One
The sun shone brightly through the colored glass windows of Silver Taproom, causing a rainbow of color to stretch across the hardwood floor. It didn’t feel like Christmas Eve. Of course, it was Malibu. Every day seemed the same. Sometimes, the days were a little hotter or colder. That was it. Everything else stayed the same. Winter had always believed it was dumb as hell to set a plastic Santa anywhere in this town. Just once, he thought he might like to see snow on Christmas. It seemed odd that a guy named for the coldest season of the year had never gotten to build a snowman, but nope. His entire twenty-five years had passed without a single snowy day, much less a white Christmas. Maybe it was a small wish for most, but Winter was single and poor. It didn’t feel likely he would ever not be either of those things. Therefore, his dreams of enjoying a winter wonderland for the holidays felt pretty damn farfetched.
“What are your plans for the holiday?”
Winter blinked several times at the question, pulling him from his musings. It wasn’t the actual inquiry or the heavy Russian accent that jarred him. It was the person who spoke. Ivan Kuznetsov came to Silver Taproom every single day at exactly five thirty and ordered a vodka on the rocks. He always waited for Winter to be the bartender who served him. In fact, no one else bothered asking him what he wanted any longer. Every day, Ivan ordered the same drink. Just the one. It was an eight-dollar drink. Each day, he handed Winter a hundred-dollar bill and told Winter to keep the change. Unbeknownst to Ivan, he single-handedly paid Winter’s rent each month. Ivan didn’t know this fact because the guy never spoke. Winter only knew his name because everyone did. Ivan owned the law office across the street. Having Ivan speak to him now caught Winter off guard and made him slow to respond.
“I don’t have any plans.”
Ivan’s mouth lifted in one corner. He was a cold-looking man. Ivan kept his head shaved bald and his eyes were the color of the sky on a chilly winter’s day. There was something about his severe jaw line combined with his meticulous suit. Ivan looked like a man who owned some whips. Winter fought a smile at the thought. Ivan made his stomach quiver, and that was why Winter never ventured far from the man’s spot at the bar when he was there. Winter had been waiting for this moment. The moment when Ivan finally noticed him.
Since Ivan fired the first conversation bullet, Winter decided to learn what he could about the man while he had the chance. “What do you usually do for the holidays?”
For a moment, Ivan eyed him in silence, before ignoring Winter’s question to ask another of his own. “When you say you have no plans, was that your way of avoiding talking to a stranger or do you really do nothing this time of year?”
Winter was unbothered by Ivan’s unwillingness to talk about himself. People told Winter their problems all day long. It was rare for anyone to ask about his life. Winter found himself being honest in the face of Ivan’s seemingly genuine curiosity. “I see you every day, so I don’t think of you as a stranger. My family stopped talking to me when I came out at twenty. I’ve come to terms with that, but it’s definitely cleared my holiday schedule for the past five years.”
Ivan slowly nodded, as if turning Winter’s words over in his head. When he finally spoke, it was halting, as if he didn’t enjoy talking about himself. “It is not acceptable to be gay where I am from. Leaving my country and my family was the only way for me to be free. Most of the time, this life is much better. Except...”
Winter nodded. “I get it. I have friends who are always suggesting we do a chosen family holiday where we drink wine and draw names to buy presents. Their hearts are in the right place, but they all have partners or spouses. Honestly, being with them during the holidays makes me lonelier than being alone. So I usually save my money all year to buy myself one nice gift and order Chinese takeout. New Year’s Eve is usually a little better since I’m always working, and everyone is drinking.”
“Until the clock strikes midnight.”
Winter automatically flinched at Ivan’s words. It was obvious Ivan understood. “Yep, until then.”
Ivan cast a look around. “How difficult is it for you to take off from this place?”
“Easier than you’d think. Kyle, the owner, he does a pretty decent job of keeping a ton of bar backs on the payroll, so we have plenty of people willing to take our spots.”
“Good.” Ivan held Winter in place with his stare. “Would you like to see snow for Christmas?”
A smile exploded across Winter’s face. “I was just thinking about how much I would love to see snow on Christmas just once. It’s embarrassing to admit that I have a name that doesn’t match my list of experience.”
Ivan didn’t smile as Winter hoped. Instead, a moment passed in silence as they held each other’s stare. Something unnamed stirred in Winter’s chest, making it a little harder to breathe. There was so much heat between them that Winter scared himself a bit in that moment. Ivan’s eyebrows rose. “I wasn’t simply making conversation. It was a genuine question. I own a cabin in Aspen. When you get off, would you like to go with me for a few days? It is very beautiful there this time of year.”
An uncomfortable-sounding chuckle escaped Winter. “I don’t even know you.”
Ivan smiled.
Winter had to take a steadying breath. He had been completely unprepared for Ivan’s smile. It was deep lines and sexy as sin.
Ivan didn’t give him time to adjust to this new side of him. “Five minutes ago, you claimed I’m not a stranger. Now you don’t know me. Which is it, Winter?”
First off, Winter hadn’t known Ivan knew his name. Second, goddamn. His name in Ivan’s accent was like having his cock stroked. Temptation crippled him. Despite all good sense, he found himself leaning against the bar separating them just to be a hair closer. “Tell me one thing and I’ll go.”
“Bated breath.”
Holy shit, he was sexy. “Who do you let serve you on the nights I’m not working?”
Ivan smirked and weakened Winter’s knees. “No one. I don’t come here if you’re not working. I come for you.”
Hearing Ivan talk about coming for him had Winter incapable of gathering a witty retort. Not that it mattered.
Ivan stood, dug out his wallet, and passed Winter a hundred-dollar bill and a card with his number. “Be ready to leave in two hours.”
Shock froze Winter’s tongue. In truth, he hadn’t thought Ivan was serious. Yet he felt himself nodding. His body agreed to Ivan’s demands with no permission from his brain. He watched Ivan head for the door and did nothing to stop him so he could take it back. Winter searched his heart and found the truth waiting for him. He didn’t want to spend another Christmas alone. Even if it meant going to Aspen with a man he barely knew, Winter couldn’t live through another year of silent suffering. Ivan had offered him an out. Crazy or not, Winter wouldn’t back down. He was going to Aspen with one of the sexiest men Winter had ever set eyes on. He couldn’t wait.
Two
Whether Winter had agreed to go or not, Ivan would still have gone to Aspen. He went every year. This was better, though. While Winter was always quiet, he was unnaturally silent throughout the flight. Ivan took the opportunity to stare at Winter while Winter kept his gaze locked on the window. He enjoyed watching Winter.