Page 10 of Fake It Till We Fall
And still, every woman I’d held over the years—admittedly, not that many—had been measured against her without even realizing it. None of them had ever come close.
Without meaning to, I breathed in and filled my senses with the familiar scent of the girl I’d loved for so long.
Only she wasn’t a girl anymore.
She wasn’t the Harper I knew.
Instead of the peach-scented shampoo she’d favored in high school, Harper smelled of fresh basil and parsley and the undeniable scent…of tomato sauce.
I didn’t let go right away. I couldn’t.
Her eyes opened, finding mine. Wide at first, then narrowing a little, like she was searching for something in my face. “Grayson.”
I nodded.
“You caught me.”
I managed a smile. “Someone had to keep you from breaking your neck.”
She huffed out a breath that might have been the start of a laugh. “I had it under control.”
“Balancing on a chair on the snow and ice? Is that what we’re calling under control?”
She pressed her lips together, and I eased her to her feet, reluctantly and slowly. When she was safely upright, I forced myself to take a step back. The space between us was instantly too much. The familiar ache in my chest that had taken overten years to fade to a tolerable level flared back to life with an intensity that took my breath away.
“Thanks.” She turned away from me to grab the garland. “I can handle it from here.”
“You know I’ve done this for Willa every year, since—well…for a long time.” I reached for the garland in her hand, but she pulled away. “I don’t mind helping, Harper.”
“I think I can handle a few lights and garland.”
I lifted a brow, and she laughed.
“It’ll only take a few minutes,” I insisted. “Let me grab my ladder. We don’t need any more close calls.”
She hesitated, as if she were about to argue again, but finally sighed. “Fine. But only because I have so many things to get done, and a broken bone would really get in the way.”
I grinned and jogged back to the gazebo, where I’d left my ladder and the half-fixed lighting. It could wait a few more minutes. By the time I got back, Harper was untangling the garland and muttering as if it had personally wronged her.
“I don’t know what it is about holiday decorations, but they all seem to end up in tangles and knots.” I locked the ladder in place. “Ask me how I know.”
Harper chuckled, and the sound filled me with warmth. “You really do seem to be Mr. Christmas around here.” She waved to the lights and decorations in the plaza.
“I wouldn’t say it’s Christmas exclusive.” I grabbed the end of the pine garland and climbed the ladder. “Tilley Beckett seems to have my number on speed dial whenever there’s something she needs done around town.”
“You’re just a helpful guy, then.”
“I guess I am.” I looked down at her before looping the first end over the hook I’d installed for that very purpose. “I volunteered for one thing about ten years ago, and…”
“It stuck.”
I laughed. “It sure seems that way.”
It only took me a few more minutes to stretch the garland out, letting it hang just so before hooking it to the opposite side of the window. I trailed the cord down the side of the door, tucking it neatly behind a piece of flashing, and plugged it in. “There you go,” I said when the lights flickered to life. “The only thing left is the?—”
“Wreath.” Harper held it out in front of her. “I think I can handle this much.”
“Are you sure?” I eyed her, but I saw the flash of a smile before she turned away.
