Chapter 15 Camden
CAMDEN
“Well . . .” Holly smiles up at me, and it’s fucking beautiful. “We need a big tree for your family room, so let’s go this way.” She picks up a tall stick with hash marks on it going all the way up to ten feet tall.
“What the hell is that?” I ask as Sophie’s eyes dart every which way, taking in all the lights and people around us.
It’s like the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future got together for a three-day bender, then puked all over this place.
There isn’t a single inch that isn’t decorated for the holidays.
“It’s the measuring stick.” She arches a brow, and her smile turns devious. “Are you really going to tell me you’ve never used one before?”
“Darlin’.” I lean down and let my breath coast over her ear, enjoying the small shiver that slips down her before she tugs on a slouchy white hat. “I’ve never felt any need to measure my tree to prove a point.”
“Is that so?” she asks with a shaky voice, and maybe it’s the heat that rushes to her cheeks that has me moving closer.
“I haven’t heard any complaints.”
She nods and nibbles on her bottom lip. “Okay, Grinch. I’ll keep that in mind, but we’re going to use this because you better believe we’re picking out the perfect ten-foot tree for Sophie’s first Christmas.”
I look at this tiny woman holding a stick twice her height and shake my damn head. “Of course you want a ten-foot tree.”
“Trust me, Camden. It’ll be beautiful.” She turns on her heels and walks between a split-rail fence, stopping to say hi to everyone the same way her brother did last week, and I follow behind like a lost puppy looking for someone to show him the way.
“That’s us, isn’t it, Soph?” I whisper to my baby girl as we follow behind Holly. Her white-blonde hair practically glowing against her bright-red wool coat. “Were we just waiting for Holly to show up and show us the way?”
Sophie opens her mouth and presses it to my cheek in what I’m coming to realize is her way of kissing me, and for the first time in a long damn time, it feels like everything might be right in my world.
The thing is . . . I’m not sure what the fuck to do with that feeling.
“Hey, Holly. Look at you all dressed up. What are you doing here? I heard you got some fancy job.” A young guy probably about Holly’s age grins at her in a way I recognize.
I fucking should, at least, because this guy is interested.
Not that I blame him.
It’s in the way he says her name.
The way he leans into her when she smiles at him.
He’s leaning against a golf cart, arms crossed over his chest, completely ignoring Sophie and me. “So what are you doing here on a Friday night?”
As I move in next to her, I catch the look on Holly’s face though, and it’s wrong. She doesn’t look happy to see him the way she’s seemed with everyone else.
“She’s helping me pick out a tree,” I answer, not giving a shit how possessive that sounds. Something about this guy doesn’t sit right with me. I’m not sure what. But I don’t like him.
The dumb fuck looks from her to me, then back to her.
Like he’s shocked to see her here with someone.
“Who are you?” he asks, cocky as fuck, and I want to laugh at him because it’s fake.
“Anson, meet Camden. Camden, this is Anson. He’s been working for my dad for years.” Her words are strained and shaky and don’t sound at all like the woman I know.
“Working for your dad, Holls? That’s it?” he groans, and she shrugs and steps into my side. And damn, the look he gives her is cold as ice.
That’s the only reason I have for doing what I do next.
I wrap the arm not holding Sophie around Holly and kiss the top of her head. “You ready to pick a tree before Soph gets too cold, vixen?”
She lifts her face to mine, a relieved smile playing on her lips. “Follow me.”
“Lead the way,” I tell her with a single thought running through my mind.
Anywhere.
“And then what?” Holly’s sister Hadley asks from across the counter in their kitchen later that night.
This family is up in each other’s business in a way that makes my head hurt.
Holly’s other sisters have both stopped in and out of the house over the past hour. The oldest looked at me like I was a bug she wanted to squash, while the other one looked at me like a lollipop she wanted to lick. This one doesn’t seem to care either way.
