Page 48 of The Christmas Accomplice

When he looked back at Welton, he saw him looking at his hands clasped on the table before him, avoiding Reece’s eyes as he appeared to be talking to himself. Dean—having removed his hat and ski goggles a while ago, thank God—sat forward in his chair, talking down at his phone in his hands. Was he making a call on speakerphone or something?

Suddenly, Welton let out a garbled cry, a strange mix of frustration and possibly triumph, and shot to his feet.

“I’ll do it!”

The other participants applauded and cheered him on, Dean included, and Reece felt a big, goofy smile spread across his face as Welton shimmied his way through the tables.

“Hi,” Welton said when he stood before Reece.

“Hi. Are you sure about this?”

“Not at all.”

Reece grinned. “Thank you for doing it then.”

“I’m trying to placate you so I don’t have to share my free appetizer coupon.”

Reece laughed before holding the microphone up and introducing Welton. More applause and whistles and someone near the back shouted, “You got this! Get it!”

“What will you be singing for us?”

“‘Can I Pretend You’re Mine for Christmas?” by Rex Garland.”

If he hadn’t already been lingering on the edge of falling for Welton, his song choice would have definitely tipped Reece over the edge. He locked eyes with Welton and every other person and sound in the room faded away. Welton stared back, pupils wide, lips slightly parted. Those same lips Reece had been kissing earlier that day. Lips that had trailed down his body and wrapped around his cock. A few heartbeats later, the rest of the world came back into focus, and Reece cleared his throat before speaking into the microphone, “That’s a good song. Good choice.”

Reece cued up the song, handed Welton a microphone, and then stepped back into the shadows outside of the spotlight. His heart pounded hard, blood rushing in his ears and nearly blocking out Welton’s singing.

It wasn’t anything like Rex Garland’s version, of course, but that made it even better. Welton tried to pitch his voice in the same range as Rex’s, but it was apparent he wasn’t a singer. He kept on singing, though, belting out the words even though his voice cracked and he warbled a bit on some of the notes. When he finished, everyone cheered. Many of the other guests even stood as they applauded, and Welton took a couple of steps back, his face lighting up with a wide smile.

“That was awesome,” Reece said. He took the microphone and switched it off as people continued to clap. “Seriously.”

“No, it wasn’t. But it felt surprisingly good.”

“Don’t sell yourself short. You got a standing ovation.”

Welton blushed and glanced toward the other guests who were just settling back down. He looked up at Reece and touched his arm. “Thank you. For encouraging me to do this. And… for this afternoon.”

“Stay up here, okay?” Reece said. “I need to wrap this up.”

“Yeah, okay.”

Reece stood in front of the riser and switched the microphone on again, thanking everyone for participating. He encouraged them all to join in as many activities as possible during their time at the lodge. When he’d finished, Reece switched off the microphone and set it aside as people filed out of the room. He thought he saw Dean give Welton a big smile and two thumbs up, but he wasn’t sure.

Being with Welton that afternoon had been amazing. But they only had a few more days together. Reece knew he needed to enjoy every moment, but it was tough to lower his defenses and open himself up fully to what could undoubtedly be a really great time.

A really great time that would be over right after Christmas.

But how could he resist spending time with Welton? Or even, dammit, falling for him?

“Do you need to pack up the equipment?” Welton asked, coming up beside him and pulling Reece out of his thoughts.

Reece realized the last of the guests were just leaving the ballroom. It couldn’t have worked out better if he had tried to time it. As the final participant left the room, he pulled Welton close and cradled his face between his palms before kissing him. There was no tongue, no wild mashing of lips, but he put all of the passion he felt into the kiss, and Welton moaned in response.

Once the kiss ended, Reece said, “I do need to put this stuff away. And I need to finish my shift at the desk.”

“Oh, right. I forgot about your desk shift.”

“Will you be awake after midnight?” Reece kissed him gently. “Or do you turn into a crabby monster?”

Welton smirked. “You might have to try me and see.”

“Is that an invitation?”

“Absolutely.”

“I’ll take you up on it. Care to help me put this stuff away?”

Welton raised his eyebrows. “Oh, I have to work for it now?”

Reece laughed and stepped back, spreading his arms. “This isn’t some prize you find in a cereal box. You need to do some work for it.”

Welton looked him up and down, arms crossed and lips puckered in consideration. “You seem like you might be worth it.”

“The test drive this afternoon wasn’t enough of a selling point?”

“Nope.” Welton stepped up and kissed him. “I don’t think there’s enough time to appreciate you.”

“I know what you mean.” Reece kissed him again, then waved toward the equipment. “Come on, you keep distracting me from work. Let’s get this stuff packed away.”