Chapter 16 #2
“Yeah.” I sighed. “I better go try to find her before Mrs. Pepper says the wrong thing and ends up as a lawn ornament.”
“I’ll come with you.” Nick tossed our napkins in the trash. “Maybe I’ll see Olivia and break the news about the brownies.”
“She doesn’t usually shoot the messenger.” I led the way, cutting through the line waiting to play Pin the Star on the Tree in the living room. Across the room by the fireplace, another group, including Axel, tackled holiday charades. “But it has happened before.”
“She likes me, remember?” Nick nudged me with his elbow. “Thinks I’m husband material.”
I grimaced as I headed for the back porch. “You caught that?” Strings of twinkle lights crisscrossed the backyard, leading to a firepit tucked in the middle of several Adirondack chairs, only two of which were occupied. Stars glistened overhead.
“None of you Sinclair ladies are as subtle as you think you are.” Nick followed me outside, the screen door slamming behind us as we started down the stairs.
“Oh yeah? Don’t forget, I had you going with Operation: Naughty List.” I spun to face him, victorious—until the December cold bit through my ugly sweater. I shivered.
Suddenly Nick’s hands were on my upper arms, rubbing briskly. “I guess you did.”
Heat rushed through the length of my body, flooding my toes tucked inside my off-brand boots.
I closed my eyes and thawed in the warmth, unwilling to spend too much time deciding if I was simply appreciating the respite from the cold, or if I was appreciating him.
Regardless, there were definite perks to a fake boyfriend.
This beat Mrs. Pepper’s endless questions any day.
But wait. I opened my eyes. Was Ryan even out here?
Nick’s hands stilled, lingering on my shoulders. “Um, Holly?”
I looked up to meet his coffee-colored eyes. “What?” Then my gaze drifted further above his head.
To the cluster of mistletoe hanging over us.
“ Oh. ” I would’ve backed up except my body refused to leave the warmth he offered. I was a moth. “Where’s Ryan when you need him, huh?”
“We never finished talking about that, you know.” Nick still hadn’t let go, and I still hadn’t stepped away.
I raised an eyebrow. “About mistletoe?”
“About what was…acceptable…operation behavior, and what wasn’t.” He cleared his throat.
“Ah, yes. Like hand-holding.” His touch on my arms was going to melt the pom-poms right off my sweater. Had someone turned on a heater? “And your tree branch arm.”
He shook his head at me, as if I were incorrigible, his eyes still holding mine, except now they’d deepened to espresso. “You caught me off guard, was all.”
I licked my suddenly dry lips. “That seems to be the theme of this week.”
“I mean, waking up to a snowman was definitely unexpected.” He smiled, back to rubbing my arms. But I hadn’t been cold for the last sixty seconds at least. “All the operations. All the rules.”
“We’ve followed them pretty well so far, I’d say.” I tilted my chin up. What was I doing? This was ridiculous.
“Mistletoe is, like, a rule.” His gaze darted briefly upward before landing back on mine.
“It is. It’d be a pity to, uh, break our rule-following streak now.” Oh my gosh, was I flirting? Did that even count?
“I agree.” Nick nodded solemnly, his hands stilling on my shoulders. “I mean, Operation: Jack rather, everything else stood still and time bent to mesh with his movements.
It was just us, and the inky black sky, and the lingering essence of chocolate.
I threaded my fingers into the back of Nick’s hair, relishing the way the silky strands felt between my fingers. His arm tightened around me, and I snuggled into the warmth of his chest. Oh man, our sweaters were not going to be the same after this proximity.
His stubble was rough against my cheek, but I didn’t care, pausing a moment to catch my breath and brush my lips against the bristle. He dropped a kiss on my cheek before we both found each other’s lips again, slower this time, more intentionally.
Less mistletoe, and more…Nick. More us.
Was there an us?
“All right, guys, that might be enough Merry Christmas for one night.”
I opened my eyes. Ryan.
Oh. Ryan.
Nick jumped back. “Hey! Hey, man.” He shoved his hand through his hair, which was sticking up in the back thanks to my fake nails. “We were just—”
“I saw.” My brother’s eyes were cool, his expression neutral. What, no freak-out? Or was this the freak-out? Why couldn’t I tell?
Why was I freaking out? Wasn’t Ryan’s seeing us the goal?
My stomach slipped toward my boots. Wait. Had Nick already realized he was nearby? Was that why he’d kissed me? Surely not…
But maybe?
“Mistletoe is mistletoe, right?” Ryan laughed, awkwardly. Nick echoed it. Now it was twice as awkward.
I found my voice, if not my confidence. “Nick and I—”
“Come on, babe.” Lydia, whom I hadn’t even realized had been standing behind Ryan, stepped around him and patted his back. “Your mom is waiting for that wood. You can talk about this later.”
I also hadn’t noticed Ryan was holding firewood.
I touched the back of my hand to my mouth, my cheeks flaming.
Talk about it? Like we were her school kids in trouble?
I shoved aside my pride, wishing I could find the answer I desperately needed written on Nick’s face. But he looked as stoic as Ryan.
I stepped forward. “We can help.”
“You’ve done plenty.” Ryan shot me the side-eye, and the joy I expected to feel at his distaste fell flat. Not when I wasn’t sure what Nick had intended.
Piper had been right. This was a disaster. “Ryan—”
“You guys. Quick.” Olivia jogged up to us, chest heaving. She planted her hand on Ryan’s shoulder. “Find Dad. Mom just fainted.”