Page 36 of Crazy About Love (All About Love)

“Oh, good, you’re ready,” she says, smiling at my out-the-door apparel. She’s bundled up in a bright blue coat, white earmuffs, and a fluffy scarf. Her nose is stained red from the bite in the December air, and she’s got a giant box full of gifts tucked under her arm. I immediately reach for it so she doesn’t have to carry the thing back downstairs.

“Lock up when you leave?” I ask Landon, and he nods, waving us out the door. I’m not sure if it’s the wedding nerves or just the fact that his parents and the future in-laws are at his place right now, but he’s seemed a bit off lately. I pause before closing the door and say, “If shit hits the fan, kidnap Lizzie and head to Grandma Carver’s to be with us.”

That gets him to crack a grin. “Thanks.”

“Merry Christmas, party pooper!” Theresa shouts before I shut the door and adjust the giant box, not-so-subtly looking for the one with my name on it.

“No peeking,” Theresa scolds me, opening the door to the stairwell.

“I wasn’t doing anything.”

“Sure you weren’t.” She jumps the last step on the set of stairs we’re on, then starts on the next set. It’s been nearly four months since the drunken kisses, and it’s taken this long to get us back to this—friends. I barely even feel anything more than friendship when I’m with her.Barely,but I still feel it; I shove it away every time my head starts getting crazy ideas.

We take it slow when we hit the parking lot since it’s basically an ice rink out here. She slips twice, I slip once. Neither of us falls, but we laugh at each other.

“Keys,” she says after I pop the trunk on my car. I hold them out to her, and she jumps in the passenger side while I stuff the presents in back. The exhaust smoke blows up into my face when she starts the ignition, and I hear the scary wheeze of my heater turned on high. It’s been making this weird knocking sound for a good few months, but I haven’t taken it in yet. Safety and emissions inspection isn’t until May, so I’ve been using the good ol’ procrastinator’s motto.

“I hope Jace’s grandma’s house is warm,” Theresa says as I slip behind the wheel. She’s rubbing her mittened hands in front of the heater, which isn’t exactly hot yet. The frost on the window hasn’t melted, so I keep the car in park.

“If Jace got the fire going,” I say, “but there’s a good chance that he hasn’t.”

She lets out a laugh, her breath fogging in front of her. My arm twitches, like it wants to wrap around her and hold her till she’s warm, but I push back the impulse.

Ten minutes later I’m on the highway, dragging ass so I don’t spin out. It’s not exactly storming, but there’s a light snowfall and the roads are all ice.

“Come on, Grandpa,” Theresa says, nudging my arm. “I’m starving and I want to open presents.”

“I’m going the speed limit.”

“Exactly.” She throws her head back, and I laugh at her. “Step on it.”

“And crash.”

“Into what? There’s no one out here.”

“The railing. A pole. Fly off the overpass.”

“I will start calling you names until you drive like a normal person in their twenties.”

I push on the gas a little, making the red needle in the speedometer go up one notch. “Better?”

“Four more miles per hour and I will be satisfied.”

I laugh and get up there, but as soon as she’s not looking I slow it back down. She gives me a teasing glare but doesn’t backseat-drive anymore.

Jace’s grandma lives in the bottom part of a duplex. It’s a small place, and I know Jace wants to get her something else, but she’s always telling him it’s just her and he doesn’t have to worry. But I get his concern, since the people who live above her always have sketchy guests and there’s a distinct smell of marijuana every so often. Luckily today, all I smell when I pull up is whatever Grandma Carver has cooking in her oven. Both Theresa and I let out synchronized Homer Simpson drool sounds. Of course, I have to ignore the extra thumps of my heart.

“Hold up,” she calls when I start up the walk, arms full of presents. I shift them and wait for her to get to where I’m standing. The cold has painted her already crimson cheeks a shade darker. “We’ve been doing good, right?”

I adjust the gifts again. “What do you mean?”

“You and me.” She offers up a smile, and a piece of her curled auburn hair falls in front of her eye. “We’re really good now, and I just wanted to…well, let you know that I really appreciate that. After the engagement party I thought…” She drifts off, dropping her gaze down to her snow-dusted black boots. Of all the moments we’ve shared since we met, I think that’s the night she regrets the most. It’s the one night she wants a do-over for. It’s also the one night I replay in my mind on a loop so that I don’t forget just how lost she is, and I don’t forget that I’m a lot stronger than I ever thought I was.

One of the top boxes in my arms starts to wiggle loose, and she hurries to catch it. Her hand hits my face a little too hard, and we laugh the conversation away. I think it goes without saying that I think things are good between us now too.

Jace’s grandmother opens the door mere seconds after Theresa rings the bell. She must’ve been waiting on the other side.

“Alec, thank the Lord you’re here. There’s a fire to be started, and Jace is proving to be useless when it comes to conjuring a flame.”

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