Page 7 of Back to December
BRIDGET
You got there all right?
Not yet. About 20 minutes away.
BRIDGET
Text me when you’re all set up and let me know about Ella.
Not a problem.
BRIDGET
Laila? Be careful. Something is off about this. I’ll be there as soon as I can but just… be careful.
I’ve gotit under control.
BRIDGET
I know you think you do.
It’s just Enchanted Hollow, Bridge. What’s the worst that could happen?
BRIDGET
You really want me to answer that?
… never mind.
three
LAILA
“I thinkyou have this a little backward.”
There’s a tin sitting on the shelf in my locker, one that I know is filled to the brim with something Holden whipped up at his parents’ bakery. The scent hit me as soon as I opened the door, warm pumpkin and cinnamon, like he packaged up autumn just for me.
Heleans on the locker beside mine, his shaggy hair covering his eyes. “What? There’s a rule that members of the dance team can’t get cookies?”
“I’m sure there’s a football player absolutely forlorn that he’s not getting cookies.”
“Then he needs better friends,” Holden says, reaching past me to retrieve his gift. His arm grazes mine, just enough to send a shiver through me. He pops the lid open, and sugar and spice puff between us.
“You’re a terrible influence, Holden Lockwood.”
The side of his mouth hitches up in a grin, like he’s about to share a secret with me.
“You didn’t complain when I left you those pumpkin-shaped Reese’s.”
He’s right, I didn’t.They’re my favorite, and he’s the only one who doesn’t tease me when I insist they taste better than the regular ones.
“I probably should,” I say, trying to force casualness into my voice despite how hard my heart is pounding. “Dance outfits aren’t very forgiving, Holden. I have to watch everything I eat.”
That and my mother reminded me on the way out the door that I was looking “a little soft” and she’d leave room in my afternoon schedule for time on the elliptical.
He studies me for a beat, his dark eyes fixated on mine. For a second, I can’t breathe. Then he shakes his head, his voice soft. “You’re beautiful, Laila. From head to toe. I’ll just keep reminding you, zlato.”
“What does that mean again?” I whisper. It doesn’t really matter, because it makes me feel warm and fuzzy when he says it. That makes it important.
