laughed. "That's sneaky. I like it. Can I bring dessert or something? I went and dug out all my mama's pie recipes so I can practice."

Stevan's eyes gleamed with amusement. "I did hear you and Aleks were getting cozy over coffee and pie at Mona and Joe's place yesterday. Sure, why not? Jess will probably try and kill me for springing you on her like this, but it'll be worth it. You know where Aleks's house is? Jess and I live a block over on Chestnut. It's the blue house, fourth down from the corner of Elm. We eat around six, so come by around five or so and hang out a bit."

Remey nodded, making a mental note of the directions. "I don't imagine your wife is going to be the only one who'll want to kill you for inviting me."

Stevan snorted and waved a hand, as if to brush off the idea. "I'm not bothered by Aleks. Besides, I can take him. We'll see you at five?"

"Absolutely." Remey agreed, and Stevan nodded before heading off. Remey laughed, shaking his head and steering his cart into the next aisle. He had ingredients to buy, a pie to make, and a recalcitrant man to try to impress.

* * * *

Aleks stood on the sidewalk, Willow's mittened hand in his, and frowned at the sleek SUV hybrid sitting along the curb. He looked down at Willow, who looked back up at him with curious blue eyes.

"Why you stop, Daddy?" She tugged on his hand impatiently. "Come on! Go inside. Is cold." She faked a shiver and tugged again.

Aleks was going to kill someone. What the hell was Remey Dufresne doing at his brother's house on family dinner night? He let Willow lead him along the walk and up the steps to the porch. He didn't bother knocking or ringing the bell, tugging open the screen door and then pushing open the front door itself.

He was assaulted by the scent of bread baking, the rich smell of Jess's pot roast and the spicy, sweet tang of some kind of pie.
Mmm.
Damn, it was hard to stay annoyed with all those delicious and comforting smells surrounding him.

"Stevan!" he called, making sure his tone indicated exactly how annoyed he was. He crouched down to help Willow off with her scarf and coat, tucking her mittens into his own pocket.

"He said to tell you he's got homicide on speed dial and to be nice."

Aleks glanced up and met Remey's bright blue eyes, all smiles and laughter, and fuck... He was gorgeous.

Willow squeaked, waving up at him. "Hi, Remey, hi!"

Little traitor.

Remey laughed. "Hey,
bebette.
You look pretty today."

"Squish!"

Willow tugged her hands free at the sound of Stevan's voice behind Remey and launched herself at him with a happy cry. Remey straightened, offering Aleks a smile.

"I didn't expect to see you so soon. I was thinking about stopping by the football game tomorrow night, but Stevan invited me."

"I figured," Aleks grumbled, glaring at his brother. "He's lucky I smell pie baking."

Remey grinned. "It's not baking. It's in the oven to keep warm. I made it this afternoon." He pushed at the sleeves of the sweater he wore, his eyes on Aleks's face. "I was planning to practice and make sure I remembered all Mama's tricks, then I was going to bring you a pie this weekend, but Stevan invited me, so I blame him if it's not perfect."

Aleks snorted. How could he stay annoyed at someone so willing to throw Aleks's meddlesome little brother under the bus? "Do you think you can get around me so easily?"

Remey shrugged. "I thought it was worth a shot, and I can probably use all the help I can get."

Aleks met Stevan's gaze over Remey's head and damned if his brother wasn't smirking like a cat who ate the canary. "You and me, little brother. We're having words about your habit of butting in."

Stevan rolled his eyes and looked down at Willow. "C'mon, Squish. Forget Daddy and his bad attitude, huh? Let's go see if Jess has any nibbles for us to taste test."

Willow clapped her hands. "I wanna taste test!"

Aleks chuckled as the two of them disappeared into the kitchen to hassle Jess. He looked down at Remey. "You're persistent."

Remey smiled up at him. "Well, you did encourage me last night, if you recall."

That was true, he had to admit. He shrugged out of his coat and hung it on one of the hooks over the mud bench. "So how did my devious brother manage to get you to accept an invitation to dinner?"

"I ran into him at the market. We got to talking and he just... suggested I stop by." Remey's smile was innocent, but teasing at the same time.

Aleks's lips quirked. "I bet he did." He shook his head and hung up his scarf before nodding toward the kitchen. "Come on, then. I have to say hello to Jess and make sure Stevan isn't spoiling my daughter's appetite."

Remey led the way, and Aleks did his best to keep his eyes from lingering too much on the view he was getting. He'd ogled quite a bit yesterday, but still, the man had an ass fine enough to stop traffic, and he wore jeans like nobody's business. Aleks tore his eyes away as they stepped into the kitchen and he eased around Remey to wrap Jess up in a hug where she was chopping vegetables at the kitchen island.