Fuck.
I broke the kiss and put a hand on her chest. Her heart pounded against her ribs at the same rate mine did. “Char,” I said, unsure what I wanted to tell her.
“I felt it too, Hayden.” She smiled. “I’ve loved you myentire life and knew it would be the best feeling ever to finally kiss you. God, what does this mean?”
“It means nothing.” I pushed her farther away from me, the hair on the back of my neck standing on end. She’d been drinking! What if Nelson saw this? What if I got fired from my job before it even started? What the fuck was I thinking? KissingCharlotte Calhoun?
“Wait, n-nothing?”
“Don’t be foolish, Charlotte.” I lost control, panic clawing up my throat, making me almost gag. “You’re like a sister to me.”
Yeah, that’s right. Lie. That’ll help.
She blinked, and in that exact moment, I crushed her. The nicest woman in the world.
I shook my head and ran my hand through my hair, forcing that memory away. We’d never spoken about it, and maybe it was time. Except now another man, the ridiculous elf, had his fingers on her forehead.
What kind of manager touched guests?
“We need to check in. Now,” I said.
Charlotte scowled. The manager remained professional as he strutted to the counter. It was one thing to battle my own feelings for Charlotte, but watching other guys around her gutted me. Every time there had been an event in the last three years, I had had a date. It made me behave and not hyperfocus on whether Charlotte’s date was treating her well or touching her or doing whatever the hell Bernie was doing.
“Calhoun and Porter,” I said, jutting my chin toward his computer. “Check us in.”
My phone buzzed in my pocket. A blip of anxiety had me grabbing for it. It could’ve been a player or Nelson. My instinct always went to Gwen though.
Mom.
My anxiety doubled in size, like a hot-air balloon. “Mom, is everything okay?”
CHAPTER FIVE
CHARLOTTE
Hayden walked out of earshot, leaving me to deal with checking in alone. He sounded worried, rattled even. It had to be about Gwen. He paced near the line of Christmas trees decorated in all reds and blues, and his shoulders were about up to his ears with tension. Exhaling, I tried to shake off the worry, and focus on the resort and getting our rooms.
“Everything alright?” Brendon asked.
“I’m sure. His parents are watching his daughter back home.” I forced a smile and leaned my forearms onto the counter. Christmas music played, and there was a holiday candle lit. Each breath was a hug to my soul. “This is so festive. What do you do the other eleven months of the year?”
“Other themes.” Brendon typed on the computer while maintaining eye contact with me. He was a bit much, but flirting was fun for me. Innocent enough. Plus it annoyed Hayden, and I didn’t care if I was immature. I enjoyed poking and rattling him. I had no endgame, not really,but that muscle in his cheek would twitch, and I found it sexy.
Plus I never quite forgave him for making me feel our chemistry was one-sided. Maybe my personal mission was to remind him he was wrong for the rest of my life.
“Yeah, what’s January?” I rested my chin on my wrist. Brendon’s eyes sparkled, and honestly, he’d be a fun one-night stand. His playful energy and broad shoulders were kryptonite to me. Not that one-night stands were my thing. I wished they were.
“Ice. Lots of blues and whites.” He reached into a drawer and pulled out magnetic cards. He swiped them on a machinelike thing and tucked them into a packet. “You are in room 100, Ms. Calhoun.”
“What about June? Or May, or August? They don’t have… well, shit. May has Memorial Day. What about the other two?”
Brendon adjusted his collar and seemed to stand taller. He took his decorating seriously, and I dug it. Anyone who loved something and was good at it was special in my book. The world was too harsh not to enjoy things. “June is summer, and August is back to school.”
“Makes sense.” I nodded, picturing rulers and notebooks and backpacks hanging everywhere.
“What was your friend’s name? Portobello? Peter?”
“Porter, but I prefer Portobello. That would be a great nickname.” I grinned, glancing over my shoulder at Hayden as he approached us. I tried to find evidence on his face to make sure Gwen was okay, but he remained stoic. Unreadable as usual. “All good?”
