Chapter 7
K eely sat at "their " table, her fingers tapping nervously against the wooden surface. There was no use pretending this was simply a flirtation, a little Christmas fling. Because there was definitely interest on his part, and her part, and it was very likely their parts were going to get together in the near future.
She gulped her coffee, nearly burning her tongue. "That wouldn't be the best timing," she muttered.
She was only nervous because she didn't want to make a wrong move, and how did she even know what the wrong move was? Anyone would be worried about making the wrong move if they didn't know what it was. Right?
"Hi," she heard a sexy voice say.
Sexy and soothing. Making her worries scatter.
"Hi," she said, smiling because she couldn't do anything else. Not when Travis was sitting so close, looking at her as if she was the sexiest woman alive.
"I'm here conducting a survey." His eyes twinkled. "On what is considered the best kissing techniques."
"Well, you've come to the right gal. Because I am the lucky recipient of the best kissing that ever happened in the history of kissing. Just last night, in fact."
"That sounds phenomenal. Do you mind if I take notes?" His lips twitched.
"You can if you'd like. But what I'm about to tell you will blow your socks off, so you might want to hang onto those instead."
Travis rested his chin on his upraised hand. "This is sounding more like an exposé. I can't wait to hear every single word. Don't hold back."
Keely tried to tell her body Travis wasn't saying anything sexy, but it didn't seem to matter, not with that voice. He could be reciting the nutritional info of a blueberry muffin and her lust level would still zoom up to ninety-five million.
"A demonstration is probably best." Keely leaned toward him and pressed a light kiss to his lips. "A kiss is worth more than a thousand words."
"I'll say." He brushed his lips lightly against hers, a gesture even more intimate than the kiss. "I thought today would never get here."
"I know! As a kid, I used to think Christmas Eve was the longest night of the year. But now?"
"Can't even compare."
Keely's phone had the audacity to interrupt their private kiss demonstration. She nearly groaned to see a text from Grandma.
"This better be good," she muttered.
Travis lifted her coffee, silently asking if it was okay for him to have some. She readily agreed, liking the couple-ness of it. She returned to reading Grandma's lament, shaking her head at the same time.
"Everything okay?" he asked.
She looked up from her phone. "Does your customer service extend to being an emergency Santa Claus? Since I'm assuming you still have the suit?"
"Of course. Where's the emergency?"
"My grandmother's book club. They always have some kind of holiday get-together, which is really an excuse for drinking spiked eggnog and reliving their wild days during the sexual revolution." She chuckled. "I'm pretty sure they started the sexual revolution. And I think this 'book club' meets each month so they can work on a tell-all about their escapades."
He grinned. "I can't wait to meet them. When is it?"
"Tonight. Are you sure you don't mind?"
Travis laced his fingers with hers. "Not as long as I've got you as my helper."
"I can do that. I've got some very recent experience as a Santa's helper, in fact."
He winked. "Santa is pretty partial to that sparkly dress you wore."
"Is he? He won't mind seeing it two nights in a row?"
Travis shook his head. "He's thinking of making it part of the dress code for all his helpers next year."
She laughed. "Well, in that case, I will definitely wear it again. It'll also give me a chance to outshine Grandma. It doesn't happen often."
"Really?"
"You'll see."
***
K EELY HAD GIVEN TRAVIS all kinds of warnings about what to expect, but she wasn't sure anyone could be prepared for Grandma's wild crew.
She'd also tried to warn Grandma to be on her best behavior but that might have been a mistake—she and Grandma had wildly different interpretations of "best behavior".
Keely turned to Travis as they stood on the doorstep. He was such a good sport, wearing the red suit, a bag of presents slung over his shoulder.
He was also very close, his lips practically begging for a kiss. She couldn't resist. And there were no objections from Mr. Claus. It wasn't long before they were both breathing heavily.
"We better stop," she said, double-checking that the plate of cookies in her hand hadn't tipped down. "Before Grandma catches us out here."
