Chapter 1 #2
When Teddy isn’t smiling, he looks tough and really intimidating.
I’ve been watching him play football with Felix for the past two years and that tough and intimidating look has coincided with a lot of touchdowns.
He is no-nonsense, all-out, determined, and aggressive on the field, but when he smiles, Teddy looks like the nicest guy you could ever meet. And he really is.
My hand flies to the reindeer antler headband I’d forgotten I was wearing, and I smile timidly. “Thanks. Felix didn’t say you were coming to the house for Christmas again this year.”
Teddy’s from Virginia, a long way to fly home for the holidays. Last year, he came to our house. It wasn’t the start of my crush, but spending so much time around him definitely kicked it up a notch or twenty.
“I’m not. I didn’t want to impose on your family again. Emmett invited me to his folks’ house for the break.” He nods his head to our luggage, bringing my attention to his dark blond hair. It’s thick and a little unruly, but it suits him. “The suitcase too?”
“I can get that later,” I say.
“I got it.” He reaches in and grabs it then starts for the laundry basket.
“Not that one,” I say too late. The big, white basket is filled with dirty clothes that Stella and I planned to wash once we got to Mom and Dad’s.
A pair of my holiday panties with little gingerbread men and women all over them are on top, and I think I might die as Teddy quickly looks away and his cheeks go ruddy.
I take another step from the Jeep and Teddy shuts the back.
“Thank you,” I say again as we walk up toward the cabin.
“No problem.” He stops on the bottom step of the porch stairs to let me go first. “I gather you weren’t expecting us to be here.”
“Felix is nothing if not spontaneous.”
“Sorry.” He cracks a sympathetic smile as I pass by him. A dozen or more people stand on the front porch, drinking and talking.
Inside, the place is a mess. Empty beer cans litter the kitchen counter, the top of the fridge holds a row of liquor bottles, and next to the sink, shot glasses are lined up beside pizza boxes.
Teddy drops the paper bag on the counter and then hoists the suitcase up like it weighs nothing. “Where am I putting this?”
“I’m not sure.” I scan the living room. Pillows and blankets are spread out on both couches and there’s a sleeping bag on the floor.
“You two can have my room.” He tips his head and starts down the short hallway with the second bedroom, and I follow him.
“You don’t have to do that,” I say as he sets my suitcase down next to the bed. Felix will have called the master. It’s on the opposite side and has a private, attached bath.
“It’s fine.” He grabs his duffel bag.
“Where are you going to sleep?” I cannot picture him in a sleeping bag on the floor.
“I’ll mange on the couch.” He winks and it sets off a thousand butterflies in my chest. “Do you want a beer or something?
“No thanks. Not yet.”
He nods and heads back out. I linger in the bedroom for a moment to get my bearings. This trip is off to a rocky start. Are we all really going to stay here?
My fingers find the gold name necklace Stella got me as an early Christmas present.
She got one for herself too. She said they were so people would stop confusing us.
Our friends from high school could tell us apart, but since getting to Valley, we’ve had to go through the whole people confusing us thing again.
It gets a little awkward sometimes when people get it wrong, and I have to tell them I’m not Stella.
We’re only one minute apart and identical twins with matching long, strawberry-blonde hair and brown eyes with flecks of green.
Staring at her should be like looking in a mirror, but Stella has that something about her that would make her stand out, even if every person in the world looked the same.
She’s fearless and fun, confident. Stella has always been into sports and social clubs, while I like to hang with a small group of friends and cheer her on from the sideline.
If we were the Wakefield twins, she’d be Jessica for sure.
I take a deep breath and force myself to stop hiding. I can do this. Everything will be fine. Felix and his friends are fun, and I’ll be sleeping under the same roof as Teddy. There are worse things.
Teddy is in the kitchen, pouring himself a drink, when I walk out to the main room.
It’s open-concept, with the kitchen on one side and the dining room on the other.
The living area sits in between with a TV over the fireplace.
Sliding glass doors lead out from the dining room to a deck that looks out to the mountains, but the front porch is where people tend to congregate.
The TV is on and Jingle All the Way plays on mute.
“I love this one,” I say, stopping in front of the TV.
Teddy’s long legs eat up the space between us, standing beside me in three big steps. His arm brushes mine and I expect him to pull away, but he doesn’t.
“Me too.”
Captions are on and we watch silently for a few minutes before he turns to me. “What’s your favorite holiday movie?”
“That is an impossible question.”
A silent laugh shakes his chest. “Top three?”
“Elf,” I start. “Christmas Vacation, and Home Alone.”
He nods along. “All great choices.”
“But then there’s The Grinch, Bad Santa, Love Actually, A Christmas Story . . . there are so many good ones.”
“Die Hard,” he adds and then tilts his head to study me. “You aren’t one of those people who claim it isn’t a Christmas movie, are you?”
“Definitely not. It’s so a Christmas movie.”
He leans into me. “I knew I liked you.”
His shoulder rests against mine and that winter-wonderland scent envelops me as he stares down at me with gray eyes. My body warms from his touch and his words. I’m suddenly unable to come up with anything to say back to him and an awkward beat passes between us while neither of us moves.
This might be the longest conversation I’ve ever had with Teddy. And the first one we’ve ever had alone like this. Sure, we’ve had one-on-one conversations before, but there were always other people around, aiding as a nice distraction in case I said something embarrassing.
Noise outside catches my attention, breaking the nice moment between us and reminding me we aren’t really alone.
Teddy takes a step away. “Ready?”
I let out a shaky breath and nod.
Felix and two more of his teammates, Emmett and Lucas, are standing next to the door outside with girls I don’t recognize.
My brother introduces me to Tricia and Anna. The girls wave around their red Solo cups. A couple of guys join us, and Felix introduces them to me as Brian and Kevin. He doesn’t specify which is which, so I just nod and smile.
“We went to high school together. They go to NAU,” Felix says, and then hangs his arm around my shoulders. “And this is one of my sisters.”
One of the guys steps forward and extends a hand. “Nice to meet you. What’s your name?”
Felix’s voice turns protective. “Hey, hey. Don’t get any ideas. My sisters are too good for any of you. This is—”
“Wait, let me guess which one.” Lucas stares at me closely, then his gaze darts over to where Stella is standing on the opposite side of the porch. “You’re Stella.”
“Yep.” Emmett nods his agreement. “Definitely Stella.”
“It’s Holly, you idiots,” Teddy says.
“Really?” Lucas’ gaze narrows.
I nod.
“How do you always get it wrong?” Felix asks with a shake of his head.
“They’re identical twins,” Lucas whines. “They look identical.”
Felix just laughs, but Teddy stares right at me as he says, “No, they don’t. It’s easy to tell them apart. You’re just not looking close enough.”
I’m on cloud nine until he adds, “Her name is right there on her necklace.”