Chapter 11 Snow and Mistletoe
Snow and Mistletoe
“Goodbye,” I called cheerfully to Polly as she gave me a tight hug, then ran off to jump in her mom’s minivan.
“Farewell,” I told Javi as he gave me a fist bump, then ran to meet his dad outside their giant truck.
“See you tomorrow!” I singsonged to Amaya as she waved shyly before skipping off to meet her nanny—who was waiting to walk her home.
“Rough day?” Monika asked as she shivered violently next to me in the Mistletoe vestibule as we watched the kids leave at the end of the day.
“What makes you say that?”
She snorted a jaded laugh. “I’ve learned the more you sound like a Disney princess at the end of the day, the bigger the glass of wine.”
I smiled, and it was genuine. “It was a day, okay? I have never been happier to say goodbye to those hooligans.”
She nodded knowingly. “Brody Perkins is the cutest and naughtiest kid I’ve ever met.”
“It’s his big eyes! I’m helpless!”
“You’re not the only one. He’s an adorable menace,” she agreed. “I think he comes by it honestly, though. His uncle Sam is so fucking hot.”
My cheeks immediately flamed, assuming she’d somehow been able to listen in to the Sam Autry fueled riot that happened only forty-five minutes ago in my classroom.
It was probably best to change the subject.
“Well, is that it? Are they all picked up?” I looked around, actively searching out forgotten kids so Monika would have to leave and go call their parents.
A big white truck pulled into the pick-up circle.
It was decked out for Christmas. Reindeer antlers were affixed to the windows, there was a full wreath swathed in lit Christmas lights on the grill, and the doors had been wrapped in decals that made them look like presents.
It wasn’t until it rounded the loop that I could see the side panels, though and amidst the plaid wrapping paper and big gold bow was the Holiday Brights logo.
Um . . .
“I should probably go—” I mumbled. To no one.
“Oh, my lord, is that Sam Autry?” Monika grabbed my forearm and dug her nails into my poor skin. “He’s so freaking hot. He’s, like, stupid hot. Like, illegal hot.”
“Erm—”
“Do you think he’s here about the lights? Not gonna lie, sometimes I think about breaking them just so I have to call him. Or Cooper Meyers. Cooper Meyers is my dream guy. Like literally the hottest guy on the planet. I just want to—”
“It’s Meyer.” I could not take any more of this. Not least of all because Cooper was an asexual being to me. Not hot. Not ugly. Not anything but Cooper in an adopted brother sort of way. But also it annoyed Teagan to no end when people said Meyers and not Meyer.
“Huh?”
“Cooper Meyer.”
“What about him?”
Sam stepped out of his truck and strode over to us.
He was dressed to impress, despite the work truck.
He wore black dressy joggers, a white dress shirt, and a trendy sort of quarter zip—no logo in sight.
He was sexy and mature and still kind of cool in his Air Max’s.
And all I wanted to do was lock him in a bathroom again.
He stepped up to me, his green eyes pinning me in place. “Hey.”
I tried not to smile. Tried and failed. “Hey.”
“Can I park there?” He gestured over his shoulder to his illegal parking job.
“No,” I told him seriously. “That’s a fire lane.”
‘Oh, shit. I’m sorry. I’ll move it.”
“What are you doing here?” He should move his truck, but school was out for the day and honestly parents parked there all the time.
“Our date, remember?” His smile was gentle, coaxing . . . too damn sexy for his own good.
I looked down at my outfit—leggings and an oversized chambray shacket on top of a tank top.
I’d thrown on minimal makeup this morning and put my hair into a ponytail, then added the fuzziest, warmest Christmas socks I could find, since today was Christmas Sock Day on the elementary holiday fun calendar.
This was not date attire.
And was he serious? Picking me up from school?
My cheeks were red hot despite the chilly December temps.
“H-hi, Sam,” Monika cut in, waving shyly at him.
He glanced at her, then back to me. “Hi, Monika.” With his attention firmly fixed on me, he said, “Ready?”
“Ready? Like now? I’m not dressed—”
“You’re gorgeous.”
“No, seriously, Sam, I need—”
“You’re perfect.”
I wrinkled my nose. It was fine. Date nights weren’t ideal for Mondays, so if we started early, maybe we would end early? And I could still make that nine pm sharp bedtime I loved so dearly.
“Seriously, Holly, I think you look lovely, but the first thing we’re going to do is outside, so do you have a coat?”
“Outside?” I gasped at the notion, my body already trembling from standing out here for after-school duty.
