Chapter 23
twenty-three
RYDER
“No, no, no!” Lexi’s shout rings out as I flip the switch on the stand mixer and turn it on high. I’m so ready to eat some sugar cookies. Just gotta mix this flour in with the wet ingredients, and then I can sneak some dough.
Lexi shouts one more time, but it’s muffled by the sudden cloud of flour plugging up my eyes, my nose, my mouth, and even my ears. Her shouts morph into sputtered laughter, and then she’s howling from a few feet away. Once I wipe the flour from my eyelashes and turn to her, I find her doubled over, laughing so hard, she’s clutching her belly and muttering something about trying not to pee her pants.
As I’m opening my mouth to tell her off, another puff of powder erupts from the mixer. I hurry to shut the damned thing off, but it seems the vast majority of the flour has already ended up all over me and the floor. There’s barely any left in the big metal bowl.
“Oh my god,” Lexi gasps, still clutching her stomach. Her green eyes dance as they survey me, lingering on my hair. She giggles, snorts, then wheezes as she laughs. “Oh, my god, Ryder. You look...” She laughs some more. “You look like an old man.”
An old man? What the hell? When my fingers go to my hair, I understand. It’s covered in white powder. Covered. My own lips twitch as I do my best to sound offended and menacing. “You think this is funny, OTG?”
Lexi’s continued wheezing tells me she’s not intimidated. Tears leak from the corners of her eyes as she nods emphatically. “Yes. I really, really do.” She pulls out her phone to snap a picture of me. “This is so going to be your photo in my phone.”
“Alexis,” I growl, stalking forward. “Don’t you dare show that picture to anyone.” I reach for her phone, but she pulls her hand back and shoves it in between her breasts. Not sure that’s the deterrent she thinks it is.
“Don’t even think about it, mister,” she shrieks as flour falls from my hands and arms, dusting the sleeves of her sweater. “I don’t want to have to change.”
My answering grin is wicked. I wasn’t planning on getting her dirty. At least, not until she said that. But now?
As I lunge for her, flour creates a cloud around my body. I look like that stinky kid Charlie Brown is friends with. The one who doesn’t seem to know how to take a bath. It floats down to the floor like a fine snowfall. Lexi tries to avoid my grip, but I’m so much taller than her, my arms are so much longer, it doesn’t take much effort for me to capture her in a bear hug before she can fully escape the kitchen.
“Ryder!” Her shrieks turn into squeals as I curl my body around hers. And then I shake my head. “No! You asshole!” Lexi tries to push me away between bouts of laughter. Her whole body vibrates as she loses herself in a fit of uncontrollable giggles. I keep shaking the flour out of my hair and into hers.
We’re both going to need a shower after this. Damn . I guess we’ll just have to take one together.
When she’s good and covered—though there’s still way more flour all over me than there is covering Lexi—I tug my phone from my pocket. Flipping it to selfie mode, I keep Lexi wrapped in my arm and use my uninjured hand to take the photo. It’s not as easy to use my non-dominant hand, so it’s not framed as well as it could be, but I don’t care. Because it’s instantly one of my favorite photos of all time.
We’re both laughing. Our eyes crinkle in the corners, and we’re both smiling with all our teeth. I’m absolutely covered in flour, while it forms a fine layer over Lexi. But that’s not the best part. The best part is that she’s looking at me. Not the phone. Me. And her expression is so unguarded, so genuine and full of affection, that I fall for her right then and there. The like and attraction I’ve been feeling since day one shifts and coalesces into something much stronger. Not love—it’s too soon for that, even for me and my sappy, romantic heart—but this is no longer just a crush.
I snap another photo, so I can remember this moment ten years from now. Because as much as Lexi talks about this thing between us being nothing more than a snow-pass, I know that’s bullshit. There’s no way I’m letting her leave this cabin and walk out of my life. Nope. My plans have changed. She thinks we can’t work, but I think she’s just scared to take a chance. And I get it. I really do. But I’m not scared. Right now, with a giggling Lexi pressed against my body and wrapped in my arms, I’m way more scared of letting this chance go.
It might not be easy, but I’m going to fight for Lexi Cross. I’m going to make her mine.
I turn, kissing her hard as I snap another photo and then another. And when we pull away, breathless and flushed, I take one of that too. “How about a silly one?” I request, brushing the tip of my nose across hers.
Her smile is so free, it solidifies my plan. She nods. “Okay.”
Turning our flour-covered faces to the screen, she sticks out her tongue and crosses her eyes while I puff out my cheeks and arch one eyebrow. Then we make a different face and take another. And right as I’m about to tap the button a final time to take another photo, Coach’s name flashes across the screen.
Lexi’s body tenses in my arm. I don’t need to look at her to know that all traces of the silly faces and the laughter in her expressive eyes are gone. My thumb hovers over the screen as my mind scrambles to change direction. I don’t know what to do. I’m planning to ignore the call when Lexi speaks. I hate the brittleness in her voice, when it was filled with such freedom and joy moments ago.
“Answer it.”
My throat is suddenly dry, and it has nothing to do with the flour. Turning to Lexi, I let her see how much I don’t want to answer this call. “I don’t need to, baby.”
She bristles. Whether at the nickname or my tone, I can’t tell, but I know we’re taking two giant steps back, and I fucking hate it. Her lips press into a thin line. “Just answer it, Ryder.”
