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“Right.” I pulled on a red and blue plaid shirt over my T-shirt, added a long Santa hat with a pompom at the end, and asked, “Do I look ridiculous?”
“You look adorable. Now take a deep breath. Your dog is going to be fine, and so are you. Even though I’ve been harping on making the most of this opportunity, nothing has to happen at that cabin if you don’t want it to. Just remember that.”
I nodded and gave Timothy a hug. “Thank you for dog-sitting, and for being a good friend. I want you to know I really appreciate it.” Then I dropped to my knees, ruffled Sadie’s black and white fur, and kissed the top of her head before telling her, “I love you, Sadie Hawkins. Be a good girl for your Uncle Timothy, and I’ll see you in a few days.”
“Oh sure, the dog gets the kiss and the I love you,” Timothy teased.
I pulled my friend close, messed up his hair, and kissed the top of his head. “I love you, Tim-Tam. Be a good boy for your niece Sadie, and I’ll see you in a few days.” He was chuckling as I grabbed my bags and winter coat and left the apartment.
When I got downstairs, I found a huge, dark blue SUV parked at the curb. Hudson had the back open, and he smiled at me as I approached. “Nice ride,” I said. “Looks like we’re traveling in style.”
As soon as I put down my bags, he gave me a hug and said, “I wanted to rent something with four-wheel drive. Plus, I figured we should be comfortable, since it’ll take almost four hours to get there.”
I gestured at the Christmas tree tied to the luggage rack on the roof and joked, “You know, there will probably be trees where we’re going, what with it being a forest and all.”
Hudson explained, as he tried to fit my bags into the very full trunk, “Kel has this vision of a classic, Hallmark channel-type Christmas, so he’s bringing along all the bells and whistles—the tree, decorations, baking supplies, hot chocolate. The only thing missing is a horse-drawn sleigh, just because he couldn’t fit one into the trunk.”
Once the bags were squared away and my coat was stuffed into the last remaining square foot, I circled around to the side of the SUV and Kel hopped out of the passenger seat. He was wearing a headband with short, stuffed reindeer antlers and holding a cookbook called something likeA Thousand-and-One Christmas Cookie Recipes, and he threw his arms around me and exclaimed, “This is going to be so much fun!”
“Definitely.” I tried not to be weird and linger too long in that embrace.
I’d been attracted to Kel from the moment I’d met him. That had happened when both of us showed up at the same time to look at a doggie day care that was for sale. We’d clicked as friends right away, and the decision to buy the business together had been an easy one. The only complication was when my attraction to him kept growing, and when I discovered I was just as attracted to his boyfriend.
Of course, I’d always kept quiet about it, because we had a good thing going and I didn’t want to screw it up. We’d fixed up the space that housed our day care—with help from Hudson, who invested money and became our silent partner—and now the business was starting to take off. Kel and I routinely spent ten to twelve hours a day together, and how awkward would that be if he knew I was crushing on both him and his boyfriend?
There was really only one thing to do here. My goal for this week—despite sticking five dozen condoms in my luggage—was to play it cool and not ruin two friendships and a great business relationship.
Kel insisted on giving me the passenger seat, because I was so much taller than he was. Once we were all settled, Hudson pulled away from the curb and said, “And we’re off.” I glanced over my shoulder at Kel, who looked adorable in his antlers and colorful holiday sweater, then glanced at Hudson’s handsome profile before fixing my gaze on the road ahead. Then I silently repeated my new mantra to myself. “Don’t screw this up, Noah.”
4
Kel
The cabin was even better than I’d hoped for. It was warm and cozy with a huge fireplace, comfortable furniture, and tons of blankets and pillows that were just perfect for cuddling. On top of that, the color scheme was dark green with dark red accents, so it already looked like Christmas, even before we dragged the tree inside and set it up in a corner of the living room.
When I went into the kitchen to put away some of the groceries we’d brought along, I found a note on the counter from the cabin’s owners, along with a bottle of wine. It said: Welcome Kellan Cho, Noah Vasko, and friend! If you need anything at all, please don’t hesitate to ask. We’re just a phone call away. Happy Holidays from John and Linda Gregowski!
The “and friend” part seemed odd, but then that was my doing. Since Hudson was a public figure, I’d decided to protect his privacy by not including his name on the registration form.
Not that everyone knew he’d played pro football, but he came from a famous family. His dad, Terry “The Tank” Royce, was an NFL legend and so successful as a sportscaster that he’d become a household name. Then there was Hudson’s older brother, Harper Royce, who was a famous actor and even more successful than their dad. Between his own career, the last name, and the family resemblance, Hudson ended up getting recognized pretty frequently.
Noah sounded amused when he appeared in the kitchen carrying a case of beer and read over my shoulder. “And friend?”
“Yeah, you know, since he’s here with me and not out and stuff, I didn’t want any rumors to get started.”
“And the first thing John and Linda Gregowski would have done was phone TMZ if they found out Hudson Royce was staying here.”
His tone was teasing, but I really wanted him to understand my thinking behind this, so I said, “I know it seems silly, especially out here in the middle of nowhere, but what I’ve learned after a couple of years with Hudson is that it’s best to just be discreet across the board.” Noah looked like he wanted to say something, but then he thought better of it and started unpacking the bottles and lining them up in the fridge. I asked, “Do you disagree?”
He shrugged his broad shoulders and said, “I won’t pretend to know what it’s like to be Hudson. In general though, I’m a big fan of living as openly and honestly as possible.”
“Well, sure. Me too, obviously. But haven’t you ever kept a secret, because you knew there could be major consequences if it was revealed?”
His green eyes went wide for a moment, as if I’d hit a nerve. But then he schooled his expression and said, “Yeah, I have. When you put it that way, I guess I’m being a bit of a hypocrite.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“I know.” He changed the subject with, “I’m going to get a fire going, because it’s cold in here,” and left the kitchen. Since Noah had always struck me as an open book, I had to wonder what sort of secret he might possibly be keeping.
