Page 29 of Holiday on the Rocks
I pulled off my jacket and tossed it on a table in the corner. “Crazy or eccentric?”
“Crazy. I think.” Allie set her coat next to mine.
“There’s a fine line between eccentric and crazy, and I ride that shit like a circus bear on a unicycle. She might too.”
She pulled open of the boxes and groaned. “Stop.”
“When you say stop, I don’t know if you mean it’s hammer time, or if I should collaborate and listen.”
She huffed. “You make me need something that’s more than coffee but less than cocaine.”
“Wow.” I laughed and opened the Christmas tree box. “Have you lost some of your sweetness with age?”
“I think so. The older I get the meaner I seem to become. It won’t be long before I’m biting people.”
“And that’s bad?”
Even in the dimly lit closet I could see her cheeks get rosy as she cleared her throat.
Her grin socked me in the gut. “Thanks for helping me. I don’t think it’ll take too long, right?”
“Teamwork makes the dream work. Wait, is that right?” I scratched my head. “That doesn’t sound right. What’s that saying?”
“Hmmm. Not sure. But if you take out the team in teamwork, it’s just work. Who wants that?”
“Teamwork means never having to take all the blame yourself.”
She pointed at me. “I like that one. Yes, Bridezilla will kill both of us.”
“I’ll get the Christmas tree box if you’ll get the door.”
I lifted it and watched her fine backside walk away.
“Wait, it’s locked.” She looked around. “Where’s my purse?”
“You left it in the hall.”
Her mouth made an “O”. “Oops.”
“Oops?”
“Oh mother hubbard, we’re in a pickle.”
“Huh?”
“I put the keys in my purse so I wouldn’t lose them. Clearly my brain isn’t braining today.” Her eyes closed. “The door must lock automatically or something.”
A jolt of pure joy entered my bloodstream. I was locked in a closet with the most beautiful girl in the world? I swear to God I felt the universe give me a high-effing-five.
She gritted her teeth and kicked the door, and I couldn’t control my laughter.
“Stop laughing at me.”
“It’s just, well, is it wrong that you look a little hot when you’re angry?”
A grin snaked across those lips as she ran her hand through her hair. “Well, when I woke up today, I had no plans of being this sexy. But hey, shit happens.”
I set down the box and leaned against the wall. “It does.”
