Page 51 of A Holly Brown Christmas
“Here. You take the food, I’ll take Shmoop. Do you have his food and bowls here, or are they still up in your parents’ house?”
“No, I brought it all over here, so he’s good to go.”
They worked together getting their dinner on the table, and the dog’s into his bowls on the floor. They sat down and ate while talking about the office decorations, general business, and his fears about talking with his sisters the next day.
“I’m sure it’s got to be upsetting for all of you, but hopefully you’ll come up with a better solution than I had.”
“There was nothing wrong with your solution, Holly.”
“Other than your parents showing up with people to make the other one jealous.” She rolled her eyes. “What was I thinking?”
“You were thinking of the best way to help my family and I appreciate it. Personally, I’m just happy that they both stopped calling me for a few days. I was ready to get a new phone and not give them the number.”
She giggled. “That seems a bit extreme.”
“Desperate times and all that.”
“I hate that you’re dealing with all of this. I can’t even imagine what you’re feeling.” She reached for her wineglass just as Shmoop came over and nudged her, causing her to knock her glass over. Wine spilled down the front of her as she shrieked, the dog barked, and Lucas banged his knee on the leg of the table in his haste to get up too quickly.
“Okay, okay…” He grabbed a handful of paper towels and handed them to her. “You clean yourself up and I’ll let Shmoop out.”
“Drats! These were my comfy clothes for tonight.” She began mopping up the wine.
“You can go into my room and find something to throw on. I know you brought stuff with you, but if you need anything else, whatever I have is yours.”
“Thanks,” she murmured distractedly. “I can’t believe I did this!”
“Come on, boy. Let’s go out.” The fenced-in area was on the other side of the property from the guesthouse, so Lucas simply grabbed the leash and took the dog out for a walk.
When they came back ten minutes later, the kitchen was clean, their food was put away, but Holly was nowhere to be found.
“Holly?”
“I’ll be right out!”
He led Shmoop into the kitchen to give him a treat, but when he turned around, something was different.
Stepping into the living room, he found it aglow with the soft, golden light of the Christmas tree. The rest of the lights were off except for one small lamp. Then, some vintage Christmas music began to play softly in the background. “What the…?”
Holly stepped out of the shadows wearing one of his flannel shirts—which was big on her—and nothing else but a sexy smile.
He was definitely liking the direction the night was taking.
“I thought we could decorate the tree now,” she said softly. “I know it has all the stuff we put on it earlier, but clearly you have some personal ornaments to add to it, and I think that’s amazing.”
“And more lights. It feels like it needs more lights.”
So they worked on stripping away some of the random ornaments, adding a few more strings of lights, and then all of Lucas’s childhood ornaments. It didn’t take long, but they had somehow taken that scrappy little tree and trimmed it with mismatched ornaments, handmade crafts, and warm white lights that twinkled gently.
Outside the window, snow began to fall in thick, quiet flakes, muting the world and making everything feel a little more magical.
Lucas sat on the floor, his back against the couch, and a half-finished mug of cocoa beside him. He watched Holly, who was curled up in his flannel shirt, and her bare legs tucked under a fuzzy blanket right next to the tree. She was holding one of the ornaments he made in elementary school—a lopsided Santa with a cotton ball beard.
“Was this supposed to be a beard or… did you glue a marshmallow to his face?” she teased gently.
Lucas groaned, hiding his face. “That was my peak creative era. Don’t judge third grade me.”
Laughing, she set it back on the tree, deliberately front and center. “Well, I love it. It's perfectly terrible. Just like my taco ornament.” Then she paused. “No, I take that back. This one isn’t terrible. It’s sweet. I love that your mom saved it.” Scooting closer, she rested her head on his shoulder.
