Chapter 12
T ravis grinned when he saw Keely's name on his phone. "This is Travis. What's your customer service emergency?"
She didn't miss a beat. "Oh, thank God you answered! I didn't know who else to call."
"That's what I'm here for. How can I help you?"
"I have all of these cookies here, and no one to eat them. I don't know what I was thinking. But I just kept trying another recipe, and another. Now my kitchen is practically bursting at the seams."
"Don't worry. This is something we're trained to handle." He flicked on his blinker, signaling his turn. "We've got a mobile unit in your area and they can be there in less than five minutes."
"Wow, that's a great response time."
He heard her chuckling, and it was hard to keep from doing the same. "I just need to ask one more question."
"Yes?"
"Two actually. First, did those cookies need any milk? I can have the mobile unit pick some up if needed."
"No, that's all set. But thanks. I appreciate you thinking about all my potential needs."
He had to bite back a groan. "Not a problem. The next question..." He cleared his throat. "What are you wearing?"
"Travis!" She burst out laughing. "You can't ask that!"
"I need to know if I should wear protective eyewear. That's all." He pulled into her driveway and shut off the engine.
"I'm confident your eyes will not be at risk."
Travis opened the car door and he saw Keely standing at the open doorway, haloed by the porchlight, still on the phone. She was so sweet and sexy and beautiful. He nearly hurt himself hurrying out of the car. His eyes weren't at risk. No, they were incredibly happy.
But his heart? Yeah, that might be something to protect. He was feeling more for Keely than he'd ever expected. He hoped she felt the same but he wasn't sure he was ready to ask her just yet. What if this meant more for him than it did for Keely? That was a worry for another time. Right now, making Keely happy for as long as possible was his only concern.
He practically ran to her. Her smile was welcoming, and wickedly sexy, and he was light-headed thinking about what the rest of the evening would entail. He shut off his phone and stuck it in his pocket. Then he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her into the house, kicking the door shut, unable to wait to kiss her.
She set her phone down on the counter as they made their way to the bedroom.
"I got here as quick as I could."
Her mouth was impatient, and her hands were tugging at his shirt. "Five-star. All the way."
He grinned. "That's next."
"You're always five-star, Travis. Always."
His heart pounded with happiness. "Let's just make sure, okay?"
***
K EELY TRIED TO COVER up a yawn, hoping nobody else saw it. Travis winked at her, though, the devil. He was the reason she needed an extra-large dose of caffeine. Of course, with Wyatt and Nicki with them at the coffee shop, it probably wouldn't be long before Keely felt like she'd overdosed on stimulants.
Nicki, seated next to Wyatt, gazed at him with an intriguing blend of adoration and aggravation. Keely must have missed something, but that wasn't a surprise. Not with how little sleep her nights contained.
"You're like black ice," Nicki said to Wyatt. "Deceptively treacherous, no one realizing it until—"
"They're right on top of me?"
"Ohmygod. That is too perfect. I was almost there but you rushed in with the punch line."
Keely gave Nicki a sympathetic look. It was a good one.
"While you are like..." Wyatt grinned, unable to hide his satisfaction. "The first snowstorm of the season. Pretty at first but then driving people stir crazy after a couple days."
Nicki nodded. "I like that one."
"Don't focus on the pretty part."
She laughed. "You can't change it back now, Ice."
Wyatt rolled his eyes but it was obvious he liked the nickname.
"Easter?" Travis said to Keely, his eyebrows raised.
"I'm going with Valentine's Day."
He chuckled. Wyatt and Nicki stared, waiting for an explanation.
"Talking about our favorite holidays," Keely answered smoothly.
Wyatt and Nicki shared a look, one that said they wondered about their companions' sanity, and then started talking in low voices, a decidedly private conversation.
Keely marveled at the unlikely pair. They shouldn't have worked as a couple—nothing about them seemed compatible. Yet they were laughing and teasing, stealing kisses. Everything she and Travis did.
He laced his fingers with hers, taking a sip of coffee while he listened to something Nicki was explaining. Keely leaned against him. She'd never been this content. Every minute of this holiday was a constant, steady stream of sassy happiness.
It made her want more. More than just this one Christmas with Travis. Because her feelings for him were definitely not short-term.
But what if he felt differently? Sure, he clearly enjoyed their time together, but that was right now . What about when he returned to school? When his schedule was too full to spend time with a former customer who had become a Christmas fling?
Maybe the smart choice was to let things run their course. But Keely's newfound sassy side rebelled. It hadn't come out of hibernation just for her to turn cowardly when it mattered the most.
Travis gave her hand a squeeze, as if he knew her brain and heart were having a major scuffle. She looked up at him and he tipped his head towards hers for a kiss.
It was brief, yet heated, scrambling her thoughts, making her glad she wasn't about to confess her feelings to him just then. She had to get it just right.
And she would. Their future Christmases depended on it.