Page 5 of Christmas for Keeps

“No worries. My pleasure.”

Fuck! Who says “my pleasure”? Way to impress him after all this time.

Is Connor Wells really sitting beside me, or did that car hit me harder than I thought? Maybe it knocked me unconscious, and this is a dream.

We rode in silence while I peeked at him out of the corners of my eyes. It was Connor, no doubt. A few times, he turned in his seat and looked like he wanted to say something, but he remained quiet.

One of us had to break the silence, so I asked, “Where are you going in Stowe?”

“Eagle High Lodge.”

I whistled. “That’s a fancy place.”

“Is it? It looks amazing online. A friend and I had planned to spend the week there, but she lives in Chicago and the airports closed because of the storm.”

I barely contained a relieved sigh. For a second, I thought he was about to say his friend was a guy. Hearing about Connor and another man would have been hard.

Come on! It’s been four years. Of course he’s dated other guys.

“Too bad she couldn’t come,” I said. Brake lights shone ahead, and I took my foot off the accelerator. After we coasted to a stop, I looked at him. “So, you’re here alone?”

“Yes, unfortunately.”

I chewed my lip while I thought that over. “What will you do all week since she won’t be here?”

“I’m not sure.” He kept his eyes straight ahead. “Find activities for one, I guess.”

Since we weren’t moving, I checked him out.Damn, he looks so fucking good.Con had filled out in the best way. His usually perfect sandy-blond hair was tousled from the wind, and I wanted to run my fingers through it. The blue eyes and fair skin that had haunted my dreams for years were even more beautiful than they used to be. He may have been sitting beside me, but I missed him more than ever.

We never got to say goodbye.

His long nose and bow-shaped lips made my mind frolic with memories of kissing him, and my heart juddered. “We could spend some time together this week if you’d like.”

He turned toward me, his round-eyed expression signaling his surprise. “What?”

Traffic started moving, and I accelerated carefully before answering. “We could hang out. I’d love to show you around town.”

He pursed his lips but didn’t look away. “I don’t know, Zach. It’s been a long time.”

Glancing over, I tried for a charming smile. “Surely you aren’t implying that walking around alone would be preferable to my company. Have I gotten ugly or something?”

He caught his lower lip with his teeth and shook his head, then broke into a genuine smile. “Far from it. You look even more amazing than you used to.”

Wow! I didn’t think I’d ever see that grin again. And did he really say I look amazing?

“You’ll consider it, then?” I asked. “I promise to be on my best behavior.”

“That’s a laugh. You don’t even know what good behavior is.”

I snickered. “How would you know? Maybe I’ve learned in the last four years.”

He scoffed and widened his grin. “Have you had a personality transplant? I can tell from the look on your face that you’re still up to no good. You probably moved to Vermont because you got thrown out of New York.”

“Hey! First, you used to like the look on my face. And for your information, I didn’t get thrown out of New York.”

“Likely story.”

I rolled my eyes and sighed dramatically. “You probably got thrown out of Boston, which is why you’re sneaking up here. Are you making a run for the Canadian border?”

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