Page 142 of Holiday Hire

I announce, "Ace is at Mason's and Wilder's at Jagger's."

She scrunches her face. "They're staying at Mason's and Jagger's?"

"Yep."

"They've never mentioned staying at their place. Do they do it often?"

I puff my chest out. "No, they don't. And it's because my brothers are usually out at night, but not tonight."

She studies me harder. "So… They just volunteered to each take one of the boys?" She arches her eyebrows.

My stomach flips. I lower my voice again. "Well, you know they know about us."

Her face falls.

I quickly add, "You know how they saw us kiss the first night?"

"Yeah, I know," she admits.

I continue, "Okay, so I made a bet with them, and they lost."

"You really do have a gambling problem," she teases.

"I won," I remind her.

"Yeah, but you seem to always be betting."

"Only on calculated risks...bets I'm sure I'll win," I confidently state.

She points out, "But you lost the race and your money to me."

I wave my hand in front of our faces. "Minor setback. Anyway, they lost. The boys will stay with them for the night, and we get to have a hot date."

Her face lights up. She asks, "How hot are we talking?"

"Superhot, and full of Christmas trivia."

She bursts out laughing again.

I wiggle my eyebrows. "It was pretty smart of me, huh?" I grin bigger.

She snickers. "Yeah. Pretty smart."

I glance around and then lean back into her ear. "So it's a date? And if I win, I'll take my prize. If an act of God happens and I lose, then I'll take my punishment like a good boy."

She turns her face, inches from my lips. "Sounds like a date."

I almost kiss her but stop myself. Anybody could be looking, so I remind myself to wait until we're out tonight. "I'll pick you up at seven." I wink and then strut across the yard, excited I get adult time with Phoebe.

Plus, we'll have the house to ourselves tonight. It's hard to constantly be sneaking around. Someone in my family is always around the corner, ready to interrupt us.

It's been two weeks, and I hate every moment I have to pretend like we're just platonic. We're not anywhere near just friends.

I go over to the corral. Mason and Jagger are inside it, running three horses. I lean against the fence, assessing things. A few minutes pass, and then Phoebe sidles up next to me.

"Pheebs, is there something I can do for you?"

"Yeah. Where are we going, so I know what to wear?"

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