Page 127 of Snowed In
“Peeping Tom over here.”
“What?”
I press my lips together, trying not to smile as water sloshes in the tub. A second later, Megan appears at my side, drawing a towel around her as she pushes wet strands of hair from her face.
“Fox,” I say, pointing to the animal that’s still sitting there, staring up at us.
“Oh.” She relaxes against me before tensing again. “Do you think it was watching us?” she asks, and she sounds so appalled that this time I can’t help it.
I laugh so loud the animal runs away.
TWENTY-EIGHT
MEGAN
I mean, excuse me for not wanting woodland creatures watch me get my rocks off.
Once the fox disappears into the trees, we head back inside the house. I’m not too annoyed about it. The heat of the water has made the air even colder, and my fingers have pruned to a wrinkly, distinctly unsexy look. I feel bad about Christian, but he doesn’t seem too mad, offering to start on the kitchen cleanup while I get changed. That I definitelydon’tfeel bad about since he obviously likes cleaning and is already moving about the space with brisque precision as I pad back up the stairs.
I have a quick shower, my skin still buzzing, but when I put on my leggings and sweater again, I hesitate. Christian’s gone to so much effort to make today special, meanwhile, I’ve shown up looking like someone who hasn’t left her house in a week. It’s Christmas Eve. It’s Christmas Eve, and in a few hours, it will be Christmas Day, and if I don’t get to wear the gold dress I’d bought especially for the occasion, then I’m going to wear the next best thing.
I don’t have dressy clothes or even my makeup with me, but I do have my knitting gear which is full of many wonders. In my bag, I find a red ribbon to tie my hair back and even some glittery dust, which I pat lightly into my cheeks. I would kill for some mascara, but the effect is better than I expected and, impatient to continue the night, I grab the bag and rush downstairs.
Christian’s waiting for me in the living room when I return and has changed back into his clothes from earlier. He’s built up the fire again too, and it crackles happily in the hearth, bathing the room in a deep golden glow.
“You’re just in time,” he says when he sees me. “I know you said you didn’t mind about the movie night, but I thought we could…” He trails off as I reach into the bag. “What’s that?”
“I know we said no gifts, but technically I didn’tgetyou anything,” I say, taking out the hat. “Sorry, it’s not wrapped.”
He stares at the plain black beanie for a heartbeat before taking it from my outstretched hand.
“Is this what you were working on in the car?” he asks, fitting it over his hair.
“Yeah, but seeing you with it now makes me think about how I’ve never actually seen you wear one.”
Doubt starts to creep in as he turns away from me, going to the mirror on the other side of the room. Yep. Not once. Not a hat guy. Why didn’t I make him a scarf? Everyone loves scarves. Everyone loves—
“I need to make some adjustments.”
“Whoa.” He ducks out of my grasp when I try to take it off him. “You can’t take a gift back once gifted. I love it, Megan. Thank you.”
I shrug, pleased. Very pleased. Unusually pleased. I make things for people all the time. And I started this one as an afterthought, just to have something to give him in front of his family, but his genuine delight makes me feel all fluttery inside.
“I got you something as well,” he says with a grimace. “But it’s at home.”
“Sure it is,” I tease, and he laughs.
He goes back to the fire while I slip into the kitchen, pouring us some more of the red wine we had at dinner.
Christian’s still wearing the hat when I return, something that, again, should not make me as happy as it does, and I try to play it cool as I smile at him.
“We have wineglasses, you know,” he says when I hand him his drink.
“Wine is more fun in a mug. It’s like eating food with a little spoon.”
“How is that more fun?”
“It just is,” I say, turning to the television setup. “I don’t make the rules. Oh, hey.” I pull open a drawer, finding a stack of DVDs. “Like the eighteen hundreds.”
