Beck nodded. “I’ve been here for a while.”
Then his gaze fell on Celeste and on the telescope beside her. “Doing some stargazing?”
Celeste hummed a reply.
Beck looked genuinely interested. “What are you looking at now? Mind if I take a look?”
Celeste turned to Kieran and said, “It’s not my equipment, it’s-
But Kieran’s expression had already gone back to normal. “If you’re interested, go ahead.”
Beck smiled. “Thanks.”
He’d handled telescopes before, though not often. As he looked through the eyepiece, he asked, “What’s that red patch in there?”
Celeste replied, “A hydrogen cloud.”
“Which galaxy’s hydrogen cloud?”
The questions Beck asked were fairly basic, beginner–level stuff. But Celeste didn’t show a trace of impatience, answering each one calmly.
Kieran, however, watched quietly, his expression unreadable.
Since Caleb, Trevor, and Beck’s companies all had business ties with YodaVision, Beck’s coming over to greet Matthias and Celeste didn’t seem unusual–Caleb thought he was just being polite.
But Kieran knew that until today, Celeste had no idea that both he and Beck liked her.
And since she didn’t know, and Beck clearly hadn’t told her either, Kieran preferred to keep it that way. He deliberately hid any hint of hostility toward Beck.
Even so, Caleb still caught on.
Because the look Kieran gave Beck was the same cold, guarded look he’d once given him.
Caleb paused, wondering if he was imagining it, but when he turned and caught the way Beck was looking at Celeste, he knew he wasn’t mistaken.
He glanced at Beck, surprise flickering in his eyes. He truly didn’t expect that Beck would like Celeste too.
Then he gave a small, knowing smile.
Given how exceptional Celeste was, it wasn’t exactly surprising that more than one man liked her. 5
Beck would’ve liked to chat with her longer, but before he could, his phone rang–work–related.
At the same time, Miles had also tagged him in the group chat, asking why he was taking so long.
1/
He slipped his phone back into his pocket and said to Celeste and Matthias, “I need to take this call. Let’s talk again later.”
Celeste and Matthias both nodded. “Sure.”
Beck turned and left.
The group then went back to stargazing.
After a while, Lottie heard there were fireflies nearby and eagerly pulled Celeste along to go see them.
The mountain had all sorts of surprises.
The spot where the fireflies gathered was quieter, with fewer people around, so both Caleb and Kieran, worried for the women’s safety, went along too.
They weren’t the only ones interested–quite a few others had heard about the fireflies and wanted to check
them out.
Not long after, Wynn also heard about it and decided to go as well.
Unlike Celeste’s group, though, she went alone.
Carrying a flower lantern, she hadn’t even reached the clearing yet when she saw, not far away, both Caleb and Kieran standing close to Celeste–each gently releasing a firefly into her open palm.
Wynn knew a bit about Caleb and Jorge’s circle–none of them were particularly close with Trevor or Matthias’s
group.
Normally, given Caleb’s tight schedule, even if he wanted to hang out, it would be with his own crowd. So, for him to show up here, spending the evening with Matthias and the others- there had to be a reason.
And now, that reason was clear as day.
If before she’d still had a sliver of doubt about whether Caleb really liked Celeste–then now, she had her
answer.
1
Caleb truly liked her.
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