“Then I had to convince him he shouldn’t chop the damn tree down by himself.” My little vixen laughs as she and her sister swing their heads my way.
“It’s not like I haven’t used a chain saw before,” I grumble and take another bite of my sandwich. “I knew what I was doing.”
“Oh yeah. I can just see the headlines.” Hadley pulls off her Santa hat and fluffs her blonde hair dramatically.
Holly and she look so similar, I’d think they were twins if I didn’t know better.
It’s a little unnerving. “The Philadelphia Kings star quarterback is on the injured reserve list this week due to an unfortunate accident with a chain saw at Cherry Creek Vineyards. No one would ever buy our wine again.”
“No one was getting injured.” I look between Holly and her. “I used to cut wood with a damn axe when we were young.”
“Ohh . . . Could you rip them in half with your bare hands like Captain America?” Hadley asks, and Holly chokes on her eggnog. “What? He kinda looks like Steve Rogers.”
“You have such a type.” Holly laughs at her sister as she lays Sophie down in the pack ‘n play her sister keeps at the house, then turns back to me, a sexy little grin pulling up one side of her lips. “You could, couldn’t you?”
“Could what?” I know what she’s asking, but I like the flush in her cheeks as she asks it.
“What could you do, man?” Luke asks as he walks into the kitchen and grabs a sandwich from the tray on the counter.
“Rip a log apart with his bare hands like Captain America,” Hadley offers, and I shake my damn head.
Luke looks at me, fucking laughing. “He probably could. Monroe’s crazy fucking strong. But you—” He points at Hadley. “Don’t go getting any ideas.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, big brother.” Her voice is sugary sweet and fake as fuck, and something about it has me looking to Holly.
She lifts her hands in front of herself. “Don’t look at me. I stopped trying to speak Hades a long time ago.”
“Hades?” I whisper as Hadley and Luke continue their argument.
Holly hides her smile behind pursed lips. “She’s a little evil.”
An evil little elf dressed like Mrs. Claus. I can see it.
“Have you seen Dad?” Luke asks as he grabs an extra sandwich and kisses the top of Hadley’s head.
“He’s in the tasting room tonight,” Holly tells him as she tosses him a bottle of water. “I texted you about Dad’s present.”
“Yeah,” he groans. “I got it. That sounds good to me. Thanks, Holls.” He peeks in at Sophie. “Damn, you’ve got a cute kid, Monroe.”
“Isn’t she?” Holly looks over his shoulder. “A perfect little angel.”
Luke shakes his head. “You’ve been baby crazy since Mom brought Briggs home.”
“And he was an ugly baby,” Hadley adds. “The Grinch’s baby is adorable.”
“The Grinch, huh?” I ask, and Hadley flicks her hair over her shoulder and pulls her hat back on.
“Did you or did you not need my sister to force you to decorate for the best holiday ever?” she argues, and I hate that she’s right.
“Yup. Just like I said. Grinch.” With a cocky wink, she waves.
“I’ve got to get back to Santa before he tells another kid they can’t have a phone for Christmas because it’ll melt their brain. ”
“The fuck?” Luke groans.
“Don’t get me started. None of you assholes have to stand next to him all night. Love you guys. See you later.” She throws a peace sign up and pushes through the side door.
“Do I need to kick Santa’s ass?” Luke laughs and kisses Holly’s head. “I’ll call you next week.”
“Have a good game Sunday,” she tells him before he follows Hadley out. Her eyes dart to Sophie before coming back to me. “So . . . that’s my family. I know they’re a lot. But they’re mine, and I love them.”
“They seem pretty great, vixen.” I step into her space.
Close enough to smell her vanilla-mint shampoo but not close enough to touch.
She isn’t mine to touch, no matter how much I’m starting to wish she was.
She deserves better than what I’ve got to offer.
“Maybe not as Christmas crazy as you, but pretty great.”
“I make crazy look good,” she teases.
And that right there is the problem.
She makes it look too good.