Chapter 9 Ornamental Combat
#ORNAMENTALCOMBAT
ADRIAN
Sleep had been impossible.
I’d spent half the night staring at the ceiling, replaying that moment in the snow—the weight of Maddox’s body on mine, the way his gray eyes had darkened, how his breath had ghosted across my lips just before my damned shiver broke the spell.
The other half of the night I’d spent pacing, wondering if he was lying awake, too, cursing himself for almost kissing me.
By dawn, I’d given up on rest altogether.
The massive spruce leaned against the porch of my rental cabin like a silent, sappy sentinel casting long shadows across the fresh snow, and I couldn’t stop replaying the almost-kiss with Maddox or the way he’d practically fled afterward, making excuses about checking on the store.
Maybe he’d been right.
Professional. That’s what we needed to be. Nothing more.
As I’d waited for my coffee to brew, I got a text notification from today’s scheduled “date.”
Reid Bullock
Sorry, man. Can’t do the video thing at the reservoir today. Something came up.
I closed my eyes and groaned before sucking in a breath as another text came in. This time, it was from the grump.
Maddox
Storm now expected within a few hours.
I gritted my teeth, imagining being stuck in this small cabin all day by myself.
Any chance I can run into town to grab the stand and some lights and decorations?
Wasn’t sure how I’d get the tree in the stand and into the cabin alone, but apparently, I’d have plenty of time to try.
Maddox
I’m already on my way with everything.
I blinked and reread the message before responding.
You’re bringing the stuff here? Now?
Maddox
Told you I would.
The coffee maker gurgled as I watched dark clouds gathering strength on the horizon. My phone chimed with a weather alert. I was just beginning to wonder if Maddox should turn back home when his truck appeared in my driveway, tires crunching through fresh powder.
My heart did a stupid flip in my chest. I took a steadying breath and opened the door before he could knock.
“You didn’t need to come,” I said by way of greeting.
Maddox held up the tree stand and grunted, “Couldn’t leave you hanging after I made you a promise.” His eyes met mine for a split second before darting away, a muscle in his jaw twitching.
There was an awkward moment as he stepped past me into the cabin, his body angling carefully to avoid any accidental contact, like I might burn him if we touched. The air between us felt charged, like the static before lightning strikes.
“Coffee?” I offered, my voice sounding too loud in the sudden silence.
“Sure.” His eyes swept over the interior of the cabin, lingering on the rumpled throw blanket on the couch where I’d spent my sleepless night before returning to me. “Where do you want this?”
“Uh, what do you think about here, in front of the window? It’ll be nice to see the lights through the window as you drive up.”
After a few minutes, we fell into a comfortable rhythm, discussing placement options. It was casual. Safe. No mention of the destruction of his vaunted Rule Three, yesterday’s body-to-body tackle, or the heated moment in the snow that followed.
Wrangling the enormous tree inside was another story.
“On three,” Maddox instructed, gripping his end of the trunk. “One, two—” The tree caught on the doorframe, sending a shower of needles cascading over us both. “Shit!”
I couldn’t help laughing as pine needles decorated his hair like nature’s own confetti. “Very festive,” I teased, reaching out to brush some from his shoulder before catching myself. My hand froze midair, and we both pretended not to notice.
By the time we had it upright in the stand, we were both breathing hard, pine needles clinging to our clothes and hair.
“Hold it steady,” Maddox instructed, dropping to his knees to tighten the bolts on the stand.
I gripped the trunk, acutely aware of him positioned beneath the tree, his capable hands working quickly. The domesticity of the moment—us decorating a tree together like a couple—made my chest tighten with a longing I hadn’t expected.
A sliver of bare skin caught my attention above the waistband of his jeans and below the T-shirt that had ridden up his back. Muscles moved under his skin, drawing my eyes until I felt the sudden shift from domesticity to something altogether different.
“You can let go now,” he said, looking up. A pine needle was caught in his stubble, right at the corner of his mouth.
Our eyes met, and for a heartbeat, I was back in the snow, feeling the weight of his body against mine. I released the tree abruptly, taking a step back.
“Perfect,” I said, wincing at my breathless tone. “Thanks. I’m, ah, embarrassed to admit you may have been right. The tree is enormous. The cabin isn’t quite as big as I thought.”
Without thinking, I reached out and plucked the pine needle from his face. His breath caught, and I pulled my hand back like I’d been shocked.
