Page 58 of Here Comes Santa Paws

I blinked. “About what?” My smile grew the longer Roman glared at me.

We paused at the walkway to his front door. I stepped closer until his body heat chased away the edge of the cold. “Want to come over and collect your prize?” I waggled my eyebrows and laughed when Roman swatted my ass.

“Let me put her back at my place, then I’ll come over.”

He did, and he collected his prize. Twice. As we’d cuddled after, talking about how well Carol did on the walk, I ignored the negative feelings circling the edges of my mind. I didn’t want to waste any time with him being sad. I’d deal with that mess later because, for now, I had Roman in the flesh to snuggle with.

Chapter 24

Roman

The pleasant warmthbuzzing through my veins as Elias and I stood in line for beer tastings was from more than the space heaters dotting the colorful tents, the dense crowd enjoying the drinks, or the cider tasting coursing through me. Elias stood in front of me with his back pressed firmly against my chest. I told myself my tight grip on his hip was to keep from being jostled in line and had nothing to do with a primitive possessiveness.

Elias bobbed and swayed along to the live band performing popular covers, which didn’t help me ignore how much I enjoyed his body. I’d even found myself humming along to songs a time or two. Elias spared me the pain of his commenting on it, which I appreciated.

A group of people squeezed past us with tasting trays in the shape of candy canes, and we shuffled closer to the tables. A couple of them said hi to Elias as they passed. I knew he was well-known in town, but this was a strong reminder of how integrated he was in the community.

It was nice that we could stand in line in companionable silence and enjoy being there without filling every moment with conversation. Elias seemed to have a sense of when to talk and when to listen. Yet another thing to appreciate about the man.

It took a few more minutes before we got our tasting trays in hand. We then wove through the crowd, and I spotted a small group of people abandoning a pub table. Elias must have as well because he gripped the curve of the candy cane, raised the tasting tray overhead, and bobbed and weaved through people without spilling a drop of beer.

I set my tray on the table and studied the identification sheet they’d handed me. The names made me chuckle. Mad Elf, The Twelve Dogs of Christmas, Peppermint Bark, and Fistmas were among the best.

“Fistmas, the mosthole-yof days,” Elias said with a straight face.

I groaned at the pun. “Terrible.”

I tended to drink them in the order suggested, so I lifted the small taster glass filled with the lightest color. It hit my tastebuds in a smooth wave with a mild bitter flavor chasing the citrus notes. I took another sip and watched Elias, who, of course, had a completely different approach to drinking tasters.

Elias—bless him—sniffed each one before returning to the beginning and taking a dainty sip. Then, he rearranged the tasters and went through with more tastes before making further adjustments. I couldn’t take my eyes off him.

He glanced at me and stilled. “What?”

“Your process fascinates me.”

Elias’s attention darted between his tasting tray and the glass in my hand. “Why? What’s yours?”

I gestured to the printed paper. “Left to right.”

Elias’s nose wrinkled adorably. “But what if I don’t like one of their recommendations, which influences the flavor of a subsequent one I actually like?”

“So you drink the ones you like best first?”

“Exactly!”

I shook my head and didn’t stop the small smile from shifting my lips. It grew when Elias tossed back the IPA and grimaced.

“Not your favorite?”

“I like the ciders better.”

The beer went down easy. I’d had no idea there were so many good microbreweries in the area. I’d lived in Christmas Falls for over two years and hadn’t explored the local beer scene at all. What else had I missed?

We chatted about random topics as we drank our beer. I felt comfortable around Elias, like I’d known him for far longer than the few weeks we’d actually been talking.

Two men with their own tasters approached. “Hey, Elias! Mind if we join you guys?”

“Hey! Of course not. Joel and Hayden, do you know Roman? Roman, these guys recently adopted a cat.”

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