Page 21 of One Christmas Eve
“You look like you’re having a good time,” she said.
He leaned closer so he could do the not-sober version of a whisper. “I think you look incredibly sexy tonight.”
“And I think you’re a lightweight.”
“Thank you. I work out every morning.”
Oh, she’d definitely spent enough time checking out his body to be aware of that. “I meant with regard to alcohol. I don’t think you’re much of a drinker.”
“I’m not, but I wanted to be friendly. When you’re the new guy trying to make himself at home in a new community, you don’t want to refuse the local customs.”
“Local customs?” She laughed. “Drinking Abe’s holiday punch is less of a local custom and more a way for the guys to survive Christmas Charades.”
“Christmas Charades?” His mouth quirked up in one corner as he took a step closer. “Is there also Christmas Twister?”
The mental image of their arms and legs tangled together was in no way diminished by the thought of a cheap plastic mat with colored dots. “No Twister, sadly.”
“How about Spin the Bottle?” He was slowly moving toward her and she didn’t back up. “Truth or Dare? Or that other game...what’s its name? The one where I get to make out with you in a coat closet?”
If she didn’t think too much about what Abe might have stowed in his coat closet, Zoe might have been on board with that party game. But she didn’t want to encourage Preston in his obvious state of intoxication, so she didn’t tellhimthat. “Sounds like you know how to show a girl a fun time.”
“I want to have a fun time withyou.”
Even though he was drunk, the words thrilled her. “Yeah, you’ve definitely had enough to drink, and I know you drove since I saw your car out the window. Since you don’t strike me as the kind of guy who’ll happily crash on Abe’s floor, how are you planning to get home?”
“I should grab an Uber.”
She laughed, shaking her head. “Good luck with that, city boy. Give me your keys and I’ll drive you home.”
“You said my car is boring,” he said, frowning, even as he dug his keys out of his pocket.
She grinned and snagged the fob out of his hand. “Not with me driving it.”
Once they had their coats, she stood by Preston’s side as he thanked their host for inviting him. Abe, who’d probably been sampling his own punch all day, had no idea who Preston was, but hugged him hard and thanked him for showing up, promising to see him soon.
A few people waved to Zoe as she and Preston left—including Carly, of course—and she waved back without stopping. People were definitely going to talk, but she didn’t care.
“Wait,” Preston said as she pulled onto the main road. “I don’t know where I live. I mean, I know where I live. I don’t remember my address.”
“I know where you live. And put your seatbelt on.”
He did as he was told, and then he leaned close. “You know where I live? Do you follow me around?”
She laughed, enjoying drunk Preston a lot more than she would have imagined. “Yes, I follow you around. Or, my grandfather owns the house you’re renting and Carly lived there before you did.”
It didn’t take long to get to his house, but she was surprised he wasn’t snoring by the time she pulled in the drive.
Instead he was frowning. “If you go home, I won’t have my car tomorrow.”
“You really do like to plan ahead when it comes to problems, don’t you?” When he gave her a questioning look, she shook her head. “Never mind. Maybe I’ll have to crash at your place so you’ll have your car and you can buy me breakfast before you drive me home.”
That must have worked for him, since he got out of the car. It looked like he was going to walk around and open her door for her, but he wasn’t moving very quickly and she was already out and hitting the key fob to lock up the car when he reached her.
They walked into the house together, and it didn’t look much different than when Carly lived there, except the furniture was expensive leather and he didn’t have anything in the way of knickknacks. Or anything hung on the walls, which she was pleasantly surprised to see he had yet to paint gray.
“Dammit, I don’t have any mistletoe.”
He looked so disappointed in himself, she had to laugh. “Do you still have that tie?”
