Page 41 of A DIY Christmas Miracle
“You’re so full of shit!” Linda shouted. She was sitting on a cushion in front of the sofa, her back resting against Juliet’s knees, a steaming cup of what appeared to be cocoa in her hand.
“I was faster.”
Juliet snorted, turning her head to me. “Don’t believe a word he says. We were just as fast as him–I mean until he landed in one of those safety nets. Afterwards, we were much faster because he was stuck.”
“That was one time! And it doesn’t count!” Marc giggled and winked at me. “It wasn’t my fault that kid was going so damn slow I had to swerve!”
“You almost knocked over a child?” I asked in disbelief, then sat down next to Josh.
The fire in the fireplace slowly warmed my chilled limbs while the crackling sound relaxed me.
“Almost. If they can’t ski, they shouldn’t be allowed on the track,” Marc grumbled.
I didn’t comment on that. I was too focused on trying to see if I could hear any noises coming from the second floor, where Eli probably was. I mean, he wasn’t in the living room and the light in the kitchen was turned off, so he probably wasn’t there, either.
He could be outside in the hot tub, or he might’ve retreated back to our room.
I didn’t want him to avoid me or his friends because of our argument–if you could even call it that. I still didn’t think I was at fault or that I’d done anything wrong. Eli’s mood had already plummeted before we even had our argument. More so, his mood had been the catalyst for our conversation and the thing that’d ultimately ruined our good mood.
“Would you like something to drink, Will? Hot chocolate? Tea, eggnog?”
Looking up, I gave Sophie a grateful smile.
“As a good British person, I’d love a proper cup of tea, thank you.”
“I’ve got you.” Sophie winked at me, then left the living room.
“You’re… what the fuck? Since when are you British?”
“I’m pretty sure he’s always been…” Cassy murmured quietly, but loud enough for Josh to hear her.
“Does it really matter if Will’s British or Canadian?” Jack asked, shaking his head. “I, for one, have much more pressing questions.”
I looked at Jack and shook my head, silently begging him not to expose my private life to our friends. Because as much as I liked them, there were things that were meant to be private. Just for me. And my feelings for Eli definitely fell into that category.
But Jack wouldn’t be Jack if he’d suddenly developed some kind of emotional sensitivity that advised him against broadcasting my feelings to the whole room.
“Sooo…” Jack leaned forward, a huge smile on his face. “How was your day with Eli?”
I wanted to groan and maybe throttle him a little. Also, I desperately wanted to change the subject. If only I could think of a clever way to do it. But my mind drew a blank.
The only things I could think of were the memories of today. Eli and I snuggled up under thick woolen blankets, enjoying our ride through a winter fairytale. How we’d talked and laughed and pointed at especially scenic views. The crunching of the snow beneath us, the jingling of the harnesses, and the neighing horses the only sounds in otherwise complete silence.
I remembered us joking while eating greasy burgers and fries. Eli’s grin when he’d asked me if he could try my milkshake and then sucked suggestively on my straw until I’d had to look away, my cheeks burning due to the association that’d flashed through my head.
“Oh, ohh! Look at Will’s smile!” Josh pointed at my face, winking at me.
If it wasn’t for the fact that it’d be even more conspicuous, I’d have jumped up and fled the scene. But if I did that, I would basically be confirming I had feelings for Eli.
“Here we are.” Sophie handed me a steaming cup. “One tea for you. I wanted to spike it because I figured you could probably use it, but I didn’t. If you want to add rum or anything, you have to do it yourself.”
Her smile was probably supposed to be comforting, but the only thing it did was show me she knew what we’d been talking about. Apparently, my crush hadn’t gone as unnoticed as I’d thought.
Had Eli himself noticed anything?
During our day together, I’d almost gotten the impression my feelings for him were mutual and that I’d drawn the right conclusion from our cuddling session in bed. Until… well, until Eli had just left me alone in my truck because I didn’t want to go into the hot tub.
I sighed, disappointed with how our day had ended. A second later, I realized it hadn’t been an internal sigh, but a loud one.
