Total pages in book: 32
Estimated words: 30218 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 151(@200wpm)___ 121(@250wpm)___ 101(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 30218 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 151(@200wpm)___ 121(@250wpm)___ 101(@300wpm)
Shit. Was my staring that obvious? “Oh, I’m sorry—” I said, feeling heat creep up to my cheeks.
“No, no,” he said, seemingly amused. “Look all you want. That’s what the decorations are for, right?”
I couldn’t tell if he was flirting with me or fucking with me, but whatever it was, it was working.
He started to walk down the ladder, taking each step slowly, which accentuated how perfect his ass looked in his jeans. Even when he got down to the ground, he still towered over me. He had to be at least six foot two, maybe taller.
He didn’t just look like a hot-dad type. He looked like the hottest hot-dad type I’d ever seen. I already wanted him to toss me over his shoulder and show me what he could do with that body.
Charlie, Nathan, and Shawn had walked inside the brewery already, probably not realizing I’d gotten distracted. I was the only one left out here, watching this guy while a few of his coworkers were hanging other decorations at the edges of the wooden deck across the way.
“I’ve only lived here for a little while, but this is the best Spruce Street has ever looked,” I said to the guy.
“That’s my job. I’m Rome, by the way,” he said, reaching out to shake my hand. “My company’s called Colorado Cheer. Nobody does seasonal decorations like us.”
“I’m Casey,” I said. “And shit. If I’d known I could do that for work, I’d never have become a website designer.”
Rome smiled, his face glowing under the twinkly lights. “No. You did the right thing,” he said, and I could tell he meant it. “My son is a tech whiz, too. His company has him flying all over the country, doing computer work for huge corporations. He’s going further than I ever did.”
Bingo.
He didn’t just look the part. He was a dad, and clearly a loving one, too. He sounded so genuinely proud of his son. My heart warmed. The guy wasn’t just hot as fuck, he was sweet, too.
“I can tell you’re proud of him,” I said. “My best friend does the same thing for work, actually. It’s disgusting how much they pay him.”
Rome laughed, a deep, rich sound. “Exactly. Sounds like your friend is a lot like my son.”
I bit my lip. I couldn’t keep my eyes from wandering down to Rome’s plush lips, then further toward the outlines of his pecs showing through his T-shirt. I was sure that I looked like a drooling animal right about now, but another part of me didn’t care.
Rome was the hottest guy I’d fucking seen in months. Maybe even years. And I couldn’t resist an opportunity to shoot my shot with him.
“So you’re a hot, hardworking dad who literally brings Christmas cheer to towns all over Colorado,” I said. “You sound too perfect. What are you hiding?”
His eyes met mine, smoldering again.
“I’m almost done with work for tonight,” he said. “Why don’t I buy you a drink and we can find out?”
2
ROME
It wasn’t every day that I hit on guys who were nearly half my age. Hell, these days, I didn’t really hit on anyone much at all.
But when Casey looked at me like he’d do anything for me, I couldn’t stop myself. I was only human.
Life had been nothing but work, work, and more work, lately, and I was tired to my bones. I was grateful for the holiday season, when my little company got the bulk of its action, hanging Christmas decorations all over Denver and small towns nearby. But it also meant long days, sometimes stretching from six in the morning ‘til eight at night.
I was craving a pick-me-up more than ever.
“I thought you must have been here with one of those guys,” I said as we walked into Jade Brewery, nodding toward the three construction workers that Casey had arrived with.
“None of those beautiful men are mine,” Casey said, waving a hand. “Those guys are the Fixer Brothers. I’m doing an overhaul on their website, and they’re doing a little renovation work on my kitchen.”
“And that would stop you from hooking up with one of them?” I joked.
His eyes glinted as he looked back at me. “It’s like you know exactly how shameless I am already,” he said.
His dark hair looked so soft, and just long enough on top to be perfectly tuggable. Fuck, everything about him was drawing me in. He was way younger than the guys I usually went for, but right now, I didn’t really give a damn.
Because he wanted me.
It was so damn obvious that he wanted me, from the moment he’d laid eyes on me.
And after going through a bit of a dry spell for a while, having someone look at me like he wanted to devour me felt pretty good. Even more so, now that we were in the warm lighting of the bar area, where I could see the pale blue of his eyes.