Page 19 of The Christmas Accomplice

Chapter 5

Welton already felt tired when he awoke in the morning. At first, he had no idea where he was or why he didn’t feel rested. Also, he didn’t know who the hell snored quietly on the other side of what had to be the most comfortable mattress he’d ever slept on.

Then everything came back in a rush, and he eased out of bed, shivering when the cool air nipped his bare feet. He looked at Dean lying on the other side of the gigantic mattress, sheet and duvet twisted around him like every morning back when they’d lived together. Dean snored quietly, a familiar and equally comforting and aggravating sound.

Wanting some space from Dean and the heft of emotional baggage he’d brought, Welton avoided the en suite bathroom and went downstairs to use the smaller bathroom off the living room. When he’d finished in the bathroom, he sat on one of the two couches with a soft quilted throw over him and stared at the dark, cold fireplace.

That was a pretty blatant metaphor for his relationship with Dean, and it made him feel sad. Had he really wasted that much time with someone who had never been a good match for him? Maybe it was him. Would he ever be a good match for anybody?

Thoughts of Reece made him smile, but he shut them down pretty quick. They’d had a good time building a snowman the day before, but that was the whole point of the activity, wasn’t it? For everyone to enjoy themselves? Right now he needed some space from relationship thoughts to figure out the best way to handle Dean’s arrival.

His stomach growled, reminding him he’d only eaten half of his dinner the night before. He’d seen photos online of the buffet the resort laid out for breakfast, and that seemed the perfect place to get some space and think.

Welton threw off the quilt and shivered as he climbed the stairs to the loft bedroom. Dean had rolled again, pulling even more covers around him as he lay on his back and snored away. Welton looked at him, taking in the thick hair now standing up all over his head, his high cheekbones to either side of a nose that was almost too big for his narrow face and pointed chin. He was unconventionally handsome, and a gentle tug somewhere in the vicinity of Welton’s heart gave him a start.

He needed to get out of the cabin away from Dean, and quick. Welton picked out clothes, timing some of his movements so they would be masked by Dean’s snores. He dressed in the bathroom in the dark, hoping he looked more put together than he felt. Treading quietly down the stairs, he fought back a walk of shame feeling as he pulled on his boots and grabbed his jacket hanging by the door.

The sun was just coming up, and the air was cold and crisp, sliding icy fingers through his coat and under sleeve cuffs and down the back of his neck, eager to get to bare skin. He’d left the snow pants behind this time, and it felt like thousands of tiny needles were being pushed through his jeans and into his legs.

Sticking to the paved path this time, Welton hurried toward the main building. When he stepped inside the lobby, he sighed gratefully at the warm air that surrounded him like the best hug he’d ever received. Unable to help himself, he looked toward the registration desk, surprised at how disappointed he felt not to see Reece working. A woman with two sticks in the shape of reindeer antlers stuck into the bun of her brown hair stood behind the desk, and when she saw him, she smiled and gave an exuberant wave. Welton looked around to see if she was greeting someone else, possibly someone she actually knew. But no one stood behind him, and when he looked back, she laughed and called across the lobby.

“Yes, I’m waving to you. Good morning! The breakfast buffet just opened in the main dining room.”

He gave a small wave. “Thank you,” then he hurriedly added, “Good morning to you, too.”

About a dozen people were in the dining room. Some appeared to be die hard ski fanatics eager to hit the slopes, sporting outerwear with lift tickets hanging from the zipper pulls. Others were dressed more casually, and Welton wondered if they were travelers from the Eastern time zone like himself whose internal clocks were still two hours ahead.

The young girl at the hostess stand led him to a table near a half wall that separated the main hallway from the dining area. Leafy ferns topped the half wall, providing a semblance of privacy for the diners. Welton hung his coat on the back of a chair and approached the buffet to browse the dishes offered. He felt a little overwhelmed by all the choices and decided to start with just scrambled eggs and bacon and go back for more if he was still hungry.

Dean would tell you to live a little and try something new.

Welton had to get away from that kind of thinking. It had been bad enough before, but now that Dean had shown up, Welton had caught himself falling back into his old ways of thinking.

He realized he’d taken a few bites of the eggs and just noticed how light and fluffy they were. The bacon was crisp and salty, and Welton closed his eyes as he savored the taste.

That was when he heard the conversation.

“I’m not sure it can route through the system to the speakers, that’s all I’m saying.”

“It’s got to be able to work. How else would he have held other parties in there before?”

“It’s not that simple. I’ve never done it, so I really can’t help you.”

“You wrote up this activity. Didn’t you verify it could be run from the ballrooms?”

Welton raised up a bit and peered over the ferns. Reece stood a few feet away, talking to a handsome man so tan it had to be fake. The man had a smug, self-satisfied expression that put Welton’s hackles up.

“I know Edward has run music through the ballroom sound systems before,” Reece said. “I just never paid that much attention to how he set it up.”

“I don’t know what to tell you. Maybe you’ll just have to do it without music.”

“Run a holiday karaoke party without music? That’s your suggestion?”

“Sorry, man.” He gestured toward the lobby. “I’ve got some setup of my own to do. Wish I could have helped you out.”

“Yeah, okay.”

The smug and artificially tanned man walked away, and Welton thought he had a bit of a bounce in his step, like he’d just won some kind of contest.