Page 64 of Christmas Wishes

Keaton: Honestly? Me neither.

Arlo: You okay?

Keaton: I have to be. My flight is in three days.

You can have more time if you want it. Riggs isn’t going anywhere.

Sure, in theory, I could stick around Juniper Ridge and get to know Riggs better, but he had his own life and routine. I’d disrupted it like an avalanche. We’d been having a great time together, but it was a vacation fling. He wouldn’t want to put up with me in the long term.

I dropped back onto the bed and watched the video several more times before I forced myself to finish gathering things before Doris and her friends arrived. A little voice in the back of my mind told me it wasn’t convinced that Riggs would get tired of me. But could I believe that voice? No one had wanted me before.

Chapter32

Keaton

Doris and her two friends,Esther and Judith, ooh’d and ahh’d over the products from my personal collection that I’d placed in the center of Riggs’s dining-room table. Each had a makeup station in front of them with mirrors they’d brought from home, their own products, and a few things I’d gotten from Evie.

I was glad the snow had melted enough for this to happen. We’d originally planned to gather at the senior center, but it was too busy with people prepping for Saturday’s Lights Up event. When Doris had cornered Riggs while he was working on a cottage to ask if we could converge at his place, he’d agreed. I doubted he could say no to Doris on anything. She’d given an excuse about her home not being fit for company, despite her living much closer to town. I doubted that, given how immaculate her home was when we’d been there only a week ago.

Twenty minutes ago, when Doris arrived with bags of food for Riggs’s freezer and some baked goods, I understood why she’d wanted into his space. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’d wanted the excuse to check on how Riggs was living. I’d be even less surprised if she nosily wanted to look for signs that something was going on between us. She’d asked leading questions when I was helping with the cottages, just shy of directly asking if we were fucking, but I’d played it cool. It was Riggs’s decision on whether to share anything about us. Though I wasn’t sure what there was to the “us.”

Esther selected a foundation at least two shades too light for her umber skin. Since I hadn’t known what Esther and Judith looked like, I hadn’t been sure what colors I would need. Between Esther’s and Judith’s dark-brown skin and Doris’s lighter hue, my olive-toned makeup wouldn’t be of much use to them. Thankfully, Evie had graciously lent me her set of testers to play with.

“One of the biggest changes to keep in mind about makeup as our skin changes is that you might need to buy different products than you’re used to. Doris, mind if I use you for an experiment?”

“Notice how he’s trying to avoid saying we’re getting old?” Doris stage-whispered to her friends before grinning at me. “I’m your guinea pig.”

I scooted my chair next to hers and spent a few minutes applying the product she brought on half of her face and my products on the other half. “Using cream-based makeup makes a huge difference to minimize texture on the skin. Take a look.”

Doris raised her mirror. “Oh wow.” She turned her face from side to side while checking out the comparison.

Esther pressed her finger to Doris’s cheek where I’d used the cream makeup. “You look ten years younger on this half!” She turned to me. “How did you do this?”

I grinned. “I’ll show you. The key is liquids, creams, and thin layers. Powder-based foundations and eyeshadows are what we’re used to but aren’t always the best choice. Foundations that are thick like syrup can be difficult to use with textured skin too. It takes more effort to find good products, but it’s worth it.”

For the next half an hour, I helped them color-match products and taught a few new-to-them application techniques. They asked thoughtful questions between banter only formed after a decades-long friendship.

I was having an absolute blast. God, I’d love to do something like this for a job.So, do it.Yeah, right. It would be another thing I’d fail at or abandon.

“How is your skin so…?” Judith snapped her fingers like she was trying to conjure the word. “I heard it on a video my granddaughter was watching. Damp? No. That’s not right.”

“Dewy?” I suggested.

“Yes! I didn’t understand what the word meant, but now that I see your skin up close, I think I do. How do you do that?”

I laughed. “Honestly, most people with great skin are blessed with good genetics. Photo filters and a strong skincare routine make a big difference too.”

Esther grimaced. “I wish I would’ve taken sunscreen seriously younger.” She reached over and gripped my forearm. “For the love of chocolate truffles, please put sunscreen on your neck, not just your face.”

Doris and Judith enthusiastically agreed.

“Don’t worry, I do. That’s the good thing about the internet. It’s a lot easier to learn from people’s experiences since everything is online these days.”

Judith rummaged in her purse and pulled out a small bottle. “My niece makes sunscreen.” She handed me the half-empty container. The label was an eye-catching illustration of a sun shining over a beautiful cactus.

“So cool! Does she sell it anywhere in town? I’ll pick some up to try.”

“Take that one. If you like it, I’ll get you more.” Judith smiled widely.

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