Page 65 of Trapped for Christmas

Zeb shook his head and then took a drink of his tea. It had cooled and was deliciously sweet. Different from what Charlie had brought, but nice all the same.

“Men! They’re useless at talking about their feelings,” said Alison.

Zeb snorted. She had a point. Every one of his friends who was in a relationship had almost lost them because of not talking to each other. Paolo and Max were an exception, because they had loved each other when they were eighteen and then been pulled apart for twelve years. What they’d been through together made Zeb’s problems feel insignificant.

“You need to talk to him. Be honest and tell him you’re scared.”

“I’m not . . .” He trailed off.

She was right. He was scared. Zeb knew he wanted to be with Mason. He’d loved him for two years. It was fear that it wouldn’t work long term, and wouldn’t it be better to suffer the pain now than down the line? Their entire lives were intertwined with their friendship groups. It would be impossible to avoid each other if things went wrong, so one of them would need to walk away, and that would have to be Zeb.

“Why don’t you go back now and talk to him,” said Alison.

“He’ll be busy for a while. I was going to walk into the town and look around the shops.”

“Don’t leave it too long. You need to tell him how you’re feeling before you go back to New York.”

He nodded his agreement. She was right. Zeb just didn’t know how he was going to have that conversation.

It was a couple of hours later when he walked into the café. He’d been with Alison for an hour, and then wandered around the shops, picking up some trinkets for his friends, on top of the presents he already had for them. Every shop looked like it belonged on a Christmas card, other than the tattoo shop. There wasn’t a single decoration there, and the place was closed up. The only dark unit on a street of light.

“Zeb, where’s your grumpy sidekick?” asked Anders, making Zeb laugh.

“Dealing with work stuff, and I needed a Cherry Falls Hot Chocolate.”

“Take a seat, and I’ll bring it over. Anything to eat?”

“No, I’ll head back for lunch, and I’ve eaten enough sweet stuff today.”

“Mason’s been baking again?”

Zeb nodded with a smile. Once the drink was made, Anders brought it over, sitting opposite Zeb in the booth.

He’d chosen the same one he’d sat in with Mason, and then Dante. Zeb smiled when he remembered Mason’s jealousy. He’d seen it before in partners, and it had scared him, but with Mason he felt nothing but amusement.

“Don’t you need to be working?” asked Zeb.

“It’s quiet today, and I can see the door and counter from here.”

Zeb looked around, and there were only half a dozen other customers. It was quieter than usual.

“Is it quiet because of the weather?”

“More the calm before the storm.”

“Huh?”

Anders smiled. “People will start arriving soon for the holidays and stay through until New Year. I’m happy to enjoy the peace before it gets busy.”

“Is this all the people who have vacation homes here?”

“Some of them, and Alison is always booked out. People just like to get away from the city, although we get out-of-state visitors as well.”

“How are people going to get in with all the roads blocked?”

“They’ll be cleared by tomorrow or Sunday. We’d usually start seeing people today as they head out of the city early.”

“I hope they’re cleared soon. Mason needs to get back to the restaurant.”