Page 18 of Mistletoe Mistake
“Oh my god.” I smack a hand at his stereo system, turning the volume down—waaaay down—before leveling him with my most cutting look. “That song is the work of the devil and I would appreciate it if you never play it in my presence again.”
He laughs so hard he literally has to hold himself upright, so I fold my arms across my chest and wait for him to calm down.
“Fine, fine, fine,” he mutters between laughs, his fingers working his phone until the car fills with the soft sounds of “Jingle Bells.”
“I guess that’s slightly better,” I concede, already planning on stealing control of the music as soon as possible. If today doesn’t call for a little Beyonce, I don’t know what does.
“You want some candy?” I reach into my purse and start rummaging around.
“What’ve you got?”
“Umm…”Where are they?I really need a smaller purse. “Aha!” I pull out a handful of candy canes and York patties and shove them in his direction.
It takes him a moment to respond, and in that time I get the distinct impression he’s trying not to laugh at me again.
“You want one or not?”
“Sure, I’ll take a candy cane.”
I unwrap one and hand it to him before opening a pattie and popping it in my mouth.
“How was Troy when he picked up Tahlia?”
“He’s fine, turns out it’s just a twisted ankle so nothing serious. He’s sorry he missed you.” Which is true. I may have mentioned Nick to him a few—million—times, and he’s dying for them to meet, so he was disappointed to find Nick was out on a run when he and Matthew arrived. They stuck around as long as possible but Tahlia’s demands to get home to her pet guinea pig finally won out.
Sidenote, what sort of psychorunsin weather like this? It’s probably for the best that nothing happens between us, because that sort of incompatibility is hard to overcome.
“Yeah, me too. I didn’t think they would come so early.”
“Oh, please,” I snort. “I’m surprised they weren’t at the door in the middle of the night to take her home. They’re kind of helicopter parents.” I make a face at him. “But don’t ever say that to them, they’ll deny it until their dying day.”
“Noted.” His fingers tap on the steering wheel, keeping time to the music. His fingers are long and thick and… distracting.
Now that I think about it, his hands are really quite nice too. Large and slightly calloused, they’re very capable-looking. Like they know how to handle a piece of wood.
I choke on that thought, as well as the chocolate in my mouth, and gasp out a cough.
“Are you okay?” Nick reaches out a hand and pats me gently on the back until I stop coughing. It takes longer than it should since the feel of his hand on my back only serves to remind me of the thought that started this in the first place.
I meantwood,wood, notpeniswood.
I am almost ninety-seven percent sure that’s what I meant.
“How did you and Troy meet anyway? He’s older than you, right?”
“Yep, he’s practically ancient.” I throw him a nervous look. “Again, don’t tell him I said that. He’s a little sensitive about his age since he turned thirty-five.”
“I’ll be sure to keep that to myself next time Troy and I are having a heart-to-heart.” His lips quirk, trying to hold back a smile, but I’m too preoccupied by the golden scruff covering his strong jaw to really pay attention to his teasing. His dark blond hair is messy, as though all he did was run his hands through it after showering, and his jade green eyes are narrowed and focused on the road in front of us.
“Right.” I force a laugh and try to stop fixating on everything I shouldn’t be thinking about. “Anyway, he’s the creative director atAvondale, he oversees all the graphic designers, and when I started interning the summer before college, he was my coordinator. I know it seems crazy, considering I was an eighteen-year-old college student, and he was a twenty-nine-year-old married, father-to-be, but we just hit it off right away. We’re pretty similar, despite the age difference. We have the same sense of humor, the same morals. We’re both passionate about our families and our work.” I shrug. “Their surrogate got pregnant not long after we met, so I’ve been around Tahlia’s entire life. That little girl has both Troy and Matthew wrapped around her little finger. It’s scary at times, and I’m fairly certain she’s going to rule the world one day.”
“I can see that, for sure.” His voice is softer than usual and it reminds me of the way he spoke to Tahlia yesterday.
“What about you?”
“What about me?”
“Who are your people? I mean besides Brandon and Cohen.” I tell myself I’m just making conversation. That the last two nights haven’t inspired a need to know everything about him.
