Chapter 9
Chapter
Nine
“A little to the right.” I shift to get a better view of the star Axel is putting on the tree. “Too far. Go back.”
He makes an adjustment. “How’s that?”
“Crooked.”
“What?” he exclaims in dismay.
“Sorry, but it’s still not right.”
He throws me a taunting grin. “Who’s the perfectionist now?”
My hand shoots to my hip. “We promised Consuela that we’d get the tree decorated.
” It was the only way we could get her to go home.
The poor woman works herself to the bone.
The least we could do was offer to decorate one of the trees to give her a break.
We did pick one with an easy design—or so we thought.
“Okay, which way do I tilt it? Get it right this time,” he grumbles.
My eyebrows fly up. “Me get it right? You’re the one who can’t follow instructions.”
“If you think you’re so good, then why don’t you come up here and help instead of barking out orders?”
“Maybe I will.” One thing I’m learning about Axel is that he doesn’t mind challenging me at every turn. It’s actually refreshing. I can be a bit much for some guys, but Axel can hold his own with no problem.
“I dare you.”
That’s all I need to hear. I charge forward and climb up the ladder. When I reach the rung he’s on, I bat his arm. “Get down and let me show you how it’s done.”
“If you insist. But first, you need to move over, so I’ll have room to come down.”
“I am over.”
He steps down into my space. We volley for position, lightly shoving one another. Then my foot slips. I yelp as I fall sideways. He tries to catch me. The motion sends us toppling forward into the tree—ladder, and all.
My body is shaking from head to toe. I get to my feet, and he does the same. “Oops,” I wince, assessing the damage. The tree is on the ground, and several of the glass snowflakes and icicles are broken.
“Are you okay?” Axel asks.
I look down at my hands and arms. I have a couple more scratches to add to the ones from last night, but it’s not too bad. “I’m fine. How about you?”
“Not too bad, considering.” He dusts off his hands.
“I’m so sorry about the tree.” The ladder is now resting on top of it.
He shrugs. “No big deal. We have thirteen others.”
A startled laugh clips my throat. When he howls with laughter, I do the same. We laugh until tears rush to my eyes and my stomach hurts.
“Aren’t we the pair?” He gives me an appraising look. “Two for two. First, we do a pavement dive and now this.” He makes a face. “We’re not the most coordinated couple.”
The meaning of his words warm through me. So we’re a couple? Okay, it was probably figurative rather than literal.
“I’ve always been a klutz … sadly.”
He’s amused. “Ah, so you’re taking responsibility.”
“Not on your life. You’re the one who pushed me.”
He laughs again. “I see how it is.”
I lift my chin. “Yes, sir.”
He lifts the ladder off the tree and stands it upright.
I take in a breath. “I guess we’ll have to redo everything.”
“No way am I doing that again. Who knew there were so many steps to decorating a tree? It was painful enough the first go-around.”
I snigger. “Amen to that. What do we do with it?”
His eyes zing with adventure. “How do you feel about bonfires?”
I flinch. “We can’t burn the tree. Bianca will freak.”
“It’s not her party, and I’m the one paying for everything.” He glances out the window. “A bonfire sounds good right about now. Let’s drag this baby outside and torch it.”
Grinning, I shake my head. “Boys will be boys.”
“Yes, they will,” he drawls with pride.
“Alright, Mr. Torch Fingers, where do we go from here?”
“Grab that end.”
We drag the tree to the backyard, decorations and all. Axel gets lighter fluid from the garage and some long matches. When he lights the tree, it goes up in a fiery ball of flames.
“That’s what I’m talking about,” he proclaims with triumph.
It’s bitter cold—the kind of cold that seeps into the bones and makes everything stiff.
A few snowflakes drift in the air. I hold out my hands to the fire, welcoming the warmth.
Axel steps close and drapes an arm around my shoulder.
The gesture is so natural that we might’ve been together for years.
“Should we give it a proper send-off?”
I chuckle. “Thought we already did.”
He begins singing, “‘Oh, Christmas Tree, Oh, Christmas Tree, your leaves are never changing.’”
