Your Christmas Love (The Bennett Family 10)

“Except that one time you scared off my date,” I reminded him. “Don’t think I forgave you for that.”

Blake clutched at his heart theatrically. “Five years later I’m still not forgiven?”

“I’ve got a long memory, Blake.” I was grinning at him. I couldn’t be mad at Blake if I tried. He had that unique charm that just won me over instantly. He didn’t take himself seriously, or most things around him.

“Seems I still have a lot to make up for.” He waggled his eyebrows. “But I’m up for the task.”

“Don’t say that twice, or I’ll find something to torture you with.”

“Can’t wait. How did it go with the walls?”

“All finished.”

Blake whistled. “Never thought you’d make so much progress on your own.”

I felt the tips of my ears turn beet red and avoided Pippa and Victoria’s eyes, hoping Blake wouldn’t catch on to our knowing looks.

Something must have tipped him off that I wasn’t being one hundred percent truthful, because he asked, “Everything okay?”

“Sure.”

“Is anyone giving you any headaches?”

Christopher fist-bumped the air. I dropped my chin to my chest. “Blake. You just lost all your coolness points.”

“Impossible.”

“I already told Christopher that everything’s fine.”

“But—”

Blake was interrupted by Sebastian, who clapped his hands once.

“Hey, chatty group over there, how about going back to work?”

I smiled sheepishly, glad for the excuse, and scurried back to my place next to Chloe.

Two hours later, we’d finished all the costumes and the set piece. I smiled as we all headed to lunch. Spending time with the Bennetts was the perfect way to recharge. No matter how tired I was coming in, I was always filled with a giddy energy and a renewed sense of optimism.

After lunch, we all headed to the Embarcadero in time to catch the lighting ceremony. It was one of the most famous events in town. The four office towers along the Embarcadero were lit up with 17,000 twinkling lights amid a display of fireworks. We came each year, and I was still just as mesmerized by it all as usual. It was so clever to use the architecture to showcase the Christmas spirit. My thoughts flew to Winston, to the way he’d frowned at the twinkling lights I’d hung in the meeting room that day. What would he say to this?

I snapped a picture of my view and almost messaged him, then stopped. Would I be overstepping boundaries? Would he even want to hear from me?

I hovered with my thumbs over the keyboard for a few seconds before deciding to wait for him to make the first move.

Afterward, we walked to Pier 39, which boasted one of my favorite Christmas trees in the city. The smell of sea salt mingled with eggnog and cinnamon from the several booths around us. Even though I was already full, I couldn’t help indulging in a cookie.

As we strolled around, Pippa pulled me to one side. I knew that smile she had on. It spelled trouble.

“So... want an update on my matchmaking work?” she whispered.

“Um... yeah.” I had completely forgotten about that. To my surprise, I wasn’t looking forward to the update.

The prospect of going out with a stranger just wasn’t exciting. In fact, I didn’t want to go out with anyone she found at all.

Pippa pointed a finger at me. “Aha.”

“What?”