I WOKE THE next morning to the clanging of plates and muted chatter downstairs, signaling that the day had begun for my parents, and knew at some point this morning I would have to drag my ass downstairs and apologize to my mother.

Yesterday had been one shock after the other, and when Beth had tracked me down last night to explain what was really going on, I’d needed a moment—or a few hours—to process. I was still trying to recover from the whiplash I’d gotten from thinking the man of my dreams was actually Beth’s man, and now it turned out that Aiden was actually…what? A date for hire?

What the hell was going on?

I wasn’t sure if that was better or worse than if he’d just been her boyfriend. Ugh. I squeezed my eyes shut and told myself to stop overthinking things. Beth had assured me that Aiden was a good guy, but really? How good could he be? He dated people—and did God knows what else with them—for a living. This was just crazy.

Kicking back the covers, I got out of bed and grabbed my robe. Once it was fastened, I headed into the bathroom and washed up, and then I looked myself in the mirror and said, “You are an adult, and you need to act like one. Pull yourself together and go apologize to your mother.”

I headed downstairs and heard the familiar sound of my sister’s voice. I steeled myself against what I would encounter when I walked into the kitchen, and yep, sitting at the breakfast nook was Aiden.

He had on a pair of jeans and a cream cashmere sweater, and with his dark hair and eyes, and the perfect morning stubble along his jaw, he looked…amazing.

“There you are,” Mom said, as she came around the island and held her arms out to me. “We missed you at dinner last night, but Beth explained you were feeling a little bit…tired.”

I glanced at Beth, who was sitting beside Aiden, and she offered a half grin as she raised her mug of hot chocolate to her lips.

“Uh, yeah. I was, um…exhausted after the drive up here and just needed a good rest.” I kissed my mom’s temple. “I’m sorry for my behavior last night. I have no excuse.”

“That’s okay, baby, but I’m not the one you should be apologizing to.”

As she looked at Aiden, I wished like hell the ground would open up and swallow me. God, I knew there was no way she would let this go. My mother had drilled good manners into all her children and prided herself on that, and right now I knew she was waiting for me to live up to her high standard.

I looked at Aiden, and when the corner of his mouth, that delicious damn mouth, crooked at the side, I gripped the edge of the kitchen island a little harder.

“I apologize for my rude behavior last night,” I said, and my eyes flicked to my sister, who was biting her lip as though trying not to laugh—I’d kill her later for that. “I’m happy that Beth has found someone so…nice to bring home with her for the holidays.”

Lame. Lame. Lame. Nice? Try hot, sexy, everything I wanted to bring home for the holidays wrapped up in cashmere.

Aiden inclined his head and said, “That’s okay. I understand how stressful this time of year can be. Add in a stranger to the mix, and—”

“Oh, nonsense,” Mom said. “That’s what this time of the year is all about. Embracing our fellow man. Now don’t you feel better, Miles? That you’ve kissed and made up?”

My eyes widened a fraction, and Beth coughed, but cool as can be, Aiden smirked and said, “I sure do.”

“Good boys,” Mom said, as she opened the fridge and pulled out a container of eggs. She set them on the counter, flipped open the lid, then frowned. “I thought I had more than this.”

“Rick made spiked eggnog last night when you went to bed,” Beth said.

“Well, that won’t do. Miles, could you pop up to the shop and grab me a few more cartons?”

“Sure, Mom,” I said.

“Actually, I have a few more things too. Let me write them down.” She took a notepad out of a drawer and scribbled down some items, and as she tore the list and handed it to me, her eyes darted over to Aiden. “Perhaps since you didn’t get a chance to get to know Sean last night, you could take him with you?”

What? “Uh, I don’t think—”

“That’s a great idea,” Beth said, tossing a few more marshmallows into her mug. “Maybe grab a bag of Hershey’s Kisses while you’re out? I’m having a craving for some. Oh, but the ones with nuts.”

If it were possible, my stare would’ve drilled a hole into my sister, but she smiled sweetly at me and sipped her drink.

“Why can’t Rick do it?” I asked.

“Because Rick is out giving boxes of cookies to homeless shelters,” Mom said, giving me a look that said not to give her any more lip.

