Chapter 25 Holly #2
I point to the stool at the island. “Let me take care of your hand.”
“You don’t have—”
“I do,” I stop him. “I have to do something. Now don’t argue with me.”
He almost smiles.
Almost.
I cross the room and open Rainey’s freezer.
Giant ice pops, a few tupperwares full of frozen soup and .
. . jackpot. I pull out a bag of frozen corn and wrap it in a dish towel that smells like sugar cookies and cinnamon, then walk back over to Camden, who’s watching me closely.
Probably waiting for me to crack. He offers me his hand, and I turn it palm-up and kiss the calloused skin before flipping it back over and resting the corn against it.
Camden flinches.
“You could have been arrested,” I say softly, tucking the towel tighter around his hand. “You could be sued. You could . . .”
The thoughts race together. Words crowding each other.
Lose your image. Your career. Yourself.
“He touched you.” The words are ripped raggedly from his throat.
“Yes.” I swallow. “But it’s my fault. We’ve called him Handsy Santa for years. But he never bothered anyone but my sisters and me. So we never said anything.”
“It’s not your fault. It’s never okay for you to blame yourself for how a man behaves toward you. That’s on him. Not you, Holly. Never you. Never again. No one has the right to touch you like that. And I’ll fucking make sure it never happens again.”
“Camden . . . you can’t—”
“Can’t what? Be protective?” His mouth twists. “Sorry, but that’s not an optional thing.”
“It’s not that,” I insist. Maybe it is, or maybe it isn’t. I’m not even sure now. “You put yourself at risk by doing that.”
He exhales slowly. “I know.”
I let that settle quietly around us as we stand in silence. My hand holding his as the makeshift icepack numbs both our hands. And for a second, I wonder if this is how my month is going to be measured. Not by some fun advent calendar, but by the distances I put between us and the ones I close.
“Thank you,” I finally say, looking up at him.
Camden almost grins. “For what? Assaulting Santa? Would the Grinch do that?”
I shake my head. “For seeing something I didn’t want to make a scene about and not asking me to minimize it to make everyone else comfortable.
I have a tendency of doing that.” I lean in and kiss his cheek.
“Thanks for choosing me over the optics of hitting Santa.
Pretty sure your coach is going to have a cow.
He swallows and brings his other hand up to cup my jaw. “Always.”
I shift the corn and check his knuckles again. They’re swollen, and a bruise is blooming, but they’re not split open. “Here,” I set the ice aside and bring his bruised hand up to the other side of my face and for a moment, our breaths sync.
“What do you want me to do, Holly?” he asks, and the words sound exhausted.
“I don’t want you to do anything. I’m going to make sure Santa never works another shift anywhere.
My sisters will worry about a replacement.
Briggs will be home in a few days, and he can always fill in if they need him to.
The only thing I want from you is a promise you won’t do anything stupid for me again.
You can’t, Cam. Not with your job. It’s not worth it. ”
“Fuck, Holly.” He leans his forehead against mine. “You’re worth it. I knew it weeks ago. I know it now. That’s not going to change.”
I wrap my arms around his waist and hold on for dear life. “You know this was very grinch-like of you.”
“Hitting Santa?”
“No,” I pull my head back and ghost my lips over his. “Your heart growing three sizes.” I brush my lips over his ear. “Anything else growing?”
“Don’t do that,” he groans as he flares between us.
“Do what?” I play dumb.
“Make me laugh when I’m hanging on by a fucking thread.” A thousand things flash behind his eyes.
“Don’t look at me like that,” I warn him as I try to guess at his emotions.
He runs a thumb over my lower lip. “How should I look at you, vixen? Tell me, and I’ll try.”
I don’t have an answer, just my racing pulse and my pounding heart.
“Cam.” The door swings open, and Emmie steps inside. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” he groans, and Hadley pushes in past Emmie.
“Good. We fired Santa, and Joe, the head elf by night slash Kroydon Hills PD by day, has told Santa not to leave town. He wants to know if you want to press charges.”
Rainey moves around them. “You don’t need to decide tonight.”
Maverick walks over, and Sophie reaches out for her daddy, who gathers her to his chest.
“Thanks, man,” Camden tells him, and Rosie bounces on her toes.
“Can we go see the reindeer now?” she asks.
“Yeah.” Mav takes Rosie’s hand and wraps an arm around Emmie. “We’ll see you guys out there.”
Camden nods.
“Come on, Hades. Let’s give them a minute,” Rainey tells Hadley. “Find me before you leave, Holls.”
“I will,” I promise and run a hand over Sophie’s back. “You ready to get out of here?”
He nods.
“Promise not to hit any more holiday icons, okay?” I tease.
His mouth curves. “Come on . . . Can I negotiate a leprechaun? Pretty sure they’re evil.”
“Nope.” I link my fingers through his.
“Cupid?”
“Absolutely not. How would the world fall in love?” I gasp.
“I can think of a few ways,” he tells me far too seriously as he drops my hand and opens the door for me. “But for the record, I’d kick all they’re asses for you.”
“For the record,”—I step back outside, a cold gust of air rushing over us as snow flurries dot the sky—“I know.”