Page 44 of A Not So Merry Ex-Mas

I grab his shirt and pull him close before he can walk away. “I insist.”

My eyes land on his lips, and I watch them curl at the corners before he lowers his head and touches his lips to mine. The kiss reminds me of the first sip of hot chocolate. It is a warm, loving goodness that leaves you waiting for the next sip.

He takes my hand from his chest, turns it over, and kisses my palm before smiling at me, leaving me like a marshmallow floating in the hot drink.

“Sounds good.” He drops my hand and heads to the front door, but not before yelling, “can you add a log to the fire before you head out?”

“Anything for you, dear!” A crooked grin lands on my face.

“Thank you! Wait!” His head pops back through the side of the kitchen entry. “Did you just call me ‘dear’?”

I turn back to the dishes and shrug. His laughter rings out through the house.

I hear the door open.

“I’ll see you outside,” and then a pause. “Honey.”

A wide smile crosses my lips, and I shake my head as the door closes. He knows how much I hate to be called ‘honey.’ I know how much he hates being called ‘dear. '

Let the games begin.

Chapter Twenty

Cole

The brisk air slapsme in the face. Thankfully, the sun is warm, making it the perfect weather for shoveling—if you need to shovel, that is.

This storm brought with it the lightness factor, which means it’s taken me much less time to accomplish the driveway than I thought. I’m almost finished with it.

“Cole, is there a shovel for me?” Noelle yells from the porch, the door closing behind her.

“It’s leaning on the front of the house by the steps,” I point to the front of the house where the shovel is. “I’m almost done with the driveway. If you want to start over by the cars, I’ll be there in a little bit.”

I turn back to the snow in front of me and work my way down the rest of the driveway to the street. The city plow doesn’t come this way because it’s a private drive, but the neighbor at the top of the hill has a plow and usually clears the drive for everyone.

Mel will contact them before starting their drive up to the cabin to ensure the street is cleared when they arrive. I’ll wait until I hear the plow before heading back down to clear their driveway entrance.

From here, I can see Noelle in an oversized puffy coat and a white beanie, her blonde hair in a braid down her back. She’s working around the far side of Belle. I move over to my truck and clear the snow around it. The Ford has a pretty big ground clearance, and I quickly make my way around it.

Belle, on the other hand, is almost invisible other than the red on her roof. I see snow flying around her like a blizzard of its own.

When I get to the front of the Ford, a batch of snow hits me on top of my head, and falls to the ground. I feel a patch of cold between my coat and my neck. I reach up, scoop out a handful of snow, and throw it onto the ground.

From the corner of my eye, I see the green of Noelle’s shovel moving in my direction. At the last moment, I move to the right, dodging the pound of snow. The lovely woman in front of me is wearing a bright smile that makes the stars jealous, and beams is my way.

I flick my gaze to her wide eyes, and she throws her hand over her mouth.

I squint my eyes and notice her slowly take a step back. I drop the shovel I’m holding just as she starts off on a full out sprint with her shovel still in her hand.

I snake my arm around her and pull her flush against me. “You’re not getting off that easy, Ladybug.”

She lets out a squeal and drops the shovel as I carry her over my shoulder to the mound of snow that I just shoveled next to the house.

“Cole!” She’s trying to be stern, but her giggles betray her. “Don’t you dare throw me in that snow.”

I switch her from my shoulder to my arms and look at her with a glare in my eye, working to keep my lips pressed together to keep the smile wanting to escape.

“It’s okay for you to throw shovels full of snow at me, but I can’t return the favor and drop you in that pile of snow?” I lift an eyebrow.

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