Page 6 of The Holiday Fail

“You have a really expressive face,” he added with a chuckle.

Well, that answeredthatquestion, though it was only one on the long list to figure out what the hell I was doing here, but I had to ask the most important one first. “So, we really didn’tsleeptogether?”

While I wasn’t a prude about sex, I wasn’t happy about the idea of potentially doing it at my family’s B&B. It just felt wrong somehow.

“We didn’t. All we did was sleep, I promise,” he said with a cheeky grin. “Besides, I’m not into men. Not that I have a problem with people who are. I just prefer a woman’s body, you know?”

I hummed in reply. Not in agreement with him because I’d known I was gay since before I knew what love was, so I didnot, in fact, understand the appeal of a woman’s body, but whatever floated his boat.

Now that he mentioned it, the pain in my ass had disappeared, so it was likely from landing on my bum when I fell off the bed. And if we had slept together, it wouldn’t make sense for both of us to be fully clothed now.

Letting out a huge sigh of relief, I flattened my wrinkled T-shirt. My gaze flicked to anywhere besides his, feeling utterly ashamed by this entire situation.

The man had helped me last night and here I was, blaming him for the rough start of my morning. I wasn’t usually this suspicious, but maybe the breakup had affected me more than I wanted to admit.

I wasn’t even especially heartbroken either. I liked the guy just fine. He was my type, fifteen years older than me and screamed confidence, but it wasn’t like I wasin love with him. I was just tired of dating all these guys and feeling like I was being used for my body.

That was the problem with dating older men, at least for me. Most of them learned of my age and never took me seriously, thinking I only wanted something casual when it was the complete opposite.

But those were hot shower thoughts for later. I had other things to focus on right now. I peeked at the man, and he was watching me quietly. A smile splayed across his face, like he still found this situation funny.

“Anyway, thank you for, you know, making sure I was safe. I’ll get out of your hair now,” I said, then looked around for my things.

Thankfully, my phone and wallet were on the nightstand. I quickly pocketed them and strode to the door but paused before leaving. Guilt was eating at me for leaving like this when he’d been nothing but helpful.

I let out a quiet sigh of frustration, then turned around and walked to the small table in the corner where I knew we kept a writing pad and pen for our guests. I jotted down my number, tore the paper from the pad, then handed it to the stranger.

“If you’re around later, text me, and I’ll treat you to drinks or something as thanks for last night,” I said. And then, this time, I really did stride out the door, leaving the man standing there holding my number.

I hoped he left town soon and left this awkward memory where it belonged, never to be mentioned again.

Chapter Four

ANDY

The way he practically ran out of my room had me shaking my head and chuckling at the already-closed door. It was like he thought I was going to eat him or something. Never mind the fact that I’d told him I wasn’t interested in men.

There was that one time my ex-coworker and I had a drunken make-out session that did absolutely nothing for me. I didn’t have a problem with men who liked other men, but as I told him earlier, there was something about holding a woman in my arms.

Cuddling with the unknown stranger last night wasn’t too bad either, but that was a fluke. I’d slept through the night when I thought I’d be tossing and turning until dawn.

It was most likely because of the stress about my first day at the B&B—which I was still worried about—but after a restful night’s sleep, the thought of starting work today didn’t feel as overwhelming.

I looked at the ripped piece of paper in my hand, and the number haphazardly scrawled on it. It was nice that he wantedto repay me for making sure he was safe last night, but it wasn’t needed.

I wasn’t here to make friends. The next six months were about focusing on my career and being the best damn chef this B&B had seen.

Even if this was a small place in the middle of nowhere, getting a raving recommendation for running a professional kitchen would help me make the big splash I wanted back in the city. This was the first step in moving up in my career, which meantno distractions.

And if yesterday was anything to go by, the fireball of a man from last night would make my life way more complicated than I needed. He seemed nice, though maybe a little bit of a handful, which I didn’t need.

So, I crumpled up the tiny piece of paper and tossed it in the trash. He didn’t need to thank me, and I was probably never going to see him again anyway. It was better to end that connection there and chalk last night up to an unusual experience.

Seeing I still had plenty of time before my shift started, I entered my ensuite bathroom and took a long hot shower.

The room wasn’t huge, but it was decorated to the nines and gave off a homey vibe. I understood why the place was so popular. And, hopefully, with the temptation of the new menu I had planned for the place, Fated Encounters B&B would only grow as the ‘it’ holiday destination.

With ten minutes until the scheduled time, I made my way down the flight of stairs. Photos of who I assumed were previous guests lined the walls. I even caught sight of some familiar celebrities smiling with the owners.

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