Page 11 of Theirs for the Holidays

A moment later, there’s a knock on the door, and I jump, caught off guard.

I give the room one last quick scan and then go to get the door.

All three of them are standing on my doorstep, looking muscled and imposing. There’s distance between them, and the tension is palpable. Anyone looking at them would be able to tell that these are three men who do not like each other very much.

And then they’d probably wonder what the hell they’re doing on my doorstep.

My stomach flips.

“Um, hi,” I say. “Come in.”

I step back to usher them inside, hoping none of my neighbors are looking out the window right now.

Somehow, the three of them in the entryway makes the house feel even smaller. They’re so tall and beefy that it’s as if my house shrinks in proportion to them. I’m very aware of them glancing around the place, taking it all in. My stomach flips again, wondering if they think it’s small or cheap, and I’m suddenly acutely conscious that it’s mostly decorated with stuff I found at thrift shops and the local buy/sell groups.

“I know it’s not much,” I say automatically. “But I bought it right after Andrew and I broke up and I had to get my own place. And now most of my money goes back into the bakery, so it’s…” I shrug and gesture. “It is what it is. So… yeah.”

God, I’m nervous, and that makes it hard for me to stop talking. It’s embarrassing, standing here making excuses for thehouse I live in, when it serves me well enough. I spend so many hours at the bakery anyway, that I don’t need a fancy place, but it still feels like I have to say something when there are three men in my entryway.

“It’s nice,” Rhett says, shrugging a shoulder. “Homey.”

Something in my chest flutters at the approval, even though I’m pretty sure he’s just lying to be polite.

“Thanks,” I reply. “Um… let me give you the tour.”

It’s not a long one, since the house is so small. “This is the living room. Remote’s there if you want to watch TV or something. I have some DVDs and a couple of the streaming services. The kitchen is through there.” I point through the arched opening that leads to the kitchen. “All the usual… kitchen… stuff.”

My cheeks flush and I clear my throat and keep going. “Bathroom is right down this hall.” Thank goodness one of the perks of this house was a nice bathroom. It’s probably smaller than any of these large men are used to, but it’s not some tiny closet with a toilet and sink and a leaky shower. “You can put your stuff in one of the cabinets if you want.”

“I didn’t bring a lot,” Lennox says. “It won’t take up that much space.” The other two make noises of agreement.

“Well, just let me know if you need more room or anything. I can move some stuff around while you’re here.”

We keep walking down the hall until we get to the bedroom. Of course, there’s only one bed. The room is big enough that I managed to get a queen sized bed in there, in the middle of the room with nightstands on either side. It seemed almost luxurious when I was moving in, but now, with the three of them in here with me, I am very aware of how little space it actually is.

“I, um… there’s only the one bed in the house,” I say, and then my cheeks flush immediately. It sounds like I’m inviting all of them to sleep in the bed with me. Quickly, I try to pivot fromthat train of thought. “So, I mean, we can take turns with the bed or something. There’s room in the living room for… an air mattress or something?”

Thankfully Sawyer gives me a look before I can put my foot any deeper into my mouth. “We’re not going to take your bed,” he says, like it should have been obvious. “You should still have your room to yourself. We’ll figure something else out.”

I nod, and the blush on my cheeks does not calm down even a little. It’s a tossup whether he’s saying that to be polite and gentlemanly or if he just doesn’t want to sleep in a bed with me. It would be understandable if it was that last one.

“Right,” I say, shaking myself from that thought. “Okay, let’s see what we have to work with.”

I lead them out of the bedroom and back down the hall to where my office is. It’s not a large room, just big enough for the chair and desk that I shoved in there to work on business stuff so I don’t have to do it in front of the TV on the couch. But there’s some floor space, and we quickly work out that it’s enough room for someone to sleep there.

“And there’s the couch and the recliner in the living room,” Rhett points out.

“The couch doesn’t pull out,” I say apologetically. “But I’ve got lots of pillows and blankets.”

“That’ll do,” he replies. “I’m used to roughing it.”

Sawyer snorts. “Barely have running water in that shack in the woods?”

Rhett turns and gives him a look. “You wouldn’t last a week out there. Which would probably suit you fine, since you never stay anywhere longer than that. Why don’t you take the floor? You should be used to sleeping like that, right? Anywhere you can squeeze in.”

“Don’t start,” Lennox cuts in, sounding tired.

“Or what?” Sawyer fires back. “You’re going to ground us?”