Page 34 of Stay this Christmas
Birthdays next to Christmas were often ignored in the tumult, but my family had always gone the other direction, making sure my presents weren’t pulling double-duty. Kind of made the holiday that much more special, getting an extra day to bask in the excitement. But it was easily overlooked outside of the family, making the fact he remembered that much sweeter.
“How many of these have you done?”
I grabbed one of the pens I’d pulled from my purse and uncapped it. Sliding the list closer, I crossed out two items: Travis and yoga.
He re-read the things I’d marked, and his expression sobered a little. “What’s next?”
I lifted a shoulder, reading back over the items. “I don’t know. There’s not a lot of time left, anyway. It’s not a big deal, it was just an idea.”
Days had whittled by, and still, I procrastinated. Couldn’t say exactly why. Eliza’s comment echoed in my head, but I rejected it outright. I wasn’tafraidof the list. But maybe I feared just a little bit what it would mean if I tried to do those basic things and failed.
“There are some great things on there. I especially like the naked Twister.”
I pulled the list back and stuffed it into my purse, my neck hotter than the surface of the sun. “That was all Eliza, and I crossed it out.”
He smiled, undeterred. “Still. If you ever need a partner.”
The casual offer warmed me up like a stove set on high. Yes, please. Sam still held his title as the single greatest kisser I’d ever known, and that had been back in high school. Twister with adult Sam would probably have life-changing effects.
But—no. This couldn’t keep happening.
I didn’t love the rapport we’d fallen into, where it constantly felt like he was flirting. Where he leaned in and said soft things about missing people in Magnolia Ridge and I got all drunk on him. Well—drunker. Where he made me think he truly wanted me back. This was just Sam’s default; he tackled life with a grin and a cheeky remark. Thinking that meant anything more would just wind up biting me in the butt.
“Can we not do this?” I said.
“What?”
“This thing where you flirt and tease and joke around like you’re interested? It’s just…”
Too hurtful of a reminder of what we used to have. And too tempting for me to slip back into it for however long it would last.
“Can we just be friends? I could really use a friend right now.”
His smile faded a touch, his eyes softening. “Sure, Harper. I can be your friend.”
I shivered at his use of my full name. Honestly, it didn’t matter what he called me, my body responded to it all.
“Great. Good.”
“As your friend, I’d like to help you out with your list.”
I rolled my eyes. “Not the naked—”
“Not that part. Having new adventures is kind of my area of expertise. Maybe having someone with you would help you tackle them. Like you said, it’s not a lot of time.” He seemed to consider. “Unless the point is to do it on your own.”
Torn, I debated his proposal. Obviously, I didn’t have to do the list by myself, as yoga with Eliza had proved. And having a literal adventure guide with me would come in handy. But doing the list with him could get tricky. I’d have to be careful I didn’t take his friendship as anything more than just that. As long as I reminded myself that whatever happened, it was all just temporary, I could probably handle it.
Probably.
And…it might be good for me to spend time with Sam again. Maybe I could get past this hang up about him and finally move on. I could finally accept that what we’d had was long gone. That might be the best birthday gift of all:Get over my ex.
I didn’t like the balance of the scales in this scenario, though. We would be doing things that made me uncomfortable or nervous or just slightly off-center while he would be entirely in his element, doing things he’d probably done dozens of times before.
But…maybe I could change that.
“I have one condition.”
He grinned again. “You wouldn’t be Harps if you didn’t. Name it.”
