Page 48 of The Mistletoe Trap
The cold air stung her face as the familiarbounce,bounce,bounceof the rubber ball echoed across the driveway. She still couldn’t believe she’d been dragged into this game of Horse—or Reindeer, since they’d decided to go festive, along with giving her extra letters to work with. Rashad insisted they play for old times’ sake, and when she’d tried to beg off, he pointed out that with his injury, Gavin was only half a player.
With her “help,” he’d be closer to one fourth of an athlete.
Avoiding Darlene out of guilt had also steered her outside. Finally Julie had told her about the naked woman in the background of their Christmas card. She, Niki, Gavin, and Rashad had all assured her it wasn’t a big deal, but now Darlene was on the phone, calling half the town to apologize, which meant anyone who hadn’t noticed at first was well aware of the topless photobomber now.
Julie’s thin knit gloves were no match for Colorado winter, and she rubbed her hands together, attempting to warm them.
Gavin turned and chuckled at her expense, puffs of white clouding the space between them. “Did you think we said we were headed to the North Pole toseesome reindeer? Because you’re certainly dressed for it.”
She flung the end of her scarf around her neck one more time and stuck her tongue out at him. “Dude, how aren’t you cold? Surely you’ve adjusted to Texas temps by now.”
He tapped her on the nose with his bare finger. “Not only do I travel to snowy places all the time, there’s this thing called being tough.”
“If only there were anyone tough enough around here to explain it to me.”
Gavin’s cocky expression faded, but the one that replaced it wasn’t any harder to resist. One eyebrow went low while the other lifted, completing some kind of sexy caterpillar move, which shouldn’t be a thing but somehow was. The pep talk she’d given herself as she bundled up dissipated as quickly as the flakes of snow did once they hit his long-sleeved Under Armor shirt.
It might have something to do with his body heat, but she wouldn’t be surprised if the glittery bits of frost simply got an eyeful of the muscles his shirt displayed and melted right on the spot.
Currently, she was having the same problem.
He dipped his head, mischief dancing in his eyes. “Hey, I resisted telling you not to stick out that tongue if you weren’t gonna use it, didn’t I?”
A lump lodged itself in her throat, efficiently blocking every clever response she could come up with.
“Heads up,” Rashad said as he hurled the orange ball in their direction.
Julie flinched and put her hands up—more to block than to catch—but Gavin caught the ball one-handed, his eyes never leaving hers.
At one point, she’d declared herself immune to jocks. Now she was crossing her fingers that immersion therapy was the best way to build her tolerance. Maybe then she’d be able to look at him without wanting to finish what they’d started.
“Would you like to shoot first?” Gavin asked, extending the ball her way. “Or should we see how good I am with my left hand?”
A blip of an image sprang to mind, of him planting that hand on her butt and hoisting her onto the counter.
She took a large step back. “Go ahead. I’m just gonna make sure you’ve got plenty of room.”
“Guess it’s been too long since we’ve played if you don’t remember thatyou’rethe one with the wild shots.”
“You’re lucky that I gave you space, because otherwise I’d be required to shove you for that comment. Even if it meant we’d end up with anR.”
What she needed to do was erase yesterday evening from her mind so they could go back to friends who trash-talked. Friends who didn’t breathlessly watch the way the muscles in his arms stood out as he propped the ball in his left hand. Definitely not the type to experience a bigger thrill over the giant grin aimed her way than over his making the shot.
Rashad took his turn next, making his shot from the same spot where Gavin had, and then Niki swooshed it, nothing but net.
“This is actually good,” Gavin said, handing her the ball and then maneuvering himself directly behind her. “Now I can give you all the tips I withheld in the name of winning.”
She glanced over her shoulder at him. “Are you serious? There are tips that I could’ve used to avoid feeling like a loser and you purposely kept them from me?”
He placed a hand on her hip. “That was a joke.”
“Kinda like my shots?”
His warm breath wafted over her cheek, and her thoughts turned fuzzy. “You and I can totally win this. You always let your doubts get the best of you. Who was the one who told you that you were going to get that promotion?”
“My parents, your parents, a few of my coworkers, and…” She pursed her lips and rolled her eyes toward the ultra-blue sky, as if one of the cotton clouds might contain the answer. “It seems like there was someone else, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.”
Gavin pinched her side, and she jerked, a giggle spilling out.
