Page 35 of Wrapped Up with the Three Scrooges

“Ready?” I forced my gaze up from where it had definitely not been lingering on how perfectly her jeans hugged her thighs. The denim was slightly worn at the knees, and I had to resist following the line up to where—nope. Not going there. I adjusted my grip on my keys, the metal biting into my palm as a welcome distraction.

“Actually...” She bit her lower lip, and I knew I was in trouble. “Would you mind if we made a quick stop? I need to grab some things from my storage unit.”

I frowned, remembering what Levi had told me about her ex. “I thought Josh donated all your stuff?”

“Just what was still at the house, which included most of my winter clothes.” She fell into step beside me as we walked to my truck. “I’d already moved some things to storage that I wasn’t going to need anytime soon. Mostly Christmas decorations and household items I didn’t need.”

My fingers relaxed their death grip on my keys; at least that self-centered asshole hadn’t taken everything from her. Though the thought of him donating her belongings without her consent still made my blood simmer. It was one more item on thegrowing list of reasons I wanted to introduce Josh’s face to my fist.

“Of course we can stop.” I unlocked my truck and opened her door. “Where’s the unit?”

Once inside the warmth of my truck, she directed me to a storage facility about ten minutes away. The whole drive, I was acutely aware of her presence beside me; the way she hummed along softly to whatever was playing on the radio, how she’d occasionally point out particularly awful Christmas displays in store windows we passed.

At the storage facility, she rolled up the door to her unit to reveal a surprisingly organized space. Everything was in color-coded and labeled plastic totes. She went right for the red and green ones.

“Christmas Village. Tree Ornaments. Outdoor Lights.” She paused, her expression falling slightly. “I guess I won’t need those this year.”

Something in her tone made my chest tighten. “You could still put them up at-” I stopped myself before suggesting she decorate our place. That wasn’t my call to make.

But she brightened immediately. “Really? You wouldn’t mind? I mean, I know you guys aren’t big on Christmas, but since I’m staying there for a few days anyway and Ronan invited me to spend Christmas...”

“I didn’t say-” I started, but she was already pulling out totes with alarming efficiency. And what did she mean Ronan had invited her over for Christmas?

“This one has the tree. It’s not too big, I promise. And these have indoor decorations that would look perfect in the common room. The fireplace is practically begging for garland.”

I watched in mild horror as the pile of containers she pulled out grew steadily larger. The Christmas enthusiasm radiating off her was almost palpable, and while part of me wanted to stopthis snowballing decorating scheme before it got out of hand, I couldn’t bring myself to dampen her renewed spirits.

“Emery...” I tried, my voice landing somewhere between amusement and concern.

“I won’t go overboard.” She wasn’t reassuring at all given her definition of overboard seemed to differ drastically from mine. “Just enough to make it feel festive. You guys need some holiday spirit in your lives.”

“I really don’t,” I muttered under my breath, even as I hefted another heavy container into the bed of my truck. My biceps strained with the effort, and I wondered exactly when I’d lost all ability to say no.

“Everyone needs a little Christmas magic.” She sighed, and when I looked at her, the hope in her eyes did something weird to me. “Even three Scrooges who pretend they don’t.”

Something about the way her eyes lit up when she talked about Christmas decorations made it impossible to crush her holiday spirit, even though I knew I’d probably regret enabling this tinsel-covered takeover of our house. The metal bed of my pickup was already half full, and she showed no signs of slowing down.

It wasn’t that I hated Christmas, it was just that I never had anyone of importance to celebrate it with. Levi and Ronan both didn’t like it for their own reasons, and my home life when I was younger was too chaotic to enjoy it.

Levi and Ronan were going to kill me, but it would be a good reason to go. “I have the right to veto anything absurd.”

Her smile could have powered half the city, maybe even the whole state. “Deal! This is going to be amazing, I promise,” she declared with such conviction that, despite my reservations, I wanted to believe her.

As we finished loading the truck, I couldn’t help wondering what I’d just agreed to. But watching her practically bounce withexcitement as she described her decorating plans, I found it hard to regret it.

Even if it meant our house was about to look like Christmas threw up all over it.

Chapter Seventeen

Emery

Icouldn’t help humming “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” as I unpacked my decorations. I kept stealing glances at Max, who was eyeing the growing pile of holiday cheer with barely concealed alarm. Poor guy probably thought a few strands of tinsel would suffice.

“We need music.” I grabbed my phone from where I’d left it on the coffee table. “You can’t properly decorate without Christmas music. That’s like rule number one.”

“There are rules?” Max’s lips twitched, and I tried not to stare at how adorable his reluctant almost-smile was.

“Oh, honey, there are so many rules.” I scrolled through my playlists before settling on Michael Bublé’s album. “First, music. Then we tackle the tree before doing any other decorating. And absolutely no complaining about glitter.”

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