“I’m good with going if you are,” Aiden said, and as I swung my gaze to him, I didn’t see any of the confident spark that had been there before. Instead, he seemed hesitant, like he was waiting to see what my reaction would be to him this morning. To be honest, I didn’t even know what I was thinking, but the idea of being alone with him made me a little nervous.

Relax. He’s not kissing your sister. He’s not really her boyfriend. It’s not real.

“Let me just get dressed,” I said, folding Mom’s list and then heading back up the stairs. This wasn’t a great idea, but I promised Beth I’d play nice and go along with her ruse, so I’d do that.

And hopefully not end up kissing Aiden again.

TEN MINUTES LATER, we were in my car, the heater on full blast as we sat in the driveway.

“It just takes a minute,” I said, rubbing my gloved hands together to ward off the cold until the heat kicked in.

“No problem.” Aiden stretched his long legs, and of course I couldn’t help but look out of the corner of my eye. Why did he have to look so good? It wasn’t right. Even bundled up in his jacket and scarf, he somehow looked like he’d just walked off a runway. Meanwhile, I’d only packed casual clothes, since obviously I’d had no idea I need to dress to impress.

Wait, no. I don’t care about impressing anyone, and certainly not Aiden. Hell, he’s seen me in a Grinch onesie. It can only go up from there.

Aiden cleared his throat. “You look really good in that red sweater.”

My head jerked in his direction. “Uh-uh. Don’t you start with me.”

“I’m not starting anything.”

“You are, and we should really keep things…platonic.”

“A little late for that.”

“We’re starting over. You, me, a blank slate. One that doesn’t involve kissing or…anything.”

“And I can’t tell you I like that red sweater on you?”

“You absolutely can’t tell me that.” The heater finally began to blow hot, and I backed out of the driveway and eased onto the road.

“Okay.” Aiden fell silent for a moment, and I thought he’d actually heed my wishes. I should’ve known better, because a few seconds later, he said, “Then I’ll just tell you I bet you look great without that red sweater on, too.”

It was all I could do not to slam on the brakes and make him walk back to the house, the smooth operator.

Instead of responding—which was no doubt what he wanted—I flipped on the radio, which was still set on the holiday channel Holly and I had sung along to the day prior.

Aiden chuckled. “Ignoring me now? That won’t work.”

I clenched my jaw shut and hummed along with the music.

“Okay then. I can talk,” Aiden said, shifting in his seat to face me. “Look, I know seeing me yesterday was a shock. It was for me too. And I wanted to tell you, but you didn’t give me a chance.”

“So instead of explaining, you decided to kiss me?”

A smile curled Aiden’s mouth. “Got you to talk.”

“Ugh.” I zipped my lips shut and pretended to throw away the key.

“I didn’t mean to kiss you. But I’d spent all day thinking about being with you at the party, and I couldn’t help myself. Tell me you weren’t thinking about me too.”

He got the side-eye from me, though he wasn’t wrong. But admitting that was not happening.

“When I saw you yesterday, standing there in front of me…” Aiden paused, and it was just long enough that I turned to see what he was doing, and our eyes met. “I knew there was nothing that was going to stop me from getting you alone and—”

“Kissing my brains out?” I blurted.

Aiden’s lips twitched. “I was going to say explain.”

I looked back at the road, wishing I’d held true to my original decision to keep my mouth shut, because I’d just embarrassed myself.

“But since you seem preoccupied with that, can I just point out I wasn’t the only one in that bedroom last night?”

My mouth fell open and I tightened my hands around the steering wheel. “That bedroom? You mean my bedroom. The one I thought you were sharing with my sister.”

“Right,” Aiden said as though this was the most normal conversation in the world. “Which you now know I’m not.”

“So? Do you think that’s going to make me just pull into a parking lot and jump you?”

Aiden let out a bark of laughter that made his irritatingly attractive face even more handsome. “That’s probably too much to hope for, right?”

“Are you serious?”

“Dead serious, so if you find a place that looks good to you—”

“Aiden,” I said, and then groaned. But damn the bastard, I could feel my lips curving into a grin. “You’re impossible.”

