Page 133 of My Merry Mistake
“Nailed it, right? Took me all week to find that.” He grins at me, then takes the box. He rips it open and pulls out the ornament. “Here, hang him up. The first ornament of the season.”
So I do.
We spend the next hour adding all kinds of decorations to the tree, and by the time we’re done, it looks like a group of preschoolers went to town on it. There’s no clear color scheme, the ornaments pull some of the lower branches almost to the floor, but Finn is clearly proud of the mess he’s made, so I decide—for once—to go with it.
To his credit, he added so many white lights I’m pretty sure it’ll look beautiful at night.
We finish with the tree, and Finn picks up the only bag we haven’t opened. “Okay, I know you don’t like surprises, but . . . I have one.” The look on his face is slightly adorable, even I can admit, because it’s obvious this man loves surprises. And he’s right. Normally, I hate them. Right at this moment, though, I feel a little giddy wondering what’s in that bag.
“I promise it’s good.” He hands the bag over.
Inside, I find one of the ugliest Christmas sweaters I’ve ever seen. It’s a putrid lime green and has a giant Grinch on it, plastered in front of rows of Christmas trees. Before I can even register a reaction, I turn to find Finn holding up what looks like a video game Christmas sweater in front of his torso, goofy grin on his face.
It has the words “IT’S ON LIKE” above a big chunky gorilla standing on a bunch of orange platforms. And is that a barrel? The colors are hideous.
I don’t ask the question, but he must see it on my face because his smile widens. “I booked an ugly sweater food tour.” Before I can respond, he pulls on the sweater over his shirt. “It starts in half an hour though, so we have to hurry.”
“You’re serious.”
He holds up one hand and puts the other one over his heart. “I never joke about food.”
I frown. “I’m not even close to being ready to go anywhere.”
“Who cares?” he says. “You don’t have to look perfect.” A shrug. “You look cute anyway.”
“I’m not trying to look cute,” I argue. “Just like a person with a pulse.”
“Come on, you need to eat,Ineed to eat—” he shoos me away from the tree. “Go do whatever you need to do, and let’s go.”
I sigh. I know all about this ugly sweater food tour. Poppy participates sometimes, and it really does seem like fun, but he’s springing this on me, and I wasn’t ready. He knows I don’t like to be caught off guard.
And yet, maybe that’s the point.
“Don’t do that Raya thing and overthink it. Let’s just go have fun.” He looks at me. “It’s an adventure.” He says “adventure” on a whisper, as if he’s going for “mysterious.”
I press my lips together, trying to figure out why everything inside me is protesting this idea, and then I remember I have no job, no plans, and no reason not to go.
And I realize I really dowantto. “Fine, but give me a second.” I start to rush off to change when Finn makes aneh-eh-ehsound. I turn and find him holding up the sweater.
“You forgot something.”
I hesitate for a three-count, and he shakes it at me, pumping his eyebrows at the same time.
I snag the sweater and rush off to my room. I pull my hair from the messy bun and shake it out while simultaneously searching for a pair of jeans. I pull them on, then hold the sweater up in front of me, studying myself in the mirror with a groan. “Ridiculous,” I mutter under my breath, but I tug it over my head anyway.
I leave my face mostly bare, opting for a little blush and lip gloss, then I join Finn in the living room. He takes one look at me and his whole face brightens. “Dang, you even make that ugly sweater look good.”
He doesn’t give me time to respond, choosing instead to hold up my bag and coat, open the door, and rush me straight outside.
“Tell me you haven’t done this before,” he says as we drive toward downtown Loveland.
“Do you really need to ask that question?” I try to glower, but I feel . . . excited?
“But you’ve probably eaten at most of these places,” he says.
“Not really,” I say. “I usually eat at Poppy’s or somewhere in the city. This will be new for me too.”
He looks pleased. “I was hoping for that. I just want you to have fun.”
