Page 20 of Christmas for Keeps

Knowing I was allergic, Con raised an eyebrow. “You have a cat?”

“Kinda, sorta. He’s homeless, but he comes around every day or two. I put out food and water for him. He’s really friendly, so I pet him.”

“How can you do that? Don’t you get sick?”

I shook my head. “As long as I wash my hands right away, I’m fine.”

“Can I meet him?”

“Sure. He was here yesterday morning, so we’ll probably see him tonight.”

Con put on a smile that made me long to kiss him. “You always were a softie,” he said. “It’s one of the many things I like about you.”

Like! Present tense!“Why thank you, Con. I think you’re pretty cool too.”

I held up a fist, and he bumped it. “Thanks for rescuing me too,” he said. “At least I’ll be more talkative than Jackie.”

I laughed. “I’m so glad you’re here. It’s great to see you, and I get lonely living out in the sticks.”

He snickered and reached for his coffee. “There’s always… what’s his name… Emerson?”

“Oh God!” I wailed. “Emory.”

“Yeah, whatever. The way he looked at us last night, I halfway expect him to come back and kick our asses.”

“Fuck him.” I laughed again. “You know, I should be flattered because I’m sure he’d be the perfect guy for someone. But I’ve tried every way I can imagine to let him know I’m not interested, and he still won’t let it go.”

“Now that your cute boyfriend is here, maybe he’ll finally take the hint.” My mouth fell open, and Con’s cheeks flamed. He quickly added, “Oh my God, I am sorry! I didn’t mean it like that. I… you know…”

As flustered as he was, that comment had to be loaded with meaning.Don’t make a big fuss. Keep things cool and give him time to come around.I winked. “Don’t worry. We’re boyfriends emeritus, like we said last night. I heard helping each other out of awkward situations is one of a boyfriend emeritus’s main duties.”

He chortled. “Have you ever actuallyheardof a boyfriend emeritus?”

“Sure, when I said it last night.”

Snickering again, he shook his head. “Zachary Harris, you were always a mess.”

I winked again. “And you always loved it, Connor Wells.”

We put our feet on the coffee table and alternated between listening to the logs pop and talking about our lives. I told him about a trip to Maine I’d taken in the fall. A University of Maine alumnus had asked me to paint the hockey arena, so I went to Orono to check it out. Afterward, I drove around and found a beautiful river scene to paint.

Con told me about his students and all they were learning. It sounded like his enthusiastic class kept him busy, but he clearly loved his work.

“Is it as good as you always thought it would be?” I asked.

“Even better. No comparison to what I thought.”

“I’m glad you’re happy.”

Stop beating around the bush. Launch into a talk about what happened between you.

No. He said we’d talk later, and I should give him the opportunity to keep his word. If he doesn’t bring it up, I’ll mention it tomorrow.

Needing to move around, I asked, “What do you feel like doing today? I need to shovel the porch and dig a path to the Land Cruiser, but after that I’m all yours.”

“I can help. Do you have two shovels?”

Putting on a snarky grin, I said, “I told you yesterday that—”

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