Page 26 of Christmas Wishes

Keaton’s lips twisted into a cocky smile. Then it hit me why he was asking. That damn Christmas wish.

“What about you? Is there a Mr. Chef in the picture?”

He pressed his fingers against his chest. “Chef? You’re so sweet. And no. You think anyone could handle this full-time?” He dragged his hand down his body. I tracked every inch.

“Why wouldn’t someone?”

A flicker of vulnerability passed on his face. “Guys usually like me for a fun time but not much else.”

“Their loss.”

One side of Keaton’s mouth lifted in a grateful smile.

We fell silent for a few minutes. Before, I would’ve given a toe for that silence, but now I wanted him to talk.

After savoring my last bite of meatloaf, I cleared my throat. “How’s the beauty influencer stuff going?”

Keaton crumpled on himself, and I immediately regretted the question. I fought the urge to pull him onto my lap to console him. Ridiculous urge.

“Fine, I guess. Bought some makeup today at the holiday bazaar.”

“From Evie?”

Keaton grew more animated again. “Yes! I really like it so far. She mentioned she cleans for you?”

“Yeah. She’s great. I’m sure things will start flowing for you. You’ll find inspiration.”What am I saying?

“I hope so.”

“I was thinking I might have a way to get you better natural light. There’s a table in the garage that I could put in front of that big window in the nook by the living room. Would that help?” I had to look away from the hearts shooting out of his eyes.

“That would be great. Can we look now?”

I stood and carried my damn-near-licked-clean plate to the dishwasher. “Of course. Grab your coat.”

Chapter15

Keaton

Peppermint popcorn wasmy new favorite snack. I shoved another handful into my mouth as I strolled through the holiday bazaar again. I might need to get another bag.

“Morning, Keaton!”

“Morning, Rick! How’s traffic today?” I stopped and admired his wooden bowls and cutting boards. There were a couple of new designs I hadn’t seen yesterday. Mom might like the one that had flowers burned into it.

“Not bad. A senior center in Flagstaff bused in first thing, and we’ll probably get tourists stopping in on the way home from the mountain later.”

I grimaced. “I’ll be keeping my distance from the mountain.”

Rick laughed. “Not a skier?”

“Hell no. Learned my lesson as a kid, and I’ve stayed away since.” Decades later, anytime my family talked about skiing, my blood pressure sky rocketed.

A customer approached, so I waved and continued wandering. Several more vendors greeted me as I passed. I was surprised they remembered me from Doris’s introductions yesterday.

“Welcome back!” Evie perked up as I approached her table. Her makeup display looked as great as yesterday. I was curious if she had any new stock out that I hadn’t seen before.

“Thanks! Figured I’d come back to loiter again. How’s it going today?”

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