Page 24 of A DIY Christmas Miracle
Rumbling engines.
Our friends had arrived.
Chapter 10
Will
“Wow, it looks just like in the pictures.”
“What the ever-loving fuck happened to the cookies?”
“Where are our rooms?”
“The Christmas tree looks amazing… and you’ve even hung the stockings on the mantel.”
Suddenly, the calm, quiet atmosphere of the last two days was gone. Carried away by a gust of icy winter air as our friends entered the cabin, evenly distributing themselves and the snow beneath their shoes in the living room, talking so fast I didn’t know who to focus on first. Should I answer their questions or greet them first? How did they manage to take over the space within seconds? And how had they already surrounded me in a circle of people?
First things first. I carefully moved backward until I wasn’t the center of the crowd anymore but standing on the sidelines next to a ton of suitcases and coats. Yesterday had been such a nice and quiet day, so the sheer volume of the noise assaulting me now threatened to overwhelm me.
Handling multiple people at once wasn’t easy for me. Even if they were my friends. Even if I liked them, cared about them, and knew they cared about me. The noise, voices, and different impressions got to me easily. Uneasiness settled in my gut, the sudden realization hitting me that the next few days would be like this. Noisy and chaotic… and since I’d agreed to share a room with Eli, I’d given up on any chance of alone time.
In return, I got to spend alone time with Eli, so trading in the chance of a room to myself was definitely worth it. Even though I’d probably need a vacation to process our time together and get my head back on straight after spending a week in close proximity with Eli.
“Hey, man!” Jack gave me a crooked grin and pulled me into a quick hug. “Are you trying to fuse with the wall in order to hide?”
“Always,” I answered and shrugged, letting my gaze wander around the room. It’d get quieter in here again soon, right? Probably when the others moved upstairs to fight over the remaining rooms. “Did you get here okay?”
“Yeah.” Jack leaned against the wall next to me.
My eyes roamed through the room, unconsciously searching for Eli. I found him standing in a corner, whispering animatedly with Cassy. I could only see his backside, but Cassy’s worried and sympathetic expression was in full view. When she started rubbing his shoulder, my suspicion was confirmed. No matter what he’d said, Eli was anythingbutfine.
Why hadn’t he said anything? Didn’t he think I was capable of taking care of him?
“Soo… how was your time with Eli?” My eyes snapped back to Jack, my eyebrows raised in question at the weird lilt his voice had taken on. Kinda… knowing? Even though that didn’t make any sense. And a bit challenging, too.
Still confused, I tried working out what he’d meant. The question sounded almost suggestive, but he probably hadn’t meant it that… oh yes, he had. His lips twisted into a dirty grin and his eyes were filled with mischief.
I was getting hot and averted my eyes before Jack noticed me getting all flustered.
“Is it that obvious?” I asked quietly without giving him an answer.
“What? That you fancy my little quasi-brother?” Jack snorted, waggling his eyebrows. “In all honesty, no, it really isn’t. I don’t think anyone but me noticed.”
I slowly exhaled in relief.
“Soo…?” Jack prompted again, giving me a slight shove with his elbow.
Why couldn’t he just drop the subject? Oh, right, because it was Jack, and Jack was… kind of an ass sometimes. A well-meaning and very nice one, but an ass just the same. I didn’t want to talk about my silly infatuation. I just wanted to forget all about my feelings. As nice as they might feel for a moment, it was painful to know nothing would ever come from them.
“You two can talk later.” Sophie interrupted our conversation and started dragging her husband away from me. “While the others are still busy admiring the décor, we should sneak upstairs and grab the best room.”
Jack rolled his eyes and followed his wife, but not without a whispered,“We’ll talk about this later,”in my direction.
I watched the two of them trying to look innocent while slowly walking towards the hallways and the stairs, grabbing their suitcases on the way.
“Hey, where are you going?” Josh’s booming voice drowned out the other conversation. Sudden silence fell over the room.
“Uhm…” Sophie blushed.