“I’ll keep you warm,” he said with a smirk.
Cue my internal temp rising.
“Okay, fine, but I need to go close up my classroom and grab my stuff.”
He nodded. “I’ll wait.”
Off I went, rushing through the school to collect my things and get out of here before Teagan saw me and demanded to know why Sam Autry had shown up like some knight in shining armor ready to whisk me off into the sunset.
I’d tell her all the details later, of course, but first I needed to get out of here without an interrogation.
Brody’s lisped demands chased me around the school, and I felt ridiculous thinking about marriage when we’d not even officially begun our first date.
Still, words like “disappearer” and “the one who got away” seemed to bounce off the walls as I made my way back to Sam.
Monika was still standing awkwardly in the vestibule when I rushed through. You’re going out with him? she mouthed, all bugging eyes and stompy feet.
I shrugged. What else could I do?
Outside, Sam was waiting for me by the passenger-side door.
I hurried over to his truck expecting to need to take a running leap to get inside the cab.
He opened the door for me, and I felt my heart trip over itself at the chivalry I hadn’t experienced for years.
Too nervous to do much else, I scrambled up into the cab, only for his hand to slip into mine when I struggled to find something stable to hold onto.
Gosh, he was so stable.
Too stable.
My head was swimming when I sat down on the passenger’s seat, noting the pine tree air freshener and the Christmas music playlist drifting softly through the cab. This man really loved Christmas.
He grinned at me as he took his place in the driver’s seat. “Ready?”
“Where are we going?”
He put the truck in drive, and off we went.
“How was your day?”
I consciously unclenched my nervous fists and took a steadying breath, ignoring the way he ignored my question. “My day? Um, weird.”
He chuckled softly. “Weird?”
“Your nephew is going to give me gray hair.” His soft, tentative laugh turned into a deep-chested barrel laugh. “Brody?”
“He is wild, Sam. If I’m not threatening to send him to the office, I’m trying to get him to keep from throwing us off track.
Today he threw a fit about using scissors, and then just when I thought I’d convinced him to finish his project, he told the whole class you wanted to marry me.
” I laughed like it was the funniest thing in the world, but this time, Sam didn’t.
“He does hate scissors,” Sam said seriously.
I side-eyed him, my heart suddenly in my throat. “He knows you fluster me. He brings up Uncle Bam Bam as often as he can.”
Sam tightened his grip on the steering wheel and shot me a lingering, thoughtful look. “Why’s that?”
There was heat behind his gaze, something sexy in the quirk of his mouth. My thoughts turned hazy. My lungs were suddenly forced to fight for oxygen. “Why’s what?”
“Why do I fluster you, Holly?”
A nearly hysterical laugh bubbled out of me. Was he serious? One quick glance confirmed he was. “You’re serious?”
He lifted one shoulder in a casual shrug. “We’ve known each other forever, Haden. What about me could possibly fluster you?”
“Well, first of all, we used to know each other. I haven’t seen you in six years.”
“Yeah? And are you going to tell me why?”
Why did he sound so mad suddenly? Why did it feel like we were on the verge of a fight I hadn’t seen coming? “Why I haven’t seen you?”
“Yeah, why have you been avoiding me for six years?”
“Avoiding you?” Now I was really flustered. If I thought I was flustered before, that was delusion. This was really flustered. This was super flustered. This was flustered so hard my hands went numb. “I haven’t been avoiding you?”
“Is that so? You just happen to disappear after we finally kiss and then don’t come back ever?”
“I didn’t realize the date you kidnapped me for was going to be an interrogation.” Sure, my tone was a little snippy, but what did he want me to say? What was he trying to prove? Was it over the top to throw my body out of his moving vehicle?
He rubbed a hand over his face, the faint scruff of his day-old beard scratching against his palm.
“I’m sorry. You’re right.” He paused long enough for me to finally exhale my pent-up breath.
“I told myself to let it go. To drop it.” Another heated look in my direction.
Another spasm of nervous flutters attacking my body.
“I’m glad you’re back. It’s just that what happened all those years ago has felt .
. . unfinished. I liked you a lot back then, Holly.
I mean . . .” Another frustrated hand slid against his jawline.
“More than I probably should have. And when we kissed that night . . .” We pulled up to a red light, and this time when he looked at me, he held my gaze, imprisoned it.
“When we kissed that night, I expected it to lead to more. I . . . I wanted it to be more than just some random thing under random mistletoe.”