Chapter Fifteen
Emma set her bag on the counter and began peeling off her coat.
“Just so we’re clear, I don’t want you to feel any way about this. We can just hang out, or sleep, or whatever—”
Her sentence was stopped by the presence of Caleb’s icy fingers on her cheeks. “I have a feeling you and I are both overthinkers.” He must’ve realized how cold his hands were, as he pulled them from her face and rubbed them together.
She tugged her other arm out of her coat, letting it fall to the floor. “I like to think of myself as a recovering overthinker. But yes, you’re not far off.”
“I know it’s early for New Year’s resolutions yet, but I think mine is going to be to think less and do more.”
“Good. Let’s talk less, too.” Before she could lose courage, she arched up onto her tiptoes, bringing their mouths together.
Some small part of her worried that their earlier spark had come from the fact that it’d been so long since she’d kissed anyone but Davis.
Newness, and all that.
This kiss proved her worries were unfounded. He tugged her closer until there was no space between them.
Even her overactive brain had no choice but to quiet as they kissed.
She brought her hands to his chest. How long they stood like that, intertwined, she would never know. It could’ve been five minutes or two days.
When he eventually pulled away, she emitted a little gasp. He cupped her chin. “I know we were just saying that we were going to stop overthinking, but I do think we should address the elephant in the room.”
Emma’s eyes shifted from side to side. “I was unaware of any elephants, but okay?”
He smoothed his thumb over her cheek and took a step back.
“I kind of need to know what this is. As I mentioned, I’m not exactly the playboy type.”
A jesting comment about him being more of a Playgirl type died on her tongue. He was trying to be serious.
“My reservation lasts until January first. It’s December fifteenth. Let’s say we spend the holidays together, and if that’s all this is…” She trailed, desperately wanting to say she’d do anything for it not to be. “Then that’s all it is. Are you on the same page?”
She wasn’t great at playing it cool. Caleb could probably tell.
Something passed across his face. “So, no pressure?”
“None at all.” She kept a bright smile on her face. “And no hard feelings either way, right?”
He exhaled. “Right. I feel better saying the words. Dodging the elephant has been hard for me.”
She brought her arm around his waist. “Especially with it being imaginary, I can see how that would be especially difficult.”
He gave her a half-hearted poke on the side. “As much as I’d like to stay here with you, the sledding competition starts obnoxiously early tomorrow. I should go.”
“Oh.” She tried not to let the disappointment show on her face. She wanted nothing more than to get under the warm flannel sheets with Caleb. But he was right. “I don’t want to rush things,” she murmured. “Especially if you have to be in full activities director mode tomorrow.”
He snorted at that. “I doubt Sabrina or Brandon will allow for that. I fully expect one of them to be there in the morning. But I agree.” He swallowed. “About not rushing.”
She arched up, bringing her cheek against his. “Then you should go now while you still can. Because otherwise, I’m going to change my mind.” She tilted her head, so they were eye to eye. “And there’s really no talking to me once my mind is made up.”
His chuckle was warm against her cheek. “That sounds oddly threatening, but I get what you mean.”
They shared a quick kiss. “I’ll see you at sledding, then?”
“After I hit the breakfast buffet, you’ve got it.”
He opened the door. “See you then, Em.”
He slipped out of the door. It latched automatically behind him.
“So, we’re at nicknames now,” she mused to herself.
She kicked off her shoes and fell back into bed, smiling.
* * * *
The only hill worth using for the sledding competition was in front of Sky House, so Caleb spent the early hours of Sunday morning clearing the section of the parking lot where the sledders would finish their run.
Then, he had to climb the steep set of stairs to the top and spread salt on the slick steps.
Usually, he’d find this sort of work monotonous. But given his good mood, he found himself humming as he stacked sleds. He and Emma were on the same page. It was time to stop overthinking and have some fun.
“Is that birdsong I hear?” a voice called behind him. “Because that couldn’t be my crabby brother, whistling while he works.”
He half-turned to face Sabrina, dressed for the ski slopes, even though Sky House was not a ski resort. Yet. Brandon and Sabrina still had dreams of expanding, but that dream wasn’t within reach right now.
“First of all, I was humming. Secondly, you’re welcome to set this up. It’s a pain in the ass. Literally. I almost wiped out twice as I was de-icing the stairs.”
Brandon came behind her, dropping another set of metal sleds on the other side of where Caleb stood.
“We appreciate your help, Caleb. Even if my wife may not say it directly, we do.”
“Stop speaking for me, husband,” Sabrina said. “Of course I appreciate Caleb’s hard work. That’s why I’m here! To help.”
Brandon laughed at that. “You’re here because the biddies were talking about what a hustler Emma was at bingo. Then they got to talking about how you and Emma left together.”
“And now you’re up here, in twenty-five-degree weather, humming as you work.”
