Page 13 of Better Than the Beach
“I’m sorry for your loss,” he says softly.
“Thank you.”
He breaks eye contact so he can slap a bow on the giftwrapped item in front of him, but when he looks back at me, the sympathy has been replaced with something more cheerful.
“I know it’s not Christmas Eve, but it’s been a while since I’ve seenIt’s A Wonderful Life...”
My smile is immediate, and I nod excitedly before Nolan can even finish his statement. He laughs.
“Let’s finish up in here, and then I’ll make us some popcorn. We’ll do it the right way. Ma, can we snag some of your sugar cookies?”
Nolan glances to the spot where Nan had been wrapping gifts, but she’s disappeared. Come to think of it, I can’t recall when I stopped hearing her soft humming blending with the Christmas songs on the radio. Nolan chuckles and shakes his head, then sends me a wink.
“If she’s not here to object, the cookies are fair game. Montrose Boys’ House Rules.”
I laugh. “And how many times did the Montrose boys get in trouble because of that rule?”
Nolan shrugs coyly, but his grin is wicked, and my skin tingles with nerves as I trail him from the sitting room into the kitchen.
“Where do you think she got to?” I ask as Nolan gets to work popping popcorn, pilfering sugar cookies, and fixing mugs of hot cocoa. He pauses a moment and pulls open a drawer next to the fridge.
“Snowmobile keys are still here,” he says as he takes a set of keys and shoves them in his pocket. “She’s around here somewhere. She’ll pop back up when you least expect it.” He looks at me with a smile and offers me a mug, steam wafting from the top. “Shall we?”
I take the hot cocoa, brushing my fingertips over his as I wrap my hand around the warm ceramic, then nod.
“We shall.”
I turn and head back into the living room with Nolan following behind me. I pass up the armchair and sofa, then settle onto the overstuffed loveseat.
Nolan hesitates. I can see him considering the spot beside me and weighing it against the armchair and sofa. Before overthinking it, I speak up.
“Oh, um, I thought you could sit here? Next to me.” I force a friendly smile and try to keep my hands from fidgeting and showing off how ragged my nerves are. “You know, so we could share the popcorn. If that’s okay?”
I drop my arm and pat the cushion next to me, and his eyes follow. When Nolan’s lips turn up on the corner and he points his feet in my direction, my heart starts to race. As he sits on the loveseat beside me, his thigh and arm brush against mine and the rush of heat in my chest is undeniable. I turn my attention to the television as Nolan pulls the movie up on a streaming app and try not to act like such a virgin.
“So,” I break the silence and grab a handful of popcorn, “you’re here visiting for Christmas?”
I see him nod out of the corner of my eye, but I don’t look away from the television.
“Yeah. Here with the family through New Year’s, I think.”
I hum and flick my attention to him. I can’t help it. I want to see his face when he answers my next burning question.
“...Just you? No girlfriend or boyfriend?”
I place another kernel of popcorn in my mouth, and his gaze tracks the movement before settling on my lips, then back to my eyes.
“Just me,” he says. “No girlfriend or boyfriend.”
I feel my lips jump with the urge to grin. Feel my cheeks heat with excitement.
“Oh,” I say as casually as I can, and he chuckles in a way that rumbles deep in my stomach.
“Yes.Oh,” he says. Then after a pause, speaks again. “And you? Will you be meeting up with someone in Hawaii? A...partner? Boyfriend or girlfriend?”
I shake my head slowly.
“Nope,” I say clearly. “No boyfriend. No partner at all. Just friends.”