“And you’re really fucking cute. Jesus, Miles.”

I shifted in my seat, my cock really liking the way he’d said that. But I knew if we went down that road—or into that parking lot—there’d be no coming out of it. At least not for a few hours, anyway, and with the way I’d been behaving toward Aiden, my mom might think I took him somewhere to off him.

Best thing I could do for now was to distract him so he would stop looking at me in a way that made me want to launch myself across the console and kiss his brains out.

“So um…what made you go into this line of work, anyway? Actually, what the hell is your line of work? Are you an escort for hire? A gigolo? A gentleman caller? What is your actual title?”

Now that I’d asked the question that had been looping in my brain the most throughout the night, I had a million more questions to go with it, and before Aiden could answer, I was bombarding him with them.

“Is it just women? Or men too? Do you offer full service? Or is this just an ‘I’ll hold your hand’ deal? And how does that work with your personal life? Isn’t that awfully complicated?”

If I’d thought Aiden would get upset at my sudden inquisition, I was in for a surprise, because he chuckled good-naturedly.

“Let’s see if I can put your…curiosity to rest a little, shall we?”

I narrowed my eyes, and he flashed a grin.

“I am not an escort or a gigolo. I sleep with who I want, when I want, and it’s never for money. Nor is it ever about business.”

Well, thank God for small mercies, because if he’d said Beth had asked him for that, I might’ve flung myself out of the car window.

“I work only with females, as there are fewer complications since, obviously, I’m gay.”

“You ‘work’ with them?”

“Yes. I’m a relationship consultant.”

I screwed my nose up as I looked at him again. “Um, what exactly are you consulting with Beth about? She’s not in a relationship.”

“Exactly. But your parents want her to be, and I’m here to help her deal with that relationship.”

I scoffed. “So you’re a boyfriend for hire, with a fancy name.”

“Basically, yes.”

“Wow. That’s… I don’t even know what that is.”

“Helpful for people like your sister,” Aiden said. “You should talk to her about it one day.”

“Um, already did last night.”

“No, not about her and me. Why she felt she had to bring me. You might be surprised.”

As the two of us fell silent, and the holiday music continued to play, I thought back to something else I’d asked. “So, what about your own relationships? Doesn’t your job make having one impossible?”

“I haven’t had any issues in my past relationships, no. I know it may not seem like it to you now, but I’m always transparent with the person I choose to spend my time with. Then again, I’ve also never wanted to date one of my clients’ family members.”

Date? He wants to date me? “So what happens after this weekend?”

“With Beth and me?” When I nodded, he said, “The contract ends on Christmas at midnight.”

“So you just…break up?”

“I don’t think she’ll tell your parents that news right away, but yeah, eventually. Unless there’s another contract, we have no reason to see each other again.”

“Huh.”

“Did you have any other questions for me?”

“Not right now, but give me five minutes and I’m sure I will.”

Aiden’s deep laugh vibrated in the space between us. “I was going to ask Zack for your number when I got back in town.”

“You were?” The stomach flipping was back, and I bit my lip. “Me too.” As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I couldn’t believe I’d said them.

“Really?” Aiden stretched his arm along the top of the driver’s seat, his hand resting near the back of my head.

“I mean, I…thought you’d want me to,” I said.

Aiden’s smile grew. “I did. I still do.”

“Yeah?”

“Definitely.”

I had to pull my gaze away from his to concentrate on driving, but it was one of the harder things I’d had to do in my life.

“So about that parking lot…”

That made me chuckle. “The only parking lot we’ll be seeing is the Whole Foods one.”

“Can’t blame a guy for trying. But I’ll make an attempt to behave. For the weekend, anyway.”

“Mhmm. Do you even know how to do that?”

“Apparently not around you. I’ve already broken several rules in my contract.”

That shouldn’t have made me smile like a loon, but for some reason, being the one person who’d affected Aiden like this was like some sort of Christmas miracle. One I wasn’t going to dismiss so easily this time.

We both just had to keep our hands—and mouths—to ourselves this weekend. Three more days. That wouldn’t be too difficult, right?