AllFreeNovel
Share Us
At that moment, Sofia saw a little dog peeking out of the man's jacket.
"Mom?" Gabby elbowed her. "That looks like Millie."
"It does." Fear suddenly gripped her. Had something happened to Keegan?
The old cowboy shuffled over to Gabby. "Wondering if you could hold my little dog for me?"
He winked at them, and there was no mistaking the radiant blue of Keegan's eyes. Gabby's eyes widened. "Is that makeup?" she whispered.
"Best in Hollywood," Keegan whispered back. "Didn't want to miss the party."
Holy cow. He'd literally hired a makeup artist to disguise him so he could attend her party? That might be the sweetest thing she'd ever heard.
Within moments, Keegan-the-old-man had the roomful of ladies swooning to help him bring in the Hart's bakery items. His warmth and humor injected so much spirit into the gathering that had already been going so well. No one suspected the old man was actually a strapping, handsome, cowboy in his thirties.
Not only did he fit in her little world, but he added his charisma and warmth to make it even better. He took care of the hearts of her people, and that was so special.
He tipped his hat. "Well, ladies, that's the lot of it. I'll be on my way. Merry Christmas to all."
"Wait!" Sofia held up her hand. "Is this your last delivery of the evening? Would you like to join us?"
He cocked a bushy, gray eyebrow at her. "That's mighty nice of you, but this ain't my party—"
"Oh, stay!"
"We'd love to have you!"
Gabby grinned at Sofia while the crowd of romance-reading women left the cranky old delivery guy no choice.
"All right, all right." He held up his hands in defeat. "I can't disappoint a roomful of ladies, can I?"
The room erupted in cheers, and one of the Wednesday night book club's original members, a sassy senior named Pippy, grabbed his arm. "Come sit with me. We're going to read our favorite Christmas sex scenes. You can read the man's part when it's my turn."
Sofia started laughing when Keegan shot her a look of mock horror, but everyone thought that was such a great idea that Keegan wound up reading all the male dialogue for everyone's favorite scenes over the course of the evening.
It was hilarious listening to Keegan read the love scenes, and the attendees started picking more and more raunchy ones to try to get him to falter.
It was one of the best Christmas parties she'd ever hosted. So much love, warmth, and joy, which was everything that Christmas was about for her.
Keegan was adorably charming with all the ladies, but he never once crossed that line to flirting, even though, as an old man, he could have gotten away with a lot. But he didn't. He never made Sofia feel insecure, always shooting her private smiles, and finding ways to include her in the moment.
Even in the crowd of wonderful, fun women, he made her feel special, and he'd done the same with Gabby.
He was a treasure.
Jocie walked up and slung her arm around Sofia's shoulder. "We need to invite Kevin back for every party. He lights up the room."
Sofia smiled. "He is nice, isn't he?"
"He's a catalyst of joy, like someone else I know."
"Who?"
Jocie elbowed her. "You, you dingbat. The way he is, is the way you are. You bring out the best in people, even if you're not feeling at your best, you still have this way of lighting up those around you. Like Kevin does. You two would be a great match."
Sofia looked sharply at Jocie, wondering if Jocie had figured out who Kevin really was. "He's too old for me."
"And you're head over heels for Keegan anyway."
