“Putting up a tree is going to help your karma?” I snorted.
“And yours.”
Somehow, I doubted that, but I liked the idea of having an excuse to see him again. “Fine. You can decorate my house.”
Chet whooped as he jumped to his feet. “A nice noble fir would look perfect in that corner of your great room near the fireplace. But of course, closer to the window. We don’t want to worry about fire hazards. What’s your ornament situation? I’m happy to purchase some if needed. Simple red and silver balls are always nice and—”
“I’ve got plenty of balls.” I stood, testing my shoulder to be sure I didn’t do any real damage, as I met him at the door. “It’s getting late. We can talk about this later. You seem like the kind of Christmas elf who needs parameters.”
He snickered, pushing his glasses to the bridge of his nose. “There might be some truth to that statement.”
“Just so we’re clear, I’m not gonna want to wake up in a winter fuckin’ wonderland.”
“Right. Got it.”
I braced my hand on the doorknob, scanning the dimly lit foyer briefly. “Come over Saturday. We can talk about it then. And…you can meet Linc.”
Chet narrowed his eyes. Not gonna lie, his immediate transformation from skinny geek to bad-ass science guy was kinda hot.
“Is this trickery?”
“No, but it might be a good trade. We’ll see.” I shot a lopsided grin his way as I opened the door, pointing at the chair that knocked me on my ass. “This is not an adequate security system. I’ll give you my number. If anything seems suspicious or if you need anything, call me.”
Chet typed my contact info into his cell obediently, then pressed Call so I had his number too. Courtesy complete, he fixed me with a no-nonsense look. “Thank you. For the record, while I appreciate your help tonight, I didn’t agree to—”
“I know, I know.” I stared at him for a long moment.
This had to be one of the oddest yet most interesting nights I’d had in a while. This was probably a good time to remind myself that Chet was my neighbor. My much younger neighbor.
But damn it, he was tempting.
I leaned in and pressed my lips to his. It was a featherlight touch, hardly a real kiss at all. It was just enough to make him blush. Chet’s cheeks pinkened, and a flush rose low on his neck.
“Mr. Rooney…”
“Sam,” I gently reminded him. “Good night.”
Don’t ask me how I did it, but I somehow managed not to turn around as I headed down the pathway and up the street to my house. My lips twitched in amusement, giving way to a smile that grew with every step. When I finally got home, I let it fly, grinning like a madman as I chomped on a rosemary shortbread cookie made by my own personal elf.
Was I vaguely alarmed at the concept of letting him put a bunch of holiday crap up in my house? Fuck, yes, I was. Hot kiss or not, nothing was going to happen between us. And I was okay with that. Mostly.
Maybe he was just the diversion I’d needed, ’cause hanging out at home for the next couple of weeks suddenly didn’t seem so bad.
3
Chet
Autumn was beautiful in this part of town. The stately old trees put on a lovely show in shades of yellow, red, and orange. I kicked at the leaves covering the sidewalks, then glanced up to admire the fall colors against the brilliant blue sky. Thankfully, the weather had warmed up a bit over the past few days. I was perfectly comfortable in my lightweight yellow V-neck sweater and khakis as I strolled to the Rooney residence, stopping briefly to wish Mrs. Norris a pleasant Saturday.
I was happy to report that my conversation with Mrs. N regarding curbing Armand’s daily dookie deposit on our lawn had gone very well indeed. She’d apologized profusely and mentioned something about a change in his food leading to more action than she had plastic baggies. I didn’t point out that she could have returned to clean up after him. As long as she did so in the future, I’d call it a win. My roommates were pleased.
And they were all ecstatic that our furnace was working. Our landlord sent someone to check on it too, but the technician told us the same thing Sam had—sometimes pilot lights were an issue in older units. The house was too large and old to ever be truly cozy in the fall and winter months, but at least it wasn’t an icebox now.
We had Sam to thank for that, and yes…that was the excuse I used when Asher and Holden inquired as to why on Earth I’d agreed to tutor his child.
“Oh, no. I only agreed to spread holiday cheer.”