“Tomorrow’s the weekend.”

“Well, yeah, but thanks to my new assignment I have to drop by the office. You have your Santa thing tomorrow, right?”

“Yeah, the afternoon shift from two to six.”

“That’s perfect. We can go Christmas shopping together in the morning, work after lunch, and meet up again for dinner later. Sound good?”

“Christmas shopping?”

“Yeah, we need to buy each other presents. My family is big on present unwrapping on the twenty-fifth.”

“Oh.” He frowns.

“Don’t worry, I’m buying my present. We just have to think of something smart, and unique, and romantic…”

Diego looks like he’s just swallowed lemons. “Fine, but I should warn you: I hate Christmas shopping.”

I laugh. “That makes two of us, but we gotta do what we gotta do… Anything on your letter to Santa?”

“Nothing you can put under wrapping paper…” he says, with that Broadway spark in his eyes.

“Know the feeling,” I agree. My biggest Christmas wish has nothing to do with material things, either. And anyway, we’re all supposed to be good at Christmas, so I can’t really wish for my sister’s life to crumble to pieces… But I could wish to feel less freaking alone all the time, or to forget Paul, or to fall in love with someone who loves me back for a change… Yeah, those would all be much better wishes…

“Are you okay?” Diego asks.

“Yeah, why?”

“You sort of went all glassy-eyed.”

“Sorry.” I massage my temples. “I’m just exhausted. What do you say we call it a night so we can start early on the shopping tomorrow morning?

Diego grimaces. “Ho ho ho,” he chants in a deep voice nothing like his own.

“I never understood how you actors do that.”

“Do what?”

“Change your voice on command.”

“It’s all diaphragm, throat, and nose work.” With every word he changes his voice—throaty, nasal, husky—making me laugh. “And many hours of practice.”

“That’s amazing.”

“All right, boss,” he says, back to his normal tone. He gets up and offers me a hand. “Let’s go to bed.”

I take his hand and he lifts me up, and for a second we end up standing really close to each other. So close I can smell his clean soap scent… simple, but intoxicating. And I haven’t had sex in too long to stand this close to the sexiest man I’ve ever met. And even if I don’t like him that way, well… I’m still made of flesh…

“Okay, then,” I say, sounding like an awkward teenager and trying hard not to blush. “Good night.”

I move past him and go hide in my room. I barely hear his soft, “Night,” reply before I shut the door and lock myself in.

***

I blink my eyes open to the sound of a blow dryer running.

What time is it?

A quick peek at my watch tells me it’s already ten. So much for an early start. Sometimes I wish I could be one of those early risers, people who wake up at five a.m. on autopilot to go for a run. Someone like Blair. My roommate is so healthily annoying. But put me in a cozy bed and I could sleep in until noon every day. I don’t know why I didn’t set an alarm last night. Easy, because my phone has a weekly alarm programmed to let me sleep on the weekends.