Page 60 of Fake It Till We Fall
She laughed. “Tomorrow is Christmas Eve,” she challenged. “Today is only Christmas Eve Eve. So tell him you want to talk on the twenty-sixth. Let him know you’re interested. What’s the worst that could happen?”
She had a good point. I shrugged.
“Well…what are you waiting for?”
“Oh. You mean right now?”
Harper laughed. “Right now, Grayson.”
I shook my head and pushed up from the couch to go in search of my cell phone. I found it in the back pocket of my pants, still crumpled on the floor, before I rejoined her on the couch.
With a breath, I typed the message before I could talk myself out of it.
Merry Christmas, Ollie. I should have said something earlier, but I’d like to have a serious conversation about me buying the store from you. Please text or give me a call when you can so we can discuss.
“There.” I hit Send and sat back. “Happy?”
Her smile widened, and she leaned forward to wrap her arms around my neck. “Very.”
As I sank into the familiar warmth of her embrace, I realized that for the first time in a very long time, I was, too.
Chapter 16
CHRISTMAS EVE
Grayson
Aday later, and I was still riding the high of my night with Harper. Every time I let my mind drift, I could see her sprawled out in front of the fire, the flames dancing over her glowing, bare skin, her satisfied smile hazy, and her body wrapped around mine.
Every time my phone buzzed, I half expected it to be her, even though what I was really waiting on was a reply from Ollie.
Nothing yet.
Although the old man wasn’t known for his prompt replies, and it was Christmas Eve, his silence still made me nervous. I tried to distract myself from worrying about it with more thoughts of Harper.
Her kisses. The feel of her coming undone around me. Her smooth, bare legs sticking out of my shirt as she relaxed on the couch, comfortable in her own skin with me.
The easy way we talked about anything and everything.
Well,almosteverything. I still didn’t know what her plans were for after the holidays. She’d managed to dodge the subjectevery time it had come up. But that didn’t mean she was leaving again. In fact, not once had she talked about a new contract or a job she was going back to.
If I wanted to believe that meant she was staying, that’s what I was going to believe.
At least until there was a reason not to.
Even if it made me seem delusional.
I set my phone down and reached for another roll of wrapping paper. The community center gym was alive with chaos. Next to me, there was a stack of gifts ready to be wrapped, tape stuck to tables, kids’ names written on tags, and a pile of bows toppling over every time I moved.
My brothers were scattered around the room, recruited by me, each one attempting with varying degrees of success to wrap presents without leaving jagged edges and bald corners.
“That doesnotlook like it was wrapped in Santa’s toy shop.” I took the sloppily wrapped gift from Preston and pulled back the tape in an effort to fix it.
“Who are you, Santa?”
“Actually,” I grinned, “I am. At least for a few hours when I deliver all these later tonight to the kids in need, I am.”
“Well, I amnotan elf,” Preston said. “In fact, what I really need to be doing is putting together a petition to save the trails.”
