Page 20 of Christmas Wishes

Keaton’s cocky smile made my dick take notice. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

I didn’t say reply. Just scarfed more chili down while Keaton watched me, smiling.

“My best friend and I got laid off from our jobs and decided to send each other on a trip before job hunting. Part of the deal is we dared each other to do something. I sent him to the town where his late dad’s family lives—a dad he never knew—in hopes he’ll get to meet them for the first time. He sent me here with the challenge of finally creating social media accounts for beauty content and making some videos.”

That explained why his friend made the reservation. It had sounded weird at the time, but now it made sense.

“Here I am, with tons of time to make content, and I’m coming up empty. There are so many beauty influencers. Why would anyone care what I have to say?”

“No one else is you.” I tipped my head back and washed the cornbread down with several gulps of water. When I set the glass down, I noticed Keaton studying me with his head tilted.

“You might not say a lot, but your words sure pack a fucking punch.” He let out a small laugh while shaking his head. “You should’ve been a therapist.”

I scowled. “Fuck no. Too much school.”

“Sure, because being an electrician doesn’t require a lot of training.” He rolled his eyes.

Did he just compliment my job? The guy was full of surprises.

Keaton tapped his fingers against his chin. “I need to figure out what makes me, well, me. I need an angle.”

I had no doubt he would come up with one. Keaton seemed like someone who knew exactly who he was. That was something we had in common.

* * *

KEATON

No one else is you.

Well, slap my ass and call me Sally. In one sentence, Riggs managed to point out an escape hatch to the maze of excuses my brain had constructed.

I gave the poor man a few minutes of silence while he shoveled down dinner. I wasn’t sure what he liked to eat, but Mom’s chili had always hit the spot after a long, cold winter day when I was growing up. I’d hoped it would work for him, and judging by the pleased noises he made while practically licking his bowl, it had.

My mind plugged those noises into NSFW scenarios that required far fewer clothes. I bet I could pull the best noises from him.

Aside from my dick taking notice of Riggs—like it could ignore a man with that much presence—a warmth spread through my belly as I watched him eat. I always enjoyed feeding Arlo, but Riggs eating something I’d made gave me an entirely different satisfaction.

The longer the silence went on, the louder a niggling voice in my brain became.

He paused with his last cornbread square in front of his mouth. “What?”

“What what?”

“You’re squirming.” A ghost of a smile crossed Riggs’s face.

I held his stare but cracked almost immediately. “I found something in Nicolas’s coat,” I blurted out.

He ceased chewing as his entire body went eerily still. “What did you find?”

“A note.” I hurried over to where I’d carefully tucked the note in a folder with guest directions on using the kitchen appliances and brought it back to him. “I can leave if you want to read it privately.”

Riggs’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “Is it bad?”

“Not at all. Since it was in his coat…” I trailed off.

“It’s fine.” He stared at the paper. “Uh, thanks.”

“Mm-hmm.”

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