“What are the criteria for entering the biddies, do you know, Brandon? I don’t think there’s a firm age limit since they brought Eleanor in, and she’s not even fifty. Because I think it’s time Sabrina got an application.”
She gave him a half-hearted slap on the arm. “Inez was fixing to put on her boots and come get the details herself. So, you should be glad it’s me, not her.”
“I’d be happier if it were neither of you,” he said.
“It’s nice to want things,” Sabrina said sweetly.
His glare quickly lessened when he caught Sabrina’s smile. She might tease him, but it came from a good place.
Most of the time.
“I like Emma. She likes me. It’s nothing serious. She’s going through a bit of an upheaval in her personal life. It’s more than just her ending her relationship with her ex. But that isn’t my place to discuss.”
Brandon and Sabrina exchanged a glance. “Then there’s you, divorced and doing a whole lot of nothing. You deserve to have some fun, brother. I’ll try and get the biddies to back off.”
Brandon scoffed at that. “Good luck.”
“The toy drive starts this week, so they’ll have to be back in town for that instead of trying to hustle our guests out of money.”
“Ugh, I hope they’re not still considering me for Santa,” Caleb said.
“Don’t hold your breath,” Sabrina said. “But I’ll tell them you’re too busy here to help.”
“I thought I heard them talking about a sexy Santa calendar. Carlos as the cover boy, you for Mr. March?” Brandon said.
Carlos was the second-in-command at Ellis & Daughter. And, despite getting married last summer, he was still something of a town heartthrob.
“That they consider me in the same league as Carlos is kind of flattering. But I’d appreciate any intervention to keep me here.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Sabrina checked her time on her smartwatch. It’s almost time to rustle everyone up for the competition.”
“What are the rules, again?
Brandon shoved a stopwatch at him. “The fastest one down the hill wins. No accelerants added to the bottom of the sleds.” He pointed to the sleds’ aluminum bottoms.
“Like what, cooking oil or something?”
Sabrina laughed. “You’d be surprised how competitive people can be. Especially for a free dinner at the lodge.”
Caleb glanced to where people were starting to emerge from the lodge building. “As long as no one breaks a hip in the process.”
“Oh, we won’t start until the Falling Leaves Fire Department and EMTs are here to oversee the situation.” Sabrina raised her hands over her head. “Over here, everyone! Let’s get this party started!”
Emma was at the front of the pack. She wore a bright pink snowsuit with a silver jacket on top. She looked around as if she were eying up the competition.
“You look like serious business,” Caleb said once she was in earshot.
“I have a surprisingly strong competitive streak. You saw that last night at bingo.” She motioned to her snowsuit. “I knew I was right for bringing this. Everyone else looks like amateurs.”
He snorted at that. “Well, I know who I’m putting my money on, then.”
She grinned up at him. “Good to know I have the betting man’s favor.” Their eyes met, and she brought a hand to the crook of his arm. “Hi.”
Just the way she said that straightforward phrase had him smiling from ear to ear.
“Hi. Did you sleep well?”
She took a step toward him. “Not really. Mainly because I was excited to see you.”
Before he could respond, Sabrina’s voice came booming over a megaphone. “All right, everyone! Line up, then it’s time to sign waivers and hear the rules!”
“Where the hell did she find a megaphone?” Caleb asked.
At the same time, Emma said, “Waivers? Should I be worried?”
“For a sledding champion such as yourself? I wouldn’t worry.”
Emma ended up being fourth in the lineup. Unfortunately, the competition lasted all of twenty minutes before those waivers came in handy. One of the guests landed sideways in the parking lot and fractured their wrist as they braced their fall.
Sabrina and Brandon worriedly took off to tend to the guest. Everyone else wandered off. No one was interested in becoming the next one with an injury.
Clearly, this was an event that wouldn’t be staying on the schedule after this year.
“Guess the first annual Sky House sledding competition is a bust,” Caleb said.
“And I didn’t even get a chance to go for glory. How disappointing.” Emma brought her gloved hands to her face. She mimed wiping tears away.
“You’re a champion here”—he patted his chest—“where it counts.”
She let out a raucous laugh. “Okay, smart ass. You’re missing out, not seeing my sick moves. That’s all I’m saying.”
“I’ll take your word for it. Hey, do you want to get a hot cocoa to warm up? I’ve been out here for hours, and I’m about to turn into an icicle.”
They turned toward the lodge. Emma looped her arm through his. “I heard the biddies talking about us. We’re hot news, apparently.”
“It doesn’t take much to excite them. Are you okay with them talking? I mean, they can be a little judgmental.”
She shrugged. “Let them talk. We’re grown folks who aren’t doing anything wrong.”
“Amen to that,” Caleb said.
She tugged on his arm. “Normally, I don’t like being in the spotlight. But just this once, I’ll take it. If it means I get to spend time with you.”
Caleb’s breath danced in front of him as he gazed down at Emma.
“Ditto, Em.”