Page 22 of Christmas for Keeps

Remember the kiss? No worries. There’s no way I can forget it.

CHAPTER7

Connor

“Want to take a shower?”Zach asked as we hung up our coats. “We need to change into dry clothes, and a shower will help warm us up.”

Does he mean one shower or two?“That sounds great, but…Zach?”

His eyes widened. “Oh shit! I didn’t mean—”

“You go first. I’ll make hot chocolate.”

He didn’t move. “I’ll make it. You don’t know where the ingredients are.”

“I saw the cocoa when I put the sugar away this morning. You got wetter than I did outside, so get out of those clothes before you catch pneumonia. I’ll leave a mug on the dresser for you.”

“If you say so.” He smiled, and when he stepped closer, I bent over to take off my boots. I couldn’t let him kiss me again—not yet. “Get in there.”

Ten minutes later, I carried a mug to the bedroom and knocked on the door. The shower had stopped running, and I didn’t want to walk in on him naked. When he didn’t answer, I peeked inside; since the room was empty, I went in and set the chocolate on the dresser. Footsteps startled me, and when I spun around, I nearly jumped out of my skin.

Holy. Shit.Zach stood in the bathroom door wearing only a towel slung low on his hips, and like a deer caught in the headlights, I couldn’t look away. His muscles were more defined than they used to be, and he had more hair on his chest. My traitorous eyes swept down his body, and—oh God!Incredible washboard abs, a tantalizing V below them, and exposed skin at the tops of his hips all begged for attention.

I was ready to drop to my knees, but then Zach said my name. Meeting his gaze, I swallowed noisily as he stepped closer, a move that jolted me into action. With a nod toward the dresser, I stammered, “Your chocolate is right there. Sorry. I thought you were still in the bathroom, so... I’m… I’ll...” My racing heart made it impossible to say anything else, so I headed for the door.

“Con, stop. It’s okay.”

I kept my gaze fixed straight ahead and kept walking. I was torn between hoping he wouldn’t follow and longing for him to do just that.

Stupid, stupid, stupid! What was I thinking?Zach was hotter than fire, and the mere sight of him had obliterated my determination. I was dangerously close to turning around and running toward him instead of leaving the room.It has to be wrong to want him this much.

It was hard to believe how much he still turned me on, but all I had to do was think about how my dick was throbbing in my pants to know it was real. Breathing hard, I retraced my steps to the great room and collapsed into a leather chair while I tried to catch my breath.

After a moment, I head footsteps. “Con?”

I turned my head and looked at him. “I’m sorry for coming in there and then running away.”

Zach, dressed in sweatpants and a Columbia sweatshirt, crossed the room and knelt beside me. “I’m sorry I spooked you. For the record, I was trying to get to my clothes. I’d never try to force myself on you.”

“I know that. Don’t apologize. I’m being stupid. It isn’t like I haven’t seen you in a towel before, but things are so different now.”

“No question about that.” He took my hand and asked, “Does it have to be weird? Can’t we fix things?”

I glanced away and took my hand back. “What do you mean?”

“To start with, we… Con, please look at me. I’ll be able to talk better if I can see your eyes.”

Facing him again, I sighed. “Go on.”

“We need to stop tiptoeing around each other. We can’t change how we drifted apart, but we shared four incredible years before that.”

“Yes we did.”

“You must know I still have feelings for you, but if we can only be friends, let’s do that. Anything else would be foolish.”

His words cut through the chaos in my mind, and I nodded. “Agreed, but I really need a shower. Give me ten minutes? Then we can talk.”

“Good deal.”

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