Page 57 of The Christmas Fix
“Are you two going to need a babysitter?” Drake teased.
“I’m not helping either one of you with the body,” Henry chimed in.
“So, dramatic,” Cat complained. “Two adults who don’t like each other can go to the grocery store without committing a murder.”
“Not when one of those adults is you,” Gannon pointed out.
Cat flipped her brother the bird and stuck her tongue out.
Gannon reciprocated by rubbing his eye with his middle finger. “Oh, sorry. I seem to have something in my eye.”
“I’m surrounded by comedians,” Cat complained and wedged her way through the crowd toward the door. “Let’s go, Yates.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
“You guys are like one big, messy family,” Noah noted as he closed the RV door behind them while Cat zipped her jacket up to her chin.
She laughed, a silvery cloud of breath escaping with it. “We are family. You spend this much time with each other, and you end up bonding whether you want to or not.”
“You don’t seem to mind,” he pointed out.
She shrugged, stuffing her hands in her pockets. “I love my job, and I couldn’t do that job without those yahoos in there. They’re very dear to me.”
They set off across the parking lot.
“I’m surprised at how much they seem to care.”
“Jesus, Noah. Do you realize how snotty you sound right now?Of course,they care. They’re human beings.”
“That came out wrong. Sort of. I wasn’t expecting this when you forced me into filming.”
“I told you we wouldn’t screw you over,” Cat reminded him smugly.
“Yeah, but how was I supposed to know I can trust that? You can’t expect me to believe that every crew would come in here and care.”
“No, of course not. Not all teams are equal. Mine just happens to be pretty damn superior in every way.”
“So far they seem great.”
“You are wound so tightly I’m amazed you haven’t popped a vein. Why are you always waiting for something bad to happen?”
Cat was prodding at a sore spot that he’d only just become aware of. “I’m not that bad.”
She jumped, landing with both feet on the mat in front of the automatic door. The doors slid open. “When’s the last time you had any fun at all?” she asked, shoving a cart at him.
“Six nights ago, in the alley.”
“Hmm.” The look she leveled at him gave nothing away. “I was wondering if you’d bring that up. I couldn’t decide if you were going to bring it up and apologize or pretend that it never happened.”
She led the way toward the snack aisle. Noah leaned on the handle and followed her. The store was all but deserted after eleven.
“Besides some ill-advised second basing, what else do you do for fun?” Cat asked, tossing a bag of tortilla chips and a jar of queso into the cart.
“I’ve been busy lately.”
“Basketball on the weekends with the guys?”
He shook his head. “Nope.”
