A Billionaire Boyfriend For Christmas - Holly Rayner Page 0,41

“so I’m going to head home. I’ll be back soon as I can tomorrow, though. Is eight too early?”

“No, not at all. I’ll have been up for hours.”

“Good. Maybe I’ll make it earlier. I want to leave as much wiggle room as possible. Just in case something doesn’t go according to plan.”

“As things often don’t.” He smiled and ran his palm over his head.

“Right.” She looked down, shocked to see she was twisting her hands. How long had she been doing that for? “Well…see you tomorrow.”

“See you. And thanks again for the amazing job you’re doing on the party. Your dedication is really impressive.”

Adison smiled, nodded, then walked back downstairs, feeling twice as heavy as she had before seeing Ken. Setting eyes on him always did crazy things to her. Despite what she knew was logical, he was still a very handsome man who had once given her a kiss that turned her knees to Jell-O. You didn’t merely forget an experience like that.

Downstairs, she bundled up tight, buttoning her coat all the way to her chin. It would be a short walk to her car, but it would be cold inside.

The snowflakes crashed against her face, stinging her cheeks and eyelids. This was no cozy flurry. A mild storm was blowing in. If she’d bothered to listen to the news the last few days, she probably would have known that, but her mind had been on eggnog and how much atmospheric dry ice was too much atmospheric dry ice.

With the engine properly warmed up, she put the car into reverse. A painful whirring started. The car didn’t budge an inch.

“Shoot.” Leaving the vehicle’s confines, she went to look at the wheels. They were completely buried.

Adison bit the inside of her lip. Okay. No big deal. Surely, Ken had a snow shovel. Who in their right mind lived in New York and didn’t own a snow shovel?

She rang the doorbell, not wanting to barge back in right after he thought she’d left. Maybe, thinking he was alone, he’d stripped off and was now walking around in his underwear.

The thought of that heated her cheeks up. Which meant that when he opened the front door, she was surely blushing.

“I’m, uh, snowed in.” She stumbled through the explanation. “The car…there’s a lot of snow.”

He wasn’t in his underwear, but he had unbuttoned the top of his shirt. That little bit of chest shouldn’t have been so distracting.

“We can fix that,” he said. “Wait right here.”

A few minutes later, Adison sat in her car while Ken worked to dig out the tires. The snowfall had nearly doubled, and she wasn’t sure how he could even see.

“Try now!” he called.

She tapped the gas. Nothing.

Ken dug a little more, but it seemed that no sooner had he removed some snow than did more come to replace it. Giving up, he gestured for her to follow him inside. As she did, she pulled her phone out.

“I’m calling a tow truck,” she said.

He frowned. “To pull you all the way home?”

“Yes?”

Okay, so she didn’t know if a tow truck would even get to her in such weather. They probably had wrecks to deal with. But she couldn’t stay at Ken’s house. That was…

Weird.

“We’re snowed in.” Ken’s eyebrows rose. “But luckily, I have plenty of guest rooms. Just take your pick.”

“Oh, no. I can’t impose.”

“You’re not, and it’s not as if you have a choice.” He gave her a pointed look. “I’ll heat up some dinner. Make yourself comfortable.”

Adison’s stomach twisted. Okay. Snowed in with her sexy, hands-off boss. She could do this.

Maybe.

Chapter 21

Ken

“And dinner is…”

The room went pitch black, and Ken nearly tripped over his feet.

“Adison?” he called.

“Right here.” Her voice came from the kitchen table.

“I was about to say ‘dinner is served,’ but it looks like a power outage stole my thunder.” He shuffled his way across the room, feeling his way to the table.

“Here.” Her fingers brushed his as she took the dinner plates from his hands.

“I’ll find some candles and flashlights.” He felt his way back across the kitchen and to the pantry. His part-time housekeeper and cook was good about always being prepared, and the flashlights, batteries, and long-burning candles were exactly where they were supposed to be.

Unfortunately, the generator had kicked it a few months ago, and Ken had dropped the ball when it came to getting another one. Which was a real problem.

Turning on a flashlight, he carted his goods back to the kitchen table. “What do you say to dinner