Page 4 of A DIY Christmas Miracle
I couldn’t have suppressed my sigh even if I’d tried. I’d also met Will in a normal way, but I’d never managed to move fromcasual acquaintances and our loose friendship to somethingmore.
Granted, at first, I hadn’t really tried to. I mean, I hadn’t even known if Will was gay. Jack would’ve ripped my head off if I’d scared away his straight colleague by flirting with him. Jack had really hoped Will would turn into a friend, and I’d have never wanted to ruin that for him.
So, I’d held back. And honestly… at first, it’d been kinda nice to just have these butterflies squirming in my stomach, to simply enjoy the feeling of my heart speeding up and doing little somersaults whenever I saw Will. It was nice to just get to know him organically instead of vetting him as a potential partner until I noticed all the little things about him. His crow’s feet when he laughed and the fact he had a tattoo on his right biceps that he usually hid.
My phone buzzed, notifying me I’d received a new message.
Got pizza–be there in 5!
Cassy.
Shaking my head, I stared at my phone for a while, then sent a thumbs-up. Cassy used pizza to bribe people — and I knew exactly what information she wanted to get out of me. She wanted to know why I, of all people, had come up with the idea of spending Christmas somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Somewhere you went to go skiing. Outside. Where the nearest supermarket was more than a two-hour-drive away.
Because that idea wasn’t really like me. Honestly? It was a little surprising she was the only one who’d noticed how strange my suggesting this vacation had really been.
Though it was definitely good for me.
Seeing as Cassy was only five minutes away, I went to the kitchen and pulled two bottles of beer out of the fridge. That was our standard procedure. One brought pizza, the other provided beer. Usually, we’d turn on some kind of classical romance movie we wouldn’t pay attention to, cuddle up on the couch, and chat.
“Honey, I’m home,” Cassy called from the front door.
“Wrong house,” I yelled back. “Your honey’s not here!”
All I heard in response was a laugh. Then I heard a clattering from the hallway and a muffled bang, followed by a soft scream.
“Be careful, I moved my shoe rack,” I called out, though I had no doubt it was already too late because Cassy had the habit of not turning the lights on and then running into my furniture.
“Thanks for the warning, asshat!” Cassy cursed. Just a few seconds later, she appeared in the doorway, two pizza boxes in one hand, rubbing her knee with the other, and her face contorted in pain. “Fucking hell, I hit it dead center.”
“Sorry,” I replied sheepishly. “I didn’t remember you hadn’t seen my new hallway layout yet. Do you need an ice pack?”
“I prefer a cold beer. Aaaand… I can see you already took care of that.” She winked at me with a pained expression and hobbled into the living room, placing the pizza boxes on my coffee table before plopping down on my comfy light-gray couch. Her feet landed right next to the pizzas. I’d long given up trying to say anything about feet on the table; I knew a lost cause when I saw one.
“So?” Cassy asked expectantly as she grabbed the remote and chose a movie from our to-watch list.
“So what?” I inquired innocently while discreetly moving two books — both Christmas romances in which two people were snowed in together because research was important — from the couch to the floor next to it.
Cassy just gave me a meaningful look from her steel-blue eyes, a clear warning for me not to try anything with her.
“The others may not have thought anything of it, but you can’t fool me that easily. A lonely mountain cabin? In the middle of nowhere? In winter? While it’s snowing? With the intention of going skiing? Seriously, Eli?”
I shrugged, reaching for one of the pizza boxes to buy me some time.
“Can’t I want to try something new?”
Cassy laughed in disbelief and shook her head, making her short hair swish angrily through the air.
“Of course you’re allowed to want to try something new. But we’re talking aboutyou.Youhate skiing.Youhate too much snow at once.”
Instead of answering, I took a bite out of a slice of pepperoni pizza. My stomach growled enthusiastically. It was entirely possible I’d forgotten to eat something over all the cabin-renting, plan making, and romance-reading–I meant researching, of course.
“Usually, you’d be right,” I finally replied. My mouth was still full of pizza, but Cassy’s impatient look told me I couldn’t wait any longer to answer. She got that look from her mother. Arms crossed, one eyebrow raised questioningly, lips pressed into a thin line. If she were standing, she’d be tapping her foot, too. “But it’s Christmas and probably the only time we’ll be able to celebrate as a group. I want it to be something special. Besides, a cabin in the snowy mountains can be really romantic, don’t you think?”
“Ah-ha!” Cassy said accusingly, pointing her finger at me. “Romantic, huh? And you don’t happen to have a specific person in mind who you want to getromanticwith? Maybe the person you’re gonna share a room with?”
My face flushed bright and hot, but Cassy just giggled and winked.
“You’re blushing.”
