Page 30 of Mistletoe Mistake
“You don’t sound convinced.” I worry my bottom lip between my teeth.
“Ugh, ignore me, Hols. I’m a pessimistic bitch, you know that.” She gives me an unconvincing smile. “You know Brandon better than anyone, even Nick. If you think he’ll be fine, then I’m sure he will.”
“You know what I really think? I think we need wine.”
* * *
“Holly? Wake up, baby.”
“No, go away,” I mumble, burrowing into my pillow.
A hand starts gently sweeping hair off my face but I quickly swat it away and curl into a ball, pulling the covers over my head. It does little to disguise the sound of his laughter.
The next minute I feel a body sneak in under the blanket and wrap itself around me.
“Happy Hollymas,” he whispers in my ear, catching my attention.
“What?” I demand, rolling over. “What’s Hollymas?” I can already feel a smile trying to break free.
“I know your great-grandma started the tradition, but I’d like to pick up the baton she left. Christmas might have stolen your birthday’s thunder but I am officially declaring December twenty-third, Hollymas.” Kisses are peppered along my jaw. “The official holiday of Holly Curtis.”
Pulling back, I look at him, wondering if he’s too good to be true.
“That’s crazy.” I place a hand on his cheek, letting the stubble tickle my palm. He turns his head slightly until his lips find the sensitive skin.
“No, it’s what you deserve. Now...” He reaches down and grabs a handful of my ass and squeezes. Hard. “Get dressed and be in my truck in thirty minutes.”
12
Nick
“That breakfast was amazing.”
It turns out the way to Holly’s heart is through bacon, waffles, and peppermint hot chocolate. You can bet your ass I’ve locked that information away for later.
“So, where are we going now?” Her face is glued to the windshield, and I just give her a noncommittal grunt.
“Did you hear from your super yet?”
“No, not yet. But he called after I spoke to Brandon the other night and said I’m good to go back to the apartment tomorrow. Kind of dreading the mess I’m sure I’ll be going back to.”
“A week is a long time, but I guess the time of year didn’t help things.” She pulls her purse on her lap and pulls out a couple of candy canes. Unwrapping one, she sticks it in my mouth before claiming the other one. “Did you ever find out what was wrong with the plumbing?”
“He was pretty vague, something about the pipes. To be honest, I didn’t really care, I was just trying to figure out what I was going to do.”
“It was pretty serendipitous.” Turning to me, her face is lit up by a beaming smile. “If your pipes hadn’t exploded, or whatever they did, we wouldn’t have ended up at the house together and I wouldn’t be able to do this.” She leans over and kisses my cheek, then nibbles on my earlobe.
“You could say it’s Christmas magic.”
Her entire face scrunches up. “Too far, Nick. Too far. That was corn with a side of cheese, and you’re better than that.”
Her laughter fills the car and I have no choice but to turn and look at her. It’s almost impossible to keep my eyes off her at the best of times, but when she’s like this? It’s inconceivable.
Luckily, I turn my attention back to the road just in time to see our final turn, and only minutes later I pull into the parking lot in front of my workshop.
“Where are we?” She spins in her seat, her head swinging back and forth, taking in the row of what looks to be large storage containers.
“This is my workshop.” I cut the engine and take off my seat belt. “I need you to wait here for a second, okay?”
