A Billionaire Boyfriend For Christmas - Holly Rayner Page 0,32
realized it was probably the most relaxed she’d ever seen him.
She hadn’t thought about it much before, but Ken was kind of stiff. Like his mind was always racing and he didn’t know how to slow it down.
“And what else do you do?” he asked. “Other than sing to strangers?”
“Oh, bake cookies. Trim the tree. Make eggnog.” She ticked the list off on her fingers. “Make cards. Send gift baskets to families in need. Help with the food drive. Try and get Taffy into her Santa hat…”
He laughed. “I imagine she isn’t partial to that hat.”
“But she looks so adorable in it. I should probably let her be, but I can’t.”
“You wouldn’t happen to have a picture, would you?”
“Of my cat in costume?” Adison pressed a palm to her chest and pretended to be shocked. “Now why would I do that?”
She picked her phone up, scrolled, selected, and sent the pic to Ken. His phone beeped accordingly. Wearing a knowing smirk, he pulled it from his pocket and looked.
“Wow.” He shook his head. “It’s even better than I imagined.”
“The hat was only on for about three seconds. It’s a miracle I got one picture.”
“Perhaps you should bring Taffy to our Christmas party. She can be the greeter.”
“Unless you’re paying her in a lifetime supply of tuna, I don’t think she’d be interested.”
“I can make that work.”
Adison waggled her finger. “Sorry. Did I say lifetime? I meant nine lifetimes. She’ll need nine lives’ worth of tuna.”
He didn’t bat an eye. “Not to gloat, but I do have some money.”
“You don’t say. I thought you borrowed this jet to impress me.”
“If I wanted to impress you, it would be with something much more noteworthy than a private jet.” His gaze locked on hers, heat simmering in his irises.
Adison’s pulse jumped, and heat rushed to her face. He was definitely flirting with her.
She started to ask, What’s more noteworthy than a private jet, but she stopped herself. They’d taken things too far. Again.
Abruptly, Ken’s gaze left hers. Clearing his throat, he stood. “I’ll see about dinner.”
“Great,” she mumbled, tongue thick.
Without sparing her another glance, he disappeared through the curtains.
“Easy, Adison,” she whispered to herself.
She needed to be careful. The trip had only just begun, and already she was flirting with danger. Ken had only been joking around. She’d read him the wrong way, and it had made him uncomfortable.
Time to get ahold of herself before she put more than her heart at risk. This job at the Montoya Foundation was important, and the Christmas party would be a fabulous addition to her resume should she ever decide to go back into event planning full-time.
She might have made some bad choices with guys, but this was her career here. She could not and would not screw that up for herself.
Chapter 17
Ken
Ken didn’t know how to feel when the plane touched down in Wyoming. He’d only been with Adison a few hours, and despite himself, he was already wishing the weekend would never end.
A car, courtesy of Thea, waited for them at the airport. Adison rode with her face nearly pressed to the window.
“It’s gorgeous here,” she said, her breath fogging the window.
“Yes. It is.” He wasn’t watching the scenery fly by. He was far too busy paying attention to her. He studied her profile, the smooth curve of her neck.
He wanted to reach over and run his fingers through her hair, to press his lips to hers and discover what she tasted like.
Arriving at Thea’s massive cabin was a relief. Another minute in the car, and Ken thought he might have gone insane.
The home was two stories, with a wraparound porch and a creek running alongside it. Deep snowdrifts covered the sides of the driveway, and there was a massive garage.
It was fully dark by the time they arrived, with the windows glowing a cozy yellow. Thea met them at the front door, a big smile on and her arms outstretched.
“Welcome,” she cooed. “Welcome!”
She gave Ken a side hug, while Adison offered her hand for a shake.
“It’s good to meet you in person,” Thea said, placing one hand over the top of Adison’s.
“You, too. Thanks for having me. Your home is gorgeous.” Adison laughed. “And I haven’t even seen the inside yet.”
“Well, let’s get a move on. It’s freezing out here. Have you been to Jackson Hole before?”
They entered the house, and Thea walked them through a den and down a hallway while she and Adison chatted about the activities on offer in Jackson