Page 67 of Bad Boy Bachelor Christmas
Cringing, I told him to let me climb on his back.
“You’re not going to put that up there, are you?”
“I sure am,” I said, prodding him in the spine to get him to bend over as I stepped up on the sofa. I needed extra height to get up on his back. “Sometimes the ugliest things are the best parts of a tree. And this angel is full of history. She was beautiful once. I bet someone was very excited to buy her when they saw her all sparkly and new in the store window.”
“I love how you look at things.”
He helped me up onto his back, and we managed to get the angel perched on the very top branch. It took some effort to make her straight, but once she was up there, we moved on to the lights, testing each strand before adding it to the tree. The lights were followed by garland, and finally we were able to start hanging ornaments.
“I haven’t done this in ages,” North admitted as he hung a red cardinal on a high branch. “Not since…” He trailed off.
“Since you did it with Veronica?”
He nodded.
“What was her favorite part of it all? Of Christmas?” Before, talking about his dead wife felt off limits, but now things between us were different. He wasn’t shut off. He was open and alive, and in my humble opinion, I always thought that Christmas was a time to remember the people we missed and invite their memory back into the room.
He smiled. “The presents.”
I laughed. “Really.”
“Yep. She used to deny it because it wasn’t the ‘spirit of Christmas,’ as she’d always say, but I could see right through her. She loved the surprise. The excitement. The anticipation. And I’m a pretty good gift giver, so her high expectations were almost always met.”
“Almost?”
He chuckled. “I got a swat to the backside of the head the year I bought her a gift card to a spa.”
“Uh oh. Gift cards amongst partners? That’s a no-no.”
“Yeah, I learned that the hard way and never made that mistake again.” He returned to the ornament box, picked out a simple silver bauble, and threaded a hook through it. “She’d have loved today. And she’d have loved you, too.”
“You think?”
“I know. She gravitated to happy people. Bright people. She would have thought you were almost too bright to look at. As I do.”
My cheeks burned and my eyes stung. “I bet I would have liked her, too.”
He hung the bauble, cleared his throat, and rubbed his hands together. “We need some Christmas music in here.”
We spent the next hour decorating the tree, taking breaks to snuggle on the couch, share some kisses, and pour some wine. I reveled in his company, knowing how fleeting these moments were, and thought about what Cami had said about trying to make long distance work. I wasn’t opposed to the idea. There was no doubt in my mind how real my feelings were for this man. He wasn’t just a Christmas fling.
North was someone I wanted my parents to meet, and that spoke volumes.
“I can’t believe how incredible this internship has been.” I sighed as I settled against him on the sofa when we were all done. The tree twinkled, the lights glinting off the tinsel. “I’m so grateful for these past few weeks and for everything you’ve taught me. If I had the option, I wouldn’t leave at all.”
North stared at the tree.
I chewed the inside of my cheek. “I’m going to miss this. But mostly, I’m going to miss you.” I resisted the cringing, insecure urge to ask if he’d miss me, too.
Still, he held his tongue. Suddenly, it felt as if all the romance and Christmas joy had been sucked out of the room.
I studied his features and the way his brows had drawn together.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Nothing. Nothing is wrong.”
“Really?”
