Page 24 of Mistletoe Kisses

“Wow, would you look at the time? I’ve got an appointment. Very busy out in the middle of nowhere snowmageddon, Arizona.”

“Yeah, yeah.” I laughed. Keaton could always cheer me up.

“You okay?”

“I will be. Thanks, Keat.”

“You’re welcome. Don’t let this opportunity pass you by. You’re halfway through your week. Spend the rest of it finding your place in the family.”

I let out a long breath. “I’ll try.”

How was my week already halfway over? I couldn’t believe it was almost time to go back home to no job, no prospects, no Lucas. The wildest part of the week wasn’t that I’d met two members of my family, but rather that I’d met someone and attached to him so quickly that I was already sad about leaving him. Lucas had made a lasting impression on me in an incredibly short amount of time. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt so seen by someone who hadn’t known me for years.

I was most comfortable fading into the background, but Lucas made me want to stick my toe into the spotlight.

“How are things going with your Airbnb host? Awkward since your first run-in?”

Keaton groaned. “It’s going fine. It’s not fair that I’m under the same roof with someone so ridiculously hot, but he probably wishes I were less chatty.”

“Your chattiness is one of my favorite things about you.”

“Aww, thanks, babe. How’s it going with the server with a heart of gold and the bucket of cold milk?”

“That’s mean,” I said through laughter.

“Come on. You can’t expect me not to bring that up at least weekly for the next year. I’ll be laughing about it for the rest of our lives. I mean, you got hot sauce on your dick. You’re lucky you didn’t also touch your eyes.”

That would have been horrific. Stumbling around the restroom with my penis out and unable to see anything while groaning in agony?

“Lucas is nice to me.”

“Of course he is because he’s smart and you’re easy to be nice to.”

“Our old boss didn’t think so.”

Keaton made an angry sound. “He doesn’t count because he didn’t deserve your kindness. He was a thundercunt. A twatwaffle. Captain of the douchecanoe express.”

My laughter echoed in the car.

“It’s the truth!”

My layoff still hurt. That job was supposed to be the star of fulfilling a lifetime dream. The library had been my safe space as a kid. I’d considered going into library sciences, but that hadn’t been quite the right fit. I didn’t have the chops to be a writer, but I wanted to be a part of the book world. Being involved in creating books by working at a publishing house—even if my actual role hadn’t been part of the creative side—should’ve been the ultimate job. But everything about that world had disappointed me. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get close to actually working with the books. The whole thing left me more jaded about the industry and ready to make a career change.

“What are you doing tonight?” Keaton asked.

“I’m going to an event at the bookstore. Lucas is coming with me.”

Keaton whistled. “Hell yeah, you are. You’ll call me with a full report tonight?”

“Okay.”

“Good luck. You’re strong and brave. You’ve got this, A.”

“Thanks, Keat.” If only I could believe him.

Chapter10

Lucas

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