Page 16 of The Christmas Accomplice

“Shut up.”

“Did he make your stomach feel all squiggly wiggly inside, and your brain turn to mush as all the blood rushed to your—”

“Oh my God, you have to shut up. What are you even doing in here? Who’s at the desk?”

“I asked Ursula to cover for me while I came in here to check and see how things went while you were outside getting all moony over the hot nerdy guy and being judged by Edward.”

“You’re impossible.”

Reece moved around her and left the storage room, walking fast toward the lobby. Nick was right behind him, practically running in order to keep up.

“Come on, you can tell me,” she said. “Was it super romantic? Did he ask you to help him smooth out the lines of his snowman? Did he make it look like you? Did he draw a heart on the middle section and put your initials inside?”

Reece stopped in his tracks, and she plowed into him.

“Ow,” Nick said, stepping back. “I think I cracked my nose on your spine. What are you made of?”

Reece turned and pointed a finger in her face. “Back off about the hot gay...” He stopped and made a face before continuing. “About Welton. He’s a nice guy who’s out here on his own, and he stumbled into the snowman activity, that’s all.”

“He stumbled into it?”

“Yes. I didn’t coax him to join, he came stomping out of the trees and Edward convinced him, not me.”

“So, that’s it?” Nick asked, raising her eyebrows. “He was just a participant?”

Reece nodded and turned away. He didn’t move, however, and a second later he turned back. “Okay, fine. Edward also partnered us up together.”

“Ah ha!”

“But that’s it. Nothing else happened.”

Except that my heart set my brain to five hundred percent Flirt Mode like a goddamn teenager, and I couldn’t stop myself.

He turned away and continued to the front desk, hearing her rapid footsteps as she hurried after him. She followed him through the secured door into the employee area behind the front desk where Ursula was just finishing up with a guest check in.

“Sorry you had to cover for Nick,” Reece said.

The guest headed for the elevators, and Ursula turned to them. “Oh, I don’t mind. She told me all about it.”

Reece sighed. “It’s not like that.”

“Like what?” Reece could have sworn he heard Nick snickering as she logged in on the terminal next to his.

“Like what Nick probably told you. Welton is just a nice guy traveling on his own, and Edward paired us up during the last activity, that’s all.”

Nick cleared her throat and smiled as she busied herself looking through some papers. Reece looked over his shoulder to find Ursula staring at him with wide eyes.

“What’s that now?” Ursula said.

A tremor of unease went through Reece. “Sorry, what?”

“There’s a nice guy traveling alone involved in all this?” Ursula looked to Nick who tried to appear as innocent as possible as she shrugged, then Ursula took a step closer to Reece. “Tell me everything, and don’t leave a single detail out.”

“Wait a minute.” Reece looked around Ursula at Nick. “What did you tell her?”

Before Nick could respond, Ursula said, “She told me you’re going for the assistant activities director job and competing against Graham, and that Edward was having you both assist him with activities, but that she thought you should step up and run the activity yourself, not just assist. But she didn’t mention anything about a nice guy traveling on his own.”

“Dammit,” Reece said.