Maddox stood, brushing more pine needles from his jeans. “I usually am, and you’re not the first guy to think something was bigger than it is.” He shot me a wink.
I gave a shocked bark of laughter. “I promise some things are as big as I claim.”
He rolled his eyes and pointed to a box on the floor. “I found some stuff lying around our back room. You can use whatever you want for lights and decorations.”
Inside the box were five small boxes of new string lights, two boxes of silver and gold ball ornaments in various sizes, and three giant rolls of various wire-edged ribbon. Everything was clearly new, not something that had simply been “lying around.”
I glanced up at him in surprise. “Are you serious?”
He shrugged and glanced toward the window, where snow had begun to fall more heavily. “I should head back before this gets worse.”
As if in direct challenge to his words, our phones both blared with an emergency warning. I pulled out my phone to read the details.
Winter storm warning in effect. Expect blizzard conditions, high winds, and dangerous travel. Shelter in place and monitor local updates.
I grinned at him and bounced my eyebrows. “Mother Nature says you should stay and help me wrangle the lights on this bad boy.”
“Mother Nature can’t fucking make up her mind. It’s the storm that cried wolf.”
We moved to the window together. Outside, what had been gentle snowfall just minutes ago had intensified dramatically. I could no longer make out the driveway past Maddox’s truck as snow whipped across the landscape.
“Shit,” Maddox muttered. His shoulder brushed mine, and neither of us moved away this time.
Suddenly, I worried he’d ignore the conditions and the warning in an effort to leave.
“Please stay,” I urged, no longer joking. “Even if you know what you’re doing out there, other people might not.”
He sighed and pulled out his phone. “I need to check in with Maya, make sure she stays put.”
While he texted his sister, I refreshed the weather app, watching the storm’s progress with a mixture of concern and—if I was being completely honest with myself—a flutter of something like excitement or nerves.
Being snowed in with Maddox Sullivan hadn’t been on my Christmas list, but I couldn’t pretend I was disappointed.
“She’s at Rosie’s,” he reported, pocketing his phone. “Bonnie closed the store about twenty minutes ago after Rosie picked Maya up to take her to the ranch. They’re taking the weather alert seriously, and everyone’s canceling plans.”
“Speaking of cancellations,” I said, remembering the text I’d gotten right before he’d arrived. “My third date canceled this morning. That’s three for three. At this point, I’ve decided your sister’s paying people to back out.”
He rubbed his face with his hands. “Wouldn’t put it past her, but I’m surprised about Reid. He loves ice fishing, and I think he wanted to make his ex jealous by being seen with you.” He shrugged. “Did he say why?”
I shook my head. “Just that something had come up.”
I looked around at the beautiful tree, the snow coming down heavily outside, and the stack of firewood ready to light in the fireplace. The cabin felt cozy, intimate—like a scene from one of those holiday movies I pretended not to love.
“You know,” I said carefully, “we could film this. The tree decorating. We could light the fire, put license-approved holiday music on the Bluetooth speakers, and record it as the third date.”
“With me as your date?” Maddox shot me a familiar look, one that smacked of annoyance and disapproval. “People are already getting the wrong idea.”
He looked at me like he worried I was “people.”
“You’re right. Never mind,” I said easily, pretending his reminder didn’t sting.
I walked over to the bedroom and rifled through one of my bags to find my tripod.
When I returned to the living room, Maddox glared at me. “I said no.”
“I heard you. Make yourself comfortable, but stay out of my fucking frame.”
I continued setting up the shot, moving lamps around, lighting the newspaper under the stacked logs in the fireplace, and setting the tree and decorations within the frame. Though Maddox stood to the side, the weight of his stare was like a physical thing.
I went into the bedroom to pick out the right clothes from the Nordique collection, and my hands shook slightly as I pulled off my shirt, hyperaware that he was somewhere behind me. I stripped out of my own jeans and reached for the Nordique ones.
“What are you doing?” Maddox demanded, his voice noticeably gruffer.
The heat of his gaze seared my back as I pulled up the new jeans, but I didn’t turn around. “Working.”
“No sexy Nordique boxers?”
I turned, zipping the jeans and adjusting my junk to fit. “You don’t find plain black briefs sexy?”
Maddox’s eyes were dark and cheeks ruddy over his beard scruff. He swallowed hard before answering. “It’s not the briefs I find sexy,” he muttered before looking away.
His response shocked me. “I must’ve heard you wrong,” I said, incredulous. “For a minute there, it sounded like you complimented me, Sullivan.”