The Christmas Deal
“Oh, don’t forget decorations for your house!” Jenna said. “Angela loves the holidays.”
Ugh. “Oh. Right. I’ll have to buy some stuff.” It was silly to dread decorating. “It’s not really my thing.”
Matt’s eyebrows rose. “Seriously? Huh. I thought you’d be all about hanging stockings by the chimney with care and visions of sugarplums.”
I don’t deserve Christmas.
The thought filled his mind, but fortunately was blocked before it could reach his tongue. The swirl of memories of Christmases past made him ache—his family’s stockings hanging from the mantel cluttered with his mom’s ugly Christmas figurines and nativity scene, the paint chipped on the three wise men.
Jenna said, “I’ll arrange a tree and talk to Logan about what to get. Our cousin manages a tree lot, so he’ll give us a great deal.”
“Uh, okay.” Seth’s head was spinning. He was going to have a real Christmas tree. He’d only ever known his parents’ artificial one, which had become rather threadbare the last time he saw it. Years ago, of course. Surely they had a replacement by now. There were probably lots of things different at home now.
Home.
“Ho-ho-ho!” Tara from accounting appeared at the entrance to the pod, her Santa hat slipping down over her forehead. She shoved it up, the bell on the end making a faint ding. “Have you contributed to the food bank collection? We want it to be the biggest donation ever this year! Angela will be in on Friday when the volunteers come to collect.”
They all agreed to bring in more cans of tuna and jars of peanut butter, guilt tugging at Seth that he actually hadn’t contributed at all yet. He’d been meaning to stop by the grocery store and stock up, but admittedly had wished he could just write a check or give cash instead.
Matt returned to his pod, and Jenna wheeled back to her desk. Seth tapped his keyboard and scanned a few new emails—this time checking to see what Becky had deemed URGENT! It was something about printer toner.
As Seth scanned another email, his gaze drifted to the framed photo of Logan and Connor on his desk. Logan really was handsome and…masculine. He remembered the sensation of Logan’s hand on his butt, then imagined Logan in his boxer briefs, sprawled on the couch with the blankets shoved down…
Clicking his mouse, Seth cleared this throat. He realized Jenna was right—he really wasn’t brooding over Brandon. Running into Brandon and Peter would have sent him into a tailspin in the past, yet he’d barely thought of them at all. Instead, his mind had been occupied with Logan, and that secret whisper in Seth’s ear.
As Seth pulled into the driveway in the early darkness, his heart skipped to see Logan up on a ladder in front of the house. The jolt wasn’t specifically because he was on a ladder, but just that he was there, period.
Seth eyed the already-familiar shape of his broad shoulders in the leather jacket, the way his jeans clung to his rear, on display as Logan reached up to attach a section of Christmas lights to the edge of the slanted roof.
There was no denying the flutter in Seth’s belly or the excitement that spun through him. He grinned to himself as he parked on the driveway and turned off the engine. So maybe he had a little crush. It was a heck of a lot better than mooning over Brandon. Maybe a little crush was exactly what he needed to move on.
Seth left the bags of canned goods in the back of the SUV and juggled the other cloth bags while he locked the car with a chirp. On the walkway, he called up, “Looking great!” His face went hot even as his breath clouded in the frigid air. Should he clarify that he meant the lights? Although the lights weren’t even on yet, it was just a dark string of bulbs. Why had he said that?
“Should be okay,” Logan replied. He looked down and gave Seth a pleased little smile that softened his face, and despite his best efforts, Seth’s heart foolishly swelled.
As Logan strung another few feet, stretching precariously to his right, Seth inhaled sharply. “Be careful up there!” He dropped the bags on the shoveled walk and held the ladder.
Grunting, Logan climbed back down before shifting the ladder over. “It’s fine. One more section to go.” He frowned down at the groceries. “Those are getting wet.”
“Right! I’ll just…” Seth grabbed the handles and carried the bags inside, stamping his feet and taking off his boots, the door still open.
A colorful wreath made of glittery ornaments now hung on the front door, a mix of traditional holiday colors as well as pinks and purples. He’d admired similar wreaths while driving through the neighborhood, and it gave him a pulse of pleasure to have his own.