Page 66 of Christmas Wishes

“Thank you.”

She noticed the container of scones and Keaton’s note and smiled. “Keaton is an amazing young man. He’s breathed new life into this town and several of us.”

“He has.”

Doris took a step closer to me. “You should give him a chance.”

I hadn’t told her about anything that had happened between Keaton and me, but surely, she could see how I felt about him. Anyone could if they watched me look at him for half a second. “A chance for what? He’s only here temporarily.” Less than seventy-two hours because, yes, I’d begun counting.

She placed her soft hand on my forearm and stared into my eyes. There was a seriousness there I hadn’t seen since she told me how worried she was about Nico’s stomach pains. My throat burned at the memory.

“Lots of people are in places temporarily until they have a reason to stay. Sweetheart, what if, this time, you’re the reason someone stays?”

I didn’t dare hope for that, but fuck, I wanted to.

Chapter33

Keaton

“What about this one?”I dipped my head back and dramatically draped my hands over my clavicle and neck with a snowplow as my backdrop. Riggs snapped another picture with my phone, shaking his head, but his amused smile gave him away. Bless him for playing along with my impromptu photo shoot.

We’d arrived at the ski resort about twenty minutes ago. The sun peeked through clouds, providing moments of warmth in the below-freezing temperatures. I strutted like a peacock in the coat Riggs had bought for me. I couldn’t believe he’d done that. At first, I’d thought it was because he wanted to keep Nico’s coat—understandably—but didn’t want me cold on my trip home. But then he’d melted my fucking heart by saying I needed a secure pocket for my phone so I could get footage for possible content and the pockets on Nico’s coat were trashed. I’d never wanted to swoon so hard in my life. I’d fallen even harder for the man with the marshmallow center.

The most surprising part was that it was a coat I would’ve picked out for myself. A light sage green with charcoal lining.

“How’s my Blue Steel?” I attempted the iconicZoolanderpose while Riggs laughed again and snapped another picture with my phone. As long as he kept laughing, I’d keep acting goofy.

“Exceptional.” He smiled and took more photos. The perfect Instagram boyfriend.

That thought sobered me. I wanted that, god, I wanted that. Not the time to dwell on things out of my reach.

“If I’m going to be shitting my pants, I might as well look hot doing it. Thanks to you, I do.” I strutted over to Riggs and kissed his cold cheek.

I shoved my hands into my pockets and brushed the sunscreen tube. “Oh! I almost forgot. I want to film a little thing. Judith’s niece sells sunscreen. Can you record me talking about it?”

“Of course.” He smiled from underneath his black beanie that matched his nondescript black coat. Not a single flicker of annoyance. I didn’t understand it.

He aimed my phone at me, and I began talking about how smoothly the sunscreen spread onto my skin without leaving a significant white cast or feeling like plaster. I shared what Judith had told me about her niece, that it was a small-batch business, and I was enjoying the product so far.

“Sunscreen is critical when doing activities on the mountains because you’re closer to the sun at this elevation. And I’m pretty sure there’s something scientific about light reflecting off the snow. This is the start of my mountain trip, and I’ll be sure to record footage throughout to show how it’s holding up. I’ll show how my skin is looking tomorrow too. I’ve got a good feeling about this one!” I signaled for Riggs to stop recording.

“You did great.”

I preened. “Yeah? Thanks.”

“Honestly? You’re a natural. I was about to hand you my wallet to buy some.” Riggs contorted his face into weird expressions like he was testing the confines of his skin elasticity. “It felt nice when you applied it to me.”

I laughed. “I’m glad you think so.”

He handed me back my phone. “I’ve never been more hyperaware of my skin than since I met you.”

“You’re welcome…” I said with a lilt at the end.

“I like that you’re talking about the local products. You should keep making videos about that. Aren’t most beauty videos about big brands? You could focus on promoting small businesses instead.” Riggs held his gloved hand above his eyes and looked toward the ski rental shop. Casual, like he hadn’t uttered a few brief sentences that rocked my world.

That idea niggled at something in my brain and pinged my branding bell, which was a huge leap toward figuring my shit out. He was right. I could focus on using skincare and makeup products exclusively made by small businesses. The same could work for my crochet projects if I actually got deeper into that. Doris had mentioned there were people in the area who spun and dyed their own. I wouldn’t know where to begin making connections like that back in Minneapolis, but here, Doris knew everyone.

Riggs dropped his hand. “Time to quit stalling and start skiing. There’s childhood trauma to tackle. Let’s get you geared up.”

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