Page 43 of A Holly Brown Christmas
Holly’s breath caught, her eyes soft and shining. She reached for his hand, threading her fingers through his. “Then maybe we’re both wealthy now.”
He smiled—small, sincere. And in that quiet moment, he knew she was right.
And for the first time ever, he truly felt like he had everything.
The moment was ruined when Shmoop came running over with muddy paws and jumped up on the outdoor sofa between them.
“Dammit, Shmoop! You’re a mess!” Holly cried, even though she was laughing. “Come on. Let’s go inside and get you cleaned up.”
Lucas followed them and watched as the dog dutifully sat next to the kitchen sink and let Holly wipe him down. Then she gave him a treat, and he happily trotted out of the room.
“Clearly the two of you have the routine down pat,” he teased.
“Oh, yeah. There’s a spot in the back corner of the yard that I can’t get anything to grow—not even grass—so it’s usually muddy. And for some reason, that’s where Shmoop insists on going when it’s dark.”
“Sure, because you can’t see him or tell him not to go there.”
“Exactly. The brat.”
He took her by the hand and led her out to the living room. “I hope you don’t think I was being too presumptuous, but…I have an overnight bag out in my car.”
With her head on his shoulder, she sighed happily. “Good. I was hoping you were going to do that. I know it’s been a long day and we ate so much, but I’m not ready for it to end.”
“You’re hungry?”
She elbowed him in the ribs. “I’m ready for the eating to be over, but not our time together, silly. Sheesh. Way to ruin the moment.”
“Sorry. But um…didn’t your mom send us home with some of those peanut butter cookies?”
Now she lifted her head and smirked. “You’re hungry? Seriously? All we did was eat today!”
“I know, but those were so good and we finished eating hours ago,” he reasoned. “I mean, you don’t have to eat anything, but…I wouldn’t mind a few cookies. And maybe something to drink.”
She studied him for a moment before her smile grew. “You can have the peanut butter ones. I’m going to have the chocolate chip!” Jumping up from the couch, she ran to the kitchen and Lucas chased after her.
“Wow, and you were trying to shame me?” he teased.
Handing him the cookie tin, she shrugged. “In my head, I kept telling myself that I didn’t need to eat the cookies, but once you mentioned them, there was no way I could miss out.”
He tugged her in close, stretching to put the cookies on the counter so both his arms could go around her. “How about we take them inside and enjoy them after we get naked and enjoy each other?”
“Mmm…I like the sound of that.” Leaning up, she kissed him. “You grab the cookies, I’ll grab us a few drinks, and we’ll have to carefully make our way past Shmoop so he doesn’t come into the bedroom with us.
Because…yeah, the dog slept with her most nights. It was something Lucas was getting used to when he slept over, but it was still a little awkward for him.
They each silently peered into the living room and spotted the dog sound asleep in the dog bed next to the coffee table. Holly pressed her finger to her lips and whispered, “Shh…” before they tiptoed across the house. Neither made a sound until they were safely in her bedroom and closed the door.
Then they made all the noise they wanted.
And ended the night with cookies.
Twelve
Holly’s typical tradition was to put up her tree the Sunday after Thanksgiving, and she was surprised when Lucas asked if he could stay and help her.
Actually, they had gone to the local Christmas tree lot the day before so she could pick out her tree. He’d been curious why they didn’t decorate it as soon as they brought it home, and she had to explain that it needed a day to acclimate to the inside temperatures.
It was kind of cute how clueless he was, but it also made her sad because these things were part of her family’s traditions—picking out a fresh tree, eagerly waiting until it was time to decorate it, and then making a colossal mess of the house while you sorted through boxes of lights, decorations, and ornaments. But he took it all in stride and helped with anything she asked of him, and made sure nothing was left out that Shmoop could eat or get tangled up in.
