Page 87 of Bad Boy Bachelor Christmas
“Not a clue,” I boasted. “This party is going to knock her on her ass.”
“She likes surprises, right?”
“I think so.”
“Youthinkso?”
I gave him a side-eyed stare. “Do you really think someone as enthusiastic and extroverted as Winter wouldn’t like surprises?”
“Touché.” Justin scratched his chin. “Hopefully she isn’t expecting a romantic evening with just the two of you and wants that more than a party.”
“She and I have plenty of time for romantic evenings. No more bullshit. No more gray area. We’re together. We’re going to make this work.” I unpacked the last bottle of wine and turned to my friend. “Speaking of romantic evenings. You and Cami have seemed kind of cuddly lately.”
“Cuddly?” He scoffed loudly, shook his head, dismissed me with a wave of his hand, snorted, and shook his head again.
Overcompensation much?
“We’re not cuddly,” he said. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh no? So you weren’t holding her hand yesterday at the lighting ceremony?”
“Our hands were cold.”
“Don’t bullshit me, Justin. If you two are together I’m happy for you. You don’t have to keep it a secret.”
He spoke out of the corner of his mouth and kept his voice low. “I’m not trying to keep it a secret from you, man. I’m trying to keep it a secret fromeveryone. Cami doesn’t want this to go public yet. She’s still…”
“Ashamed that she caught feelings for a fool like you?”
He nodded. “You get it.”
Laughing, I shook my head. “Listen, not that I’m one to give advice on relationships, but if you two are going to do this thing, you can’t be worried about what people think. If Cami can’t be proud about being with you? Maybe she isn’t your girl.”
He balked. “I’ve had the hots for her for ages. If she wants to keep me hidden under the bed, locked in the trunk, or crammed away in a dark corner? So be it. I’ll be her dirty little secret as long as she needs me to be.”
“You’ve got several screws loose, Justin.”
“It’s part of my charm. Ask Cami.”
My phone buzzed. “Ten minutes!” I cried.
The house felt suddenly more chaotic. The last bit of streamers went up. It had been impossible to find non-Christmas colors so close to the holiday, so we’d opted for white and silver. The theme was sort of cohesive. It could have been better, and certainly would have been if Winter had a hand in planning things, but that was off the table for obvious reasons.
Cami came hurrying over to us. “What are you two doing? Standing around chitchatting like high school girls? Justin.” She clapped aggressively, three times in rapid succession, to get his attention. “I need your help with the balloon arch. North? You need to corral people and tell them where they should hide for the surprise. I was thinking in front of the fireplace in the living room, but it’s your party, so you call the shots. Let’sgo, Justin, oh my gosh!”
She grabbed his hand and yanked him off his feet, hauling him into the living room.
He smirked over his shoulder at me like he’d just won the lottery and nobody knew it yet.
That remained to be seen.
In the final minutes before Winter arrived, I managed to get all the guests gathered in the living room and told them to hunker down when she got home so they could leap out and yell surprise when I led her into the kitchen under the guise of surprising her with dinner. They all huddled in front of the windows, which were trimmed in white Christmas lights that glowed on the freshly fallen snow out in the fields beyond. Winter’s decorations from the tree market still stood—the glistening white reindeer and the occasionally illuminated tree.
Cami ran around like a mad woman collecting spare decorating items like stray tape, scissors, and torn streamers or banners that weren’t used. She joined the group just as headlights flashed through the windows at the front door.
“She’s here!” Cami cried. “Justin, stop talking so loud.”
“I wasn’t saying anything—”
