Forever Wilde in Aster Valley (Forever Wilde 9)

Just then, Sheriff Declan Stone and Finn Heller came bustling in. “Sorry we’re late,” Finn said, pulling off his coat. “We were babysitting for a friend.”

Miller did a double take and blinked at the sight of the famous actor.

The sheriff pulled out a chair for Finn before taking off his own coat and taking them both to a set of hooks by the door. When he returned, he asked Tiller for an update on the game. I noticed the woman who’d been impressed with Tiller and Sam earlier had caught a glimpse of Finn and nearly fallen off her chair.

She fumbled for her phone to sneak some photos, but Declan shot her a glare until she put her phone away.

Miller continued to stare at Finn. I decided to do the honors since everyone else was too drunk or distracted. “Miller Hobbs, this is Finn Heller. Finn, this is Miller. He’s moving to Aster Valley and taking the marketing job at the ski resort.”

Finn’s famous grin was warm and welcoming. He reached out a hand to shake. “Welcome to Aster Valley. If you have any trouble with the law around these parts, let me know. I’ve got connections.”

“Stop doing that,” Declan grumbled without looking at him. “It’s kind of illegal.”

Finn rolled his eyes. “Arrest me.”

Declan turned to face Finn. The heat in his eyes was unmistakable. “Remember what happened last time you said that?”

Finn tucked his bottom lip under his top teeth and breathed, “Sure do… Sheriff.”

Miller’s jaw dropped. “Did that sound as hot in real life as it sounded in my brain?” he whispered.

“Yup,” Sam said. “Prettyyyyy much.”

“No doubt,” Mikey added with a nod.

Julian groaned and squeezed his eyes closed. “Everyone’s doing it except for me.”

Mikey reached around Tiller and rubbed Julian’s back. “We can find you someone to do it with, sweetie. Believe it or not, Aster Valley has a super-active Grindr scene.”

Tiller pulled himself away from the football game and tilted his head at Mikey. “Excuse me?”

Mikey ignored him. “When we first invited Sam to stay, we were going to arrange a bunch of fuck dates for him.”

Now it was Truman’s turn to balk. “Excuse me?”

Sam put his big muscular arm around the smaller man and pulled him close. “Didn’t happen. Promise.”

Miller leaned in and brushed his lips across my ear as he whispered loudly, “I’m gonna like it here. I love these guys. I mean not love, love, like I love you. But love. Like… love. You know?”

I bit my tongue against a laugh and nodded solemnly. “Yes. I know. And I’m happy you feel that way. They’re great guys.”

“Know who’s a great guy?” Julian lamented sadly without picking his head up off his arms. “Parker Ellis. Great guy. The greatest. Except for the fact he’s the worst. Like, the absolute worst. Like that meme. The worst. Ever.”

Mikey mouthed the words “Straight best friend” at us. We all groaned.

Julian sighed. “I know, right? And he’s getting married. On Valentine’s Day. How cheesy is that? Super fucking cheesy. Spray Velveeta kind of cheese. The kind of cheese that gives all other cheese a bad name. And he doesn’t even like shit like that, his girl—I mean, fiancée does.”

Tiller reached out and patted Julian on the back. “Not true. Parker can be very cheesy. He once proposed to you on the Jumbotron at a Rockies game, remember?”

Miller and I swiveled our heads around to stare. “I thought he was straight?” Miller asked.

Julian flopped his hand in dismissal. “He is. That doesn’t count. That was… that was just…” He sighed and sat up. “He proposed we take surfing lessons one summer in college. That’s what he proposed. It wasn’t marriage or anything.”

“On the Jumbotron?” Truman asked. “That seems…”

“Weird as fuck?” Sam suggested. He nodded. “You’d have to know him. Parker is very fun-loving. But he’s also thoughtful. One time, Julian had made a comment that no one had ever given him a prom-posal in high school. So Parker gave him a surf-posal on the Jumbotron.”

Julian’s eyes opened wider. “Wait, what? What?”

Tiller nodded. “Remember when you got upset that big prom gestures were something only the straight couples did? That really upset Parker. It’s part of the reason he did the Jumbotron thing a couple of years later.”

Julian’s face crumpled, and he began to cry. “Oh, god. I love him. I love him so much.”

Tiller and Sam exchanged a look. “Do something,” Sam mouthed.

“Like what?” Tiller mouthed back.

“Julian, you should tell Parker how you feel,” Mikey said, sounding exasperated. Clearly, this wasn’t the first time they’d had this discussion.

“Can’t,” Julian moaned. “That’ll screw everything up. Haven’t you seen My Best Friend’s Wedding?”

Truman sighed in exasperation. “Julian, life isn’t a Julia Roberts movie.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Julian insisted. “Going to wallow instead. Already bought a wallowing hole.”

Mikey turned to Tiller and asked in a low voice, “What’s a wallowing hole?”