Page 37 of That Thing You Brew
“I’ll work with her to remedy that,” I vowed, tucking my feet under me and readjusting my blanket. “Are you out celebrating with the guys?”
“Nah.” His voice was low but upbeat, like he was teasing me.
“No?” I asked. I glanced at the timer on the television.
“Nope. Didn’t feel like ringing in the new year with those clowns.”
I laughed. “Three minutes until the ball drops on the East Coast. Tasha and I usually watch their ball drop and call it a night. We’re lame.”
“You? Nah. You’re the opposite of lame. And someday, you’ll be in a fancy orchestra ringing in the new year on stage.”
I sighed. “Unlikely, but I appreciate your confidence.”
“It’ll happen,” he said, but I wasn’t so sure. I wouldn’t bet the ranch on it. Well, if my Palmer ancestors hadn’t gambled away and sold all our ranch lands. “How many minutes now?”
“Less than two. Happy New Year, Xavier.” The line went silent. Had the call dropped? I checked my screen. Still connected. “Are you still there?”
“No,” he said.
Huh?
The door opened, but instead of Tasha, an extremely handsome man in a wool overcoat and newsboy hat stood in my doorway. I gasped.
“I’m here.”
I tossed my phone on the sofa and scrambled out of the blanket, hurrying into his open arms. He lifted me off the ground and kissed the top of my head before setting me back on my feet.
“Nice hat.” I tapped the brim. “I like this look on you.”
He lifted it off his head and set it on mine. “And I like it better on you.”
I grinned like a dummy. I couldn’t think of a thing to say.
“Tasha said it was okay to stop by.” Behind him, the door to her bedroom clicked shut. I hadn’t even noticed her reentry. “I texted her earlier. When I called you, that was the signal for her to come down and let me in.”
“Wow,” I said. Wow, indeed. She’d meant it when she said she’d be there for me, even if she was worried.
Xavier had passed the Tasha Test.
“So.” He glanced at the television. “Thirty seconds. Can I still kiss you whenever and wherever I wish?”
“You better.”
Xavier’s fingertips lightly caressed my cheek, and then he bent toward me until we were forehead to forehead, nose to nose. The hat was bumped off my head, and neither of us bent to fetch it. As the last ten numbers counted down, we stared shyly at each other, grinning like Cheshire cats, anticipating the arrival of midnight in the east.
“Three! Two! One!”
Xavier didn’t wait for the crowd in Times Square to shoutHappy New Year.His lips were on mine, and then I was off my feet again, this time over-the-threshold style, but he was standing in place, holding me securely. I reached up to cup his face, his short beard soft under my hands. Parting my lips to deepen the kiss, all I could think about was how much had happened in the last few days and how amazing this next year of our lives could be, if every day felt like this.
When he pulled away, I opened my eyes. A dreamy look lit up his features, and I was sure my expression mirrored his own.
Too good to be true,Tasha had warned.
I pushed the thought away as he carried me to the sofa and sat, arranging me over his lap, legs to one side and cradling me to him like our first kiss-to-remember.
“Fifty-five minutes until the fireworks in Nashville.” Xavier waggled his eyebrows hopefully.
“And one hour and fifty-five minutes until Denver and Colorado Springs light up the screen. You should probably take your coat off,” I suggested.
