Page 17 of The Christmas Cover Rule
“Careful, Jonas. Overconfidence is how you end up with a glitter bomb in your car.”
He laughs gently. “Alright, well, now that you know a little more about me, you want to tell me why you’re not into the family trips?”
“I would hardly consider your fear of squirrels?—”
“I didn’t say I was afraid of them. I said I hated them,” he interrupts.
“Okay, your weird hatred of squirrels…doesn’t count as knowing you better.” I look at him, hoping he’ll change the subject, but he doesn’t say anything. “It sounds so dumb when I say it out loud.”
“Aww, come on, Stell.”
God, something happens to me every time he calls me that. I don’t know if it’s because I’ve never had a nickname before, or if it’s just the way his tongue wraps around my name, but it does something indescribable to me.
His eyes stay locked on mine, and I get lost in their green depth. There’s something in the way he looks at me that makes me feel like he actually sees me, and it might just be wishful thinking, but the way he looks at me feels like it’s more than just pretend.
“Okay. It’s really not that serious, but I grew up watching all the classic Christmas movies, and continued watching them not just for the nostalgia, but for the feeling I got when I watched them. There’s always a warm brick house, with beautiful wallpaper, a fire crackling in the hearth, everyone is in cozy or oversized sweaters, they hold their hot chocolate with two hands wrapped around their mugs to keep warm, and it’s always snowing. In every single one, there’s snow acting as the backdrop to this magical night.”
“So you didn’t want to come to the Dominican Republic for Christmas because you wanted to be on the set ofThe Family Stone?”
A laugh burst out of me. “No, I just want snow! I spent my whole life in Florida, then I moved to San Francisco, and every Christmas since, I’ve been on a beach. I know I sound ridiculous and ungrateful, but I spent years decorating our house to look the way they did in those movies, and at the endof the day, I would get hot chocolate, and get on the couch—no fire because we never had a fireplace in Florida, and half way through the movie I would be out of the blanket, socks peeled off, and my sweater tossed to the side.”
“So, snow. That’s what you want.”
“That’s what I want.”
His lips purse as he nods, and we both look back over the water. We sit in a comfortable silence, letting all the things I so easily shared with him settle between us, and for the length of three waves brushing against the shore, I let myself wonder what it would be like to really be dating someone like Jonas.
CHAPTER 10
jonas
MilesSimpDaddyCameron: What’s the update?
Jonas: Good morning to you, too, handsome.
Jonas: Wait. What time is it there?
MilesSimpDaddyCameron: 6
Jonas: Jesus. Guess there really is no rest for the wicked, huh?
MilesSimpDaddyCameron: On the contrary. I’m ahead of work for the first time in years without you in my office every other hour of the day.
Jonas: Hold on. Changing your name to Miles Loner Boy Cameron.
MilesSimpDaddyCameron: Get me an update by the end ofthe day.
Annoying my best friend like I usually do first thing in the morning resets me. A couple of sarcastic swings snaps my head back on straight, and I’m pocketing my phone as I cut through the lobby. I might have been off my game the last few days, but that ends now.
“Good morning,” I drawl to the woman at the front desk. “Can you tell me where I can find the best coffee around here?”
“Of course. If you go down this way, head straight down until you get to the pool and then turn onto the path just beyond it, you’ll find La Taza Alta.” The woman gestures with her hand while never dropping her smile.
“Great.” I nod, pick up a brochure, and begin to thumb through it as I try to come up with a legitimate reason why she might give me the contact information for one Diego Grosso.
“There’s also a Starbucks just past the gift shop over this way,” she adds.
“Oh no. La Taza Alta sounds great. Any chance you think I’ll run into Mr. Grosso down there?”
