Page 85 of Just a Taste
No carollers. No decorations. No Christmas songs. No Christmasanything. Just us, nature, copious amounts of mulled wine, and the chance to really relax and enjoy each other’s company. If we’re lucky, we won’t see a single person for the entire five days we’re there.
I don’t mean to toot my own horn, but this may just bethe best birthday Alex has ever had. Not that there’s a lot of competition in that regard, but still.
‘And you’re not going to miss us at all?’ Eve’s voice sounds slightly distant from my bed, but I hear the slight pang of pain it in either way.
‘Of course I am,’ I call, as I double-check I’ve safely packed away another gift for Alex – a basket of luxury bath bombs I’m determined to make good use of on this trip. ‘But it’s justoneChristmas. I’ll survive and so will you.’
Eve makes a displeased sounding noise. ‘And he’s worth it, is he?’
I roll my eyes even though she can’t see the gesture. ‘You adore Alex.’
‘Not when he’s stealing you away at Christmas I don’t,’ she says, but there’s no bite in her voice. In fact, I’m pretty sure I can hear her smile. ‘He really makes you happy, doesn’t he?’
‘We make each other happy,’ I say, and it’s the truth.
After our snowy adventure last year, I wasn’t entirely sure what a future with Alexander Hoxton might look like. We both agreed that there was something there, something worth exploring, but I had no idea what that would look like in practice. A small part of me wondered if it wouldn’t take long for me to be relegated to the very end of Alex’s priorities list, especially knowing just how busy he is running his company, and whether thesomethingwe’d sparkedwhile snowed-in together would ultimately fizzle out into nothing.
I’ve never been so happy in my life to be proven wrong.
I jolt backwards suddenly as the doorbell rings. ‘Shit. I’m running late.’
‘Tell Loverboy I said hi,’ Eve says as I fumble for my phone. ‘And if you can spare a moment in between bouts of intensealone timeover the next few days to check in on us at Gran’s, that would be nice.’
‘We’re not—’ I stop myself. What’s the point in lying to my twin? ‘I’ll do my best,’ I say with a wide, Cheshire cat-type grin. ‘But no promises.’ With one last wink at the camera, I cut the call and then hurry down the hall to buzz Alex up.
It takes him a minute or two to navigate the labyrinth that is my particular apartment block, and then he’s knocking at my door and I’m throwing it open and jumping into his arms.
He catches me with well-practised ease and walks us both back into my flat, kicking the door shut behind him as he goes. I barely have the chance to let out a breathy ‘hi’ before he’s got me propped up against my shoe cabinet, and my legs are instinctively wrapping themselves around his waist to pull him in deeper.
He murmurs something that sounds vaguely like a gruff ‘missed you’ before his lips are on mine and I’m losing myself in him again.
Every kiss is like this.
Every kiss feels like the first time.
I keep waiting for things to dull a little, for it to start feeling mundane, but it never does. I feel my toes start to curl as one of Alex’s hands wanders down my back and dips under the hem of my T-shirt.
‘We don’t have time for this,’ I mutter against his lips.
‘We have all the time in the world.’
Technically, true. But…
‘I wanted to be on the road by now,’ I say, and reluctantly pull away.
Alex full-onpoutsat me. Eve would be proud.
‘Come on,’ I say. ‘Help me bring my suitcase down and then we can hit the road.’
Alex mutters something vaguely mutinous-sounding under his breath, but otherwise follows me into my bedroom.
‘And you’resurethis is okay?’ he asks as I zip my suitcase shut and heft it upright. ‘Missing Christmas and your family?’
‘If one more person asks me that, I’m going to have an aneurysm.’
Alex laughs. ‘I’m just making sure. I don’t want you to do anything you’re going to regret.’
I stand up straight and prod him sharply in the chest. ‘Let me make something very clear, Hoxton.’