“Um, I don’t think that’s true in this case.”
He sighs dramatically. “I guess you’re right. New song. Joy to the World, the Lord is Come.”
I join in, and we harmonize. We sing a couple more Carols, not stopping until the fire dwindles down to a few tendrils of smoke.
“Well,” he says solemnly, “it was a good tree.”
“There’s never a dull moment with you, is there?”
“I certainly hope not.” He pulls me into his arms. “Wanna dance?”
“Are you not freezing?”
“Yeah, that’s why we need to get our bodies moving.” He twirls me around before bringing me back in. He slows our movements, swaying back and forth. “I know one thing we could do to keep warm.”
“Go inside?”
His mouth lifts in a crooked grin. “That too, but it wasn’t what I had in mind.”
The look in his eyes tells me exactly what he wants.
My heart pounds as he leans in. “Didn’t we agree to no kissing?”
“These are extenuating circumstances.”
“Uh, huh.”
He brushes against my lips with tender persuasion.
An ache pulses through me as I sigh. Gauging my acceptance, he kisses me softly and deliberately, causing my head to swim with desire.
This time, I’m the one who deepens the kiss.
A groan escapes my throat as I press my mouth harder against his.
Just like that, I’m no longer standing in a frozen backyard but flying high into the rushing river of the wind.
When the kiss is over, he wraps his arms around me and murmurs in my ear. “Your theory is officially debunked. This is no fluke.”
My eyes go misty. “No fluke,” I say hoarsely. This is real.
So exquisite.
So thrilling.
So painful because it won’t last.
“Let’s go inside and watch a movie,” he suggests.
I nod, fighting to rein in my emotion.
He releases me and checks to make sure the fire is fully out.
Once we’re back inside, we make popcorn and settle onto the sectional with a puffy blanket over us.
I glance at him. “What’re we watching?”
“Only the greatest Christmas movie ever.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s a Wonderful Life.”
“Yeah, that’s a good one, but not the best.”
He furrows his brow. “What? Everyone knows it’s the best.”
“Not hardly.”
“What’s your favorite?”
“An Affair to Remember.”
He makes a face. “Never heard of it.”
I turn to him. “What? Carey Grant and Deborah Kerr. It’s the best! So touching. I’m always bawling by the end.”
“Yep, same with me in It’s a Wonderful Life. When that Christmas branch jingles and Zuzu says, ‘Teacher says every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings,’ I can’t hold back the tears.”
“That is a good part. I also like where Clarence says, ‘See, George, you had a wonderful life.’”
“Actually, he says, ‘See George, you really had a wonderful life.’”
Laughter circles my throat. “Okay, I stand corrected. Really.”
“What’s so great about An Affair to Remember?”
“It’s the greatest love story ever! There’s too much to tell, you’ll have to watch it.”
“Okay? Double feature?”
A smile plays on my lips. “Double feature it is. I’ll even let you watch It’s a Wonderful Life first.”
“How generous of you.”
“Yep, we’ll save the best for last.” I throw him a grin.
He laughs. “Alright. I’m game.”
His phone rings. I immediately tense, wondering if it’s Zoe.
He pulls it from his front pocket and frowns.
“Zoe?”
“No, Lizzy from the soup kitchen. I’d better answer it.”
I nod.
“Hello … hey …” Axel sits up. “Is he still there?” He talks faster. “Okay, I’ll be there shortly. Thanks for letting me know.”
“What’s up?”
“I’m so sorry to do this, but I need to run out.”
I swallow my disappointment. “Is everything okay?”
His jaw tightens. “I’m not sure.”
I touch his arm. “Whatever it is … you can tell me.”
He takes in a breath. “There’s too much to tell, you’ll just have to see it.”
It’s not lost on me that he’s repeating my words from earlier. “Okay.”
“Will you go with me?”
I don’t so much as hesitate. “Of course.” I’m relieved that he’s including me in whatever this is. Is this about Dex? The man he asked Lizzy about?
“Thanks,” he says in a distracted manner that lets me know he’s already a thousand miles away.