She shivered at the mayhem that would incite.
"Cold?" He pressed a heated kiss to her temple.
"No. I'm wondering what I've gotten you into." She'd have to run interference so Grandma couldn't scare away Keely's new romantic interest. "And it's not just her..."
Travis laughed. "They can't be worse than Wyatt."
"I'll let you decide." Keely leaned on the doorbell, something she'd done to annoy her grandmother since she was little. She grinned and then did it again.
Grandma was scowling as she answered the door. Until her gaze landed on Travis Claus.
"Good to see you, Santa," Grandma said in a sultry voice. "Come on in. It's been way too long since your last visit."
Travis didn't miss a beat. "I can see I don't have to ask who's been naughty and who's been nice this year."
"Oh, we can be both," one of the other ladies chimed in. "Don't even worry about that."
There were five of them, some dressed like the hippies they were in their younger days, while others had on the latest fashions. All of them, including Grandma, somehow appeared even younger than when they were younger.
Keely clucked her tongue, as if scandalized by the earlier comment, knowing how much they loved it. "There's not enough coal in the world to put in all of your stockings."
"Does anyone wear stockings anymore?" A woman sitting on the couch lifted her leg straight into the air, admiring it before running her hands from ankle to thigh. Thankfully she was wearing pants, not a skirt. Still, it was an impressive exhibition. Keely only hoped there wasn't a stripper pole on the premises for additional demonstrations.
Travis raised his eyebrows, his lips twitching. Keely gave him an "I tried to warn you" gaze. He nodded, clearly enjoying the experience so far.
Grandma turned to Travis. "Coal has its uses. After all, with heat and pressure," she gave his biceps an appreciative squeeze, "you can make diamonds."
"Grandma! You're going to scare Santa away."
"To where? The North—"
"Don't!"
Travis started to laugh, pretty much nullifying Keely's warning.
"Santa, allow me to introduce you to my grandmother, Lascivious."
"It's Lavinia," Grandma said, adding a wink. "That name always seemed like a call to action, challenging me to be as wild as possible. I'm proud to say I did my best."
"That nondisclosure agreement's still in effect, right?" Keely asked.
"Which one?" Grandma's friend yelled from the kitchen.
Keely's eyes opened wide. "How many are there? No, don't tell me. I'm not ready to hear any more of your secrets."
Grandma started to cackle. "I'm not sure which is more fun, flirting with Santa or terrorizing my granddaughter."
"They're one and the same," Keely huffed.
Grandma leaned closer. "Are those cookies for me? I love the pale green frosting."
Just as she reached for one, Keely said, "It's wasabi. I wanted to try something a little different, plus I know how much you love it."
Grandma retracted her fingers. "I hate wasabi."
"Really?" She clucked her tongue. "Such a thin line between love and hate."
Grandma narrowed her eyes, but before she could answer, one of her friends swooped in and snagged a cookie. She took a bite and moaned. "This spearmint flavor is divine. Keely, your cookies are always the best." She took the entire plate and went to share her bounty with the rest of the women.
Keely grinned at her grandma's rueful expression. "Anyone need some eggnog?"
She headed for the kitchen and then spun around. "I'll be right back." It was a warning for Grandma. " Right back." That was a promise to Travis. He gave her a sexy wink, letting her know he was having fun.
She was developing such a huge crush on Santa.
Unfortunately, so was her grandma.
***
T RAVIS CHUCKLED AS he set the bag of presents on the carpet. This was turning out to be a lot more fun than he'd expected. Keely had warned him how spicy her grandmother could get, but it was obvious how much they enjoyed teasing each other.
Grandma grinned. "You're a cutie. You're the one she met on the phone?"
"Yes, a customer service issue. Which I helped resolve."
"With house calls?"
"No," he said with a laugh. "When it was all taken care of, she said she'd buy me coffee if we ever met."
"Thinking it would never happen."
"Probably. So I asked to take her up on it, the next day. I couldn't wait to meet her."
