Top Shelf: A Seacroft Novel Page 27
“I love you too,” he said. He had just enough time to see the white of Seb’s grin before they were kissing again, despite the people milling in the gallery around them.
There was a cough, and Martin and Seb pulled apart to find Oliver standing close by, a bemused expression on his face.
“Seriously?” Seb grumbled. “Do you have an alert system for when there’s a kiss that needs to be interrupted?”
Oliver grinned but didn’t take the bait. “I don’t know much about that kind of thing, but I thought your poem was . . . ”
Seb clasped his brother’s shoulder and smiled. Martin kept his fingers linked through the ones on Seb’s other hand, unwilling to let go just yet.
“Sebastian.” Philip’s voice rumbled low through their little group. Martin turned as Seb’s father approached. There was some polite hand shaking, but none of it was overly familiar or all that affectionate.
“This is a very nice place you’ve made here,” Philip said. “I can see the appeal, in a small town like this. Reminds me a bit of the gallery at Watersmith. We should talk about getting some of your work there. It’s mostly reserved for students and alumni, but I think I could get them to make an exception.”
Tension hung in the air as Seb’s fingers curled around Martin’s, but his smile was bland as he replied. “Thanks, Dad. I’m working on some new pieces, but Kenneth has me lined up for another show in the fall, so I’m not sure there’s time for anything else right now.”
Philip’s expression was just as controlled as his son’s as he turned to Martin. “And Dr. Lindsey, so good to see you! I was speaking to Angela the other day. That position I told you about didn’t open up as quickly as I thought it would, but I believe there will be a place available with the history department in the near future. I could still mention your name, if you’d like.”
By the time he was done speaking, his words were directed at Seb again. His eyes gleamed with a challenge, as if Philip were daring his son to stand in the way of the opportunity he was so generously offering.
The posturing was unnecessary, though. The truth was, Martin hadn’t given the job offer much thought since that afternoon in Philip’s office. Not with the fire and all the work to open the gallery. Not when the students he tutored through the fall and winter started receiving their college acceptances. Not when Cassidy spent the last week pacing in front of her mailbox and sending frantic texts when she still hadn’t heard about any of her applications at the end of each day. And not when Seb lay awake the last two nights, talking in circles about all the things that might go wrong with their opening. Martin talked him down and promised he’d be there even if the whole thing was ruined by flash floods and celestial interventions.
It surprised him how little thought he’d given to Dr. Stevenson’s offer, but Martin knew the reason why. He smiled and moved his hand to settle in the small of Seb’s back. He was rewarded with a strong arm around his shoulders.
“Thank you, Dr. Stevenson,” Martin said, “but I think you can see I’m very happy just where I am.”
Thank You
Thank you so much for reading Top Shelf. There are more Seacroft stories coming, so please keep in touch!
In Cold Pressed, Oliver comes to Seacroft, where he meets Nick, a sexy single dad with a complicated personal history.
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About the Author
Whether I knew it then or not, I’ve been a writer since the second grade, when I wrote a short story about a girl and her horse. My grandmother typed it out for me and said she’d never seen so many quotation marks from a seven-year-old before. I took that as a challenge and have tried to break that record in all the stories I’ve taken on since then. It’s good to have goals, right?
I live in Toronto with my very patient husband and the world’s neediest cat. I try to split my time between writing, community theater stage management, and traveling anywhere that has good wine. Tragically, this leaves no time to clean the house.
Also By Allison Temple
The Pick Up
Kyle’s life is going backwards. He wanted to build a bigger life for himself than Red Creek could give him, but a family crisis has forced him to return to his hometown with his six-year-old daughter. Now he’s standing in the rain at his old elementary school, and his daughter’s teacher, Mr. Hathaway, is lecturing him about punctuality.
Adam Hathaway is not looking for love. He’s learned the hard way to keep his personal and professional life separate. But Kyle is struggling and needs a friend, and Adam wants to be that friend. He just needs to ignore his growing attraction to Kyle’s goofy charm, because acting on it would mean breaking all the rules that protect his heart.
Putting down roots in this town again is not Kyle’s plan. As soon as he can, he’s taking his daughter and her princess costumes and moving on. The more time he spends with Adam, though, the more he thinks the quiet teacher might give him a reason to stay. Now he just has to convince Adam to take a chance on a bigger future than either of them could have planned.
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