I want to ask her if Coach called her yet today, but honestly, I’m afraid of her answer. If he had, she wouldn’t look so grim, would she? Fuck. What is wrong with Coach? She’s his daughter. She should have been the first person he called. The only person he cares about calling. I want to shout at him that he’s a fool, and he’s hurting the most precious woman in the world. But he’s my boss, and she doesn’t want him to know she’s here. So, I suck in a deep breath and hit the answer button.
“Hello?”
“Hey, kid!” There’s low-level chatter in the background as Coach practically shouts his greeting. He’s not alone. Lexi folds her arms over her chest. When she starts to pull away, I tighten my grip around her waist. No way in hell am I letting her withdraw from me. As soon as this cursed phone call is over, I’m getting us back to where we were. Happy and carefree and enjoying our time together.
“Uh, hey, Coach. Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas, son. How’re things going at the cabin? I wanted to check in on you and make sure you’re doing all right.”
“Yeah,” I say, staring at Lexi. “W—” She elbows me in the ribs with wide eyes and makes a slashing motion with her hand over her throat.
Oh, shit . I almost just said we’re doing fine .
I try to cover it up with a cough. “Uh, well, yeah. I’m doing all right. It got a bit hairy for a while there. The power went out for a couple days, but it’s back on now.”
Coach makes a worried sound in his throat. “Aw, shit, kid. Are you okay?”
“Only lost one toe,” I reply as I make a silly face at Lexi. I need her to relax. I need her to stop trying to pull away from me.
Coach chuckles. “As long as it doesn’t affect your skating. You managing to enjoy your quiet Christmas away from the rest of the world? I didn’t plan on you getting stranded there.”
This time, I look Lexi right in her eyes, so she sees the truth of what I’m about to say. “Yeah, Coach. I’m more than enjoying it, actually. It’s the best Christmas I’ve had in years.”
That thaws some of the ice building up around her. Lexi’s emerald eyes soften, and she rests her forehead on my flour-coated chest. I hug her tight to me. I’m not lying. This is the best Christmas I’ve had since my dad passed. It’s the first time in years I haven’t felt crippled by the loss of my parents. The first time I’ve woken up excited for the day and everything it holds.
“That’s great, Ryder. I’m glad to hear it. And don’t worry, the company I pay to plow the drive should be out sometime tomorrow or the next day. They said the roads are still a mess, but as soon as they clear the main stretches, it shouldn’t be long before they get to the side roads. Think you’ll be okay to stay there a bit longer?”
“Yeah,” I tell him, with my cheek resting on the crown of his daughter’s head. “Yeah, I’ll be more than okay.”
There’s a shout in the background, followed by a roar of laughter, and then Coach pulls away from the phone, and his muffled voice tells them to be quiet. “Sorry,” he says. There’s humor lacing his words. “It’s a madhouse over here. I can’t keep these hooligans in line. They’re going to destroy my house. You good, kid?”
“Yeah, Coach. I’m good.”
“Then, I’ll let you go. Call if you need anything.”
Call if you need anything . Lexi must hear the words, because she curls in on herself in my arms. Her shoulders hunch until they hit my chest. Does he tell her to call him if she needs anything?
“Will do. Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas.” There’s another wave of noise on the other end before it cuts off, leaving Lexi and I swaddled in thick silence.
Shoving my phone in my pocket, I wrap both arms around her still form and pull her tighter into my chest. Neither of us speaks for a few minutes, but the longer I keep her safe in my embrace, the more she melts. I don’t know what’s going through her head, but it can’t be anything good. I always looked up to Coach Cross, but the last few days have been eye opening. How can he be such a great coach and such a shitty father? Doesn’t he see how amazing Lexi is? Doesn’t he understand how much he’s missing out on?
I’m pissed, and without meaning to, I squeeze Lexi so tight to my chest that she lets out a squeak and then sneezes once, twice, three times. Chuckling, I move my hands to her shoulders and pull away. Her face is coated in flour and my chest has a face-shaped imprint on it. Lexi sneezes again.
“Sorry,” I get out through bursts of laughter. “Didn’t mean to choke you with the flour.”
She scowls at me, but there’s no real heat behind it. It’s adorable and even more ridiculous than it would have normally been because it looks like Lexi has a flour mustache. It ruins the badass appearance she’s going for. “Quit laughing at me, you giant shit.”
God, I can’t stop the laughter. “Chill, Oscar. You’re just so adorable with your flour mustache.” Using my thumb, I wipe it away from her upper lip. “I think you’ve found your signature look.”
Her powdery eyebrows draw together as her gaze narrows on me. “I’ll give you a signature look.” And before I can stop her, she spins out of my arms, drops her hand into the mixing bowl, grabs the waistband of my sweats, and dumps the powder down my pants and onto my dick.
All I can do is stare at this maddeningly wonderful woman as her eyes go wide as saucers and her lips open in a little O . My expression probably mirrors it pretty closely. Her hand still grips my waistband, and she’s still holding it away from my body. I peer down at my junk. It’s almost completely coated in flour. Even my balls are covered. I glance up at her, then back down at my crotch. She looks too.
“You dredged my dick,” I say with a stunned voice. She lets my waistband go with a squeaked little eep , and it bounces back against my skin with a snap . Slowly, so very slowly, I lift my chin and meet her wide gaze. “Oh, Oscar. This means war.”