"Fast mover." She gave him a quick perusal. "I approve in this case."
"Why's that?"
"Because she's always trying to be so careful, and that usually involves her talking herself out of something, just to be on the safe side. I've spent my life trying to show her 'the safe side' is way too bland."
He laughed. "I tend to be on the cautious side, too. Some things we have to find out for ourselves."
"Yes, we do. Hopefully one of these days I'll convince her she should be in the spotlight." She gave him another considering look. "Maybe you should be, as well. Ahh, here she is. Did you get the naughty eggnog or the nice?"
"With you around, I have to chug the naughty stuff." Keely winked before taking a swig. "You're completely unbearable otherwise."
Grandma gave her a big kiss on the forehead. "You always say the sweetest things. That's why you're my favorite grandchild."
"I had a fifty-fifty chance of winning that contest." Keely grinned at Travis. "The other one is my cousin. She's even wilder than Grandma. I don't think you like the competition, do you."
"I don't mind it," Grandma said. "It keeps me sharp."
"That's what you think," Keely teased.
"Travis, maybe you'd like to hear about the time the girls and I," Grandma waved a hand towards her friends, "were singing backup for—well, I'm still not allowed to say exactly who it was. We were on the road when the tour bus broke down, and we had to spend the night at this seedy little motel in the middle of nowhere. With only one queen-size bed." Her eyes twinkled. "Something his third wife would not have appreciated."
"Why would we want to hear about that?" Keely interrupted, glancing at Travis, clearly worried what Grandma might reveal.
He bit back a grin.
"To show you I'm still sharp." Grandma smiled as she tapped a finger to her temple. "I've got all the details up here. I haven't forgotten a single one."
"Maybe you should," Keely laughed. "Or save it for your book. You don't want to spill all the good stuff now."
"Don't you worry. There's plenty more."
Keely groaned, but Travis could see her fighting off a smile.
Grandma slipped one arm through Travis' and the other through Keely's. "There was also the time when a certain well-known politician took a liking to me..."
***
K EELY CONSIDERED THE evening a rousing success. The "book club" members invited Santa to attend their other meetings, although Grandma insisted he didn't have to wear the Santa suit.
"We actually celebrate other holidays throughout the year."
"Did you say celibate?" Keely asked, her eyes widened with faux innocence.
Grandma rolled her eyes. "I didn't, but unfortunately that's a perfect description of our lives right now, isn't it ladies?"
They all nodded somberly. There were even a few melancholy sighs.
"When do we get to confess to Santa what we want for Christmas?" one of the women asked.
Confess?
"Would you just look at the time!" Keely slapped her hands on her thighs before standing up. "Santa needs to get back to his sleigh. Such a busy guy."
"Make sure you return next year, Santa," one of the ladies said. "And no, Phyllis, I'm not going for the obvious once-a-year joke here. That's too easy."
Another lady added, "And no package jokes. That's why we only see these Santas once."
Grandma grinned. "It lets us break in a new one every year, though." She gathered Keely into her embrace and gave her a hearty squeeze and then a kiss. "I love you, so so much. Thanks for the great Christmas present."
"I haven't given you your gift yet."
Grandma winked and gave a subtle nod in Travis' direction. "I like seeing you happy. Although you don't have nearly enough stories for your tell-all." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Maybe you could get started on that tonight."
Keely stepped back, feeling her face heat. "Careful. I'm ready to break into a stirring chorus of 'Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer'."
Grandma cackled, a wicked sound that should have warned Keely what was coming. "We can follow that with a sexy rendition of 'I Saw Grandma Kissing Santa Claus'."
"That's not a song!"
"It should be. Whaddya think, ladies?"
"Oh yeah," one of her friends said. "A good old-fashioned bump-and-grind version."
One of them started humming a slow, sexy version, while the other women got up and began improvising some dance moves that had probably been outlawed in at least a few states.
Keely grabbed Travis' hand, pretended to cover her eyes with the other, and dashed out the door.