Chapter 13 Anna #2
“Don’t even pretend, Annaliese Maxwell! You’ve gone your entire adult dating life never bringing a man home. If you wanted to bang, you did it at the guy’s house, and then you packed up your sexy shoes and drove home… alone.”
“Dean and I are not sleeping together!”
“Yet,” she teases, a filthy, flirty smirk curling her lips. “You’re letting him sleep under the same roof as you, which is so not your thing. You let him drive your car.”
“But—”
“You’re letting him into your heart,” she adds, softer this time.
Sweeter. “You didn’t make him take the Christmas decorations down, even after he said he would.
He got you to come out tonight. That’s a huge friggin’ deal.
You look at him, and he looks at you, and you just…
” She takes my hand in hers, squeezing. “It feels good.”
“Mel—”
“It’s okay not to rush it. It’s okay to just be in the moment and take each day as it comes. But as your best friend, I’m telling you there’s something here.”
“It’s scary.” I blink, blink, blink fresh tears into my lashes, my breath coming out on an aching shudder. “It’s terrifying, and I swear, the universe already shouted no. I literally hit that poor man with my car. With my dad’s car!”
“And while I acknowledge the universe’s unsubtle shout—” She studies me through perfect, loving eyes.
“—I’m not sure she was saying what you think she was saying.
You completely refused to exist for an entire month each year, Anna.
You’ve closed yourself off to basically every human on the planet, because God forbid someone else slide in and ruin another Christmas. ”
“Exactly, so—”
“But this time, it all happened in reverse. It’s still December, and there was still a car accident.”
I groan.
“But he’s okay. The worst has already happened, and he’s still right here, flirting with you. Crowding you. Wanting you.”
“Melanie—”
“Just give it a chance.” She squeezes my hand. “I’m not saying you have to marry the dude or fall in love. I’m just saying you should consider that this may be different. You refuse to put gifts under your tree every single year. Hell, you don’t even put a tree up anymore.”
“We did one today,” I mumble my admission, dropping my gaze to avoid Mel’s smug stare. “Dean went out and chopped down a small fir—hurting his shoulder more, by the way. Before I knew it, he had it standing proudly in my living room, and a box of decorations right beside it, ready to be unpacked.
“Hamilton!”
Squeaking, Mel spins and collects our drinks, then she skips back my way and offers my cup. “The universe had some shit to say this year, and I think she knew you’d intentionally try to misinterpret the message.”
“And by she, you mean—”
“The universe. Knowing you and the shit you pull, she sent Dean, that big smiling goofball, to ensure nothing would get lost in translation. He might not be your forever, Anna Banana, but he’s your right now, and dammit, he’s staring at you like you’re everything he’s ever wanted.”
My pulse hammers in my ears, thundering louder as I turn and meet his eyes.
Scooping her arm around mine, Mel circles and starts our trek back to the trio.
“Enjoy it. Whatever it is, for however long it lasts, I just want you to soak it up and bathe in it. Because you deserve happiness more than anyone else I’ve ever met.
” She squeezes my arm, bumping her hip against mine. “How does he kiss?”
“Oh my gosh,” I giggle. “So good. It’s not just a kiss, Mel.
It’s like…” I release a heavy sigh. “It’s consumption.
It’s intoxicating and mesmerizing and delicious, and if I let myself sink too deep, I’m scared I won’t find my way back to the surface again.
He has a whole life somewhere else, and it’s possible he’s…
” Nervous, I lower my voice and peek left.
Peek right. “Running from the law. What if he decides this was a fun Christmas romance, but now he’s done?
I’ll have sunk all the way into this deep, dark cavern where kissing is magical and his stare is all-consuming, and he’ll have just walked away.
No ladder left behind to help me climb out again. No light to lead the way.”
“Or maybe you don’t need a ladder,” she counters. “Because maybe he’ll be sunk with you.”
“You two look like you’re up to no good.
” With a playful smirk, Nick extends his hand as we approach and drags Mel into his side the instant she’s close enough.
He claims her lips with his own, teasing and smiling.
“I love seeing you happy with your best friend, Princess. But I won’t lie; I’m always a little terrified of whatever crazy shit you’re cooking up between you. ”
“We bought cocoa.” She tilts her head, angling away to allow the man space to nibble on her neck. “What did you guys talk about while we were gone?”
“Weddings,” Dean answers easily, one hand wrapped around his drink—not a beer—and the other arm cradled against his chest. “Nick told us where he’s taking Mel for their honeymoon.”
Gasping, I swing determined eyes back to the pair. “You told him? You won’t even tell me!”
“Because it’s a surprise. There’s nothing you won’t tell her, and I’m not ready for my almost-wife to know until we’re already on the plane.”
I look to Dean and lay on my most convincing, sexiest smile. For my brother. “You’ll tell me, won’t you?”
“Sure. On Christmas morning.”
“But they’ll already be there by then!”
“Mmhm.” He settles back on his heels, bouncing his brows. “I know.”
Carter clears his throat, the awkward fifth wheel, the sour-faced Grinch—Ha! I’m not the Grinch of our group today! Shuffling on his feet, he scratches the back of his neck and tilts his head… away. “I was hoping to talk with you for a sec, Anna?” He gulps, nervous. “Alone.”
“Oh… well…” I meet Dean’s wary gaze. “Actually—”
“Ten!” Festivalgoers shout in unison, cheering as the fairy lights surrounding the park fall dark. “Nine!”
“Maybe another time,” Dean rumbles, dismissing Carter and stalking across our small patch of grass to stand behind me.
His chest warms my back. His hand goes to my hip.
Best of all, his breath bathes my neck, and for just a second, while my eyes are still adapting to the change in visibility, his lips weave magic in the warm spot behind my ear.
“Seven!”
“Get ready, beautiful.” He slides his hand around to caress my stomach. “It’s gonna be pretty and sad and exhilarating and emotional. It’ll be all the things.”
“Five!”
“And I won’t be able to hold you through all of it,” he rasps. “Not the way I wanna.”
“Three!”
I stare toward the tree towering into the sky, the dark shape just waiting to be lit.
“I’m right here,” he murmurs, dropping his hand and taking half a step back. “I’m with you. You can lean on me as little or as much as you like. If you wanna stay all night, we can stay. If you’d rather leave, I’m leaving with you.”
“One!”
He places the world’s sweetest, softest kiss on the side of my neck, and then he’s gone. In exchange, the tree flickers to life, lights burning impossibly bright. Emotion catches in my throat, choking me as I study every branch. Every bauble. Every frond dripped with color.
My breath hitches, my lungs seize, and though I try to blink my vision clear, desperate to see every detail, every flickering light, tears fill my eyes anyway and make it impossible.
Applause erupts from other festivalgoers, cheers and hoots of delight.
Children squeal, and couples hug. Mel, being the most selfless, kindest friend I’ve ever known, peels herself out of Nick’s embrace and comes to stand on my right, taking my hand in hers and twining our fingers together.
And because Nick isn’t complete without her, he relocates to Mel’s side, effectively creating a barrier between me and Carter, cutting him off completely as he turns his broad back and provides a wall large enough to hide behind.
Dean’s warm breath hits my ear, startling me as a horrifying sob crawls along my throat and out to make me feel foolish.
“You look stunning under Christmas lights. And I’m not even saying that cos I wanna touch your butt.”
I choke out a snotty, ridiculous laugh.
“I’d say the same, even if you were my sister. Your tears are like diamonds on your skin.” He inches around and presses a kiss to my cheek, discreetly suckling a droplet onto his tongue. “You are the magic, Anna. That’s why the rest of us wanna be near you all the time.”