Page 14 of Merry Mischief List

“Are you okay?” I grab her elbow and pull her to her feet. Once standing, she yanks her arm out of my grasp, placing her hands firmly on her hips. Sweat drips down her body, which is covered by nothing but a tight sports bra and athletic shorts, making her legs look a mile long.

“No, I’m not okay!” She throws her arms up incredulously. “Youhitme with yourfuckingcar!”

“I’m sorry, you came out of nowhere.”

“Icame out of nowhere?” she scoffs. “So now it’smyfault you don’t look where you’re driving? I was running on thesidewalk. You’re the one who rolled through a stop sign.” I glance around and sure as shit, she’s right. I was so in my head I ignored the stop sign where the parking lot leads to the main road. Andi winces and reaches down to her knee, which is covered in blood.

I don’t think this is what Knox had in mind when he said “tap that.”

“Let me park,” I say, pointing towards my car. “I’ve got a first aid kit in the back to clean you up.”

“I’ll be fine. It’s just a little”—she glances down—“a lot of blood.”

“Seriously?” I raise my brows. “You’re gonna risk scarring because you’re too stubborn to let me help you?”

She lets out a huff of defeat. “Fine.”

After parking the car, I round to the back, and pop open the trunk, gesturing for her to sit on the edge. Inside the first aid kit, I retrieve a few antiseptic wipes and a large bandage. Taking her ankle, I place the sole of her tennis shoe against my thigh to get a better angle. “I’m gonna clean the dirt and blood off. Make sure there’s nothing else stuck in there.”

“Sure, whatever,” she huffs.

Using a bottle of water, I wet a towel and gently drag it against her skin. Given our proximity, her sweet smell distracts me as I try to focus on the task at hand. After the wound is mostly clean, I rip open the package for the antiseptic. “This next part may sting a little.”

“I think I can handle a little—” Her smart remark turns into a hiss, and she grips my forearm, nails digging in. I enjoy it a little too much.

“You good?”

“Yeah.” She releases a breath, along with my arm. “I’m fine.”

“All done,” I say, glancing into her brown eyes already fixated on mine. There’s a little fleck of gold in her right eye, and I find myself mesmerized by it.Why is she so distracting?

“Thanks.” She fights a smile as a pause beats between us. “Why did you ask me about blocking Olivia?”

“Seemed like the easiest thing to mark off that list of yours,” I admit as it burns a hole in my back pocket.

Her eyes go wide, lips parting. “What–what do you mean?” I slide the paper out, holding it with two fingers before her, and she snatches it. “How did you get this? Did you go through my stuff last night?”

“Whoa, whoa.” I throw up my hands. “Youdropped it when bolting out of my house this morning.”

“And you justforgotto give it to me?”

I shrug. “I would’ve when I dropped you off earlier, but you, again, bolted.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter. I’m not doing it anymore anyways.”

“Why not?”

“Um, you read the whole thing, right? It’s pretty much how to have the perfect winter wonderland Christmas, and in case you forgot”—she waves her arms around exaggeratedly—“we’re in Florida. Aka the place Santa goesafterhe’s delivered all the presents to drink a piña colada and work on his sunburn.”

“So you’re just gonna quit because of a little warm weather?”

“A lot of warm weather,” she corrects.

I cross my arms over my chest and raise a challenging brow at her. “I didn’t peg you as a quitter. Especially when a fun time is involved.”

She mirrors my stance. “And I didn’t peg you as the type of guy who knows what actually classifies as a good time.”

“I have layers.”

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