Chapter 9 Harley
Harley
“Everything okay?” Mandi asks for at least the third time since I showed up to help her with her Christmas morning feast.
“Yep. Fine.”
Except nothing is fine. Because apparently Christmas Eve with Tripp was a one-time thing, and I was too chicken to call him on it. So I did the “cool girl” thing and just agreed.
Now I can’t stop staring at the clock, dreading the minute when he’ll walk through Mandi’s front door and I’ll have to pretend that nothing happened. Like I haven’t gone and caught feelings for him.
“You’re not a very good liar, you know,” Mandi says, pointing her spatula at me. She moves around the kitchen as though her ankle is completely healed. Coincidence?
Like her brother, she too is making pancakes.
Guilt twists my stomach in knots. Maybe Tripp was offended that I left before trying breakfast. But I forgot I had half the groceries Mandi needed in my kitchen since I offered to chip in.
I was already running late thanks to how hard I slept after all those delicious orgasms.
Or maybe Tripp was only interested in getting this lust out of our systems because we had a convenient opportunity to do just that.
“What did Tripp do?”
“Nothing bad.” That part, at least, is true.
“What didn’t he do?”
Tell me he loved me and wanted me to have his babies?
Love.
Fuck.
Am I in love with Tripp Montgomery?
I’m more fucked than I thought I was.
“It’s nothing, really.”
“I don’t want to pull the whole I gave you a free place to stay when you first moved here so you owe me card, but I’m about to.”
“Promise you won’t be…mad?”
“It’s Christmas. No one’s allowed to be mad.”
“Except Tripp apparently.”
“How did last night go?” she asks, her tone a little more suggestive than I would expect considering she’s asking about her brother.
“Fine.”
“Just fine?” She sets down her spatula, posting hands on her hips. A kid squeals form the other room, but her hubby has them under control. They’re not allowed in the kitchen until all the food’s cooked. “I’m very good about these things,” she adds.
“Good about what things?”
“Knowing when two people are meant to be together. And you and Tripp—”
“You’re not wrong.” It’s Tripp’s voice that enters the conversation, catching us both off guard. Mandi moves to give him a hug, then she punches him hard in the arm.
“Ow. What was that for?”
“I want to know why my best friend is wearing anything other than a I-got-laid-grin after spending the night alone with you.” Mandi waves her hand, as if in surrender.
“And yes, I know that’s weird to say about my brother.
But I was so sure about you two. So I want to know what you did to screw it up. ”
“Your ankle is fine,” I accuse playfully.
Mandi shrugs.
“If you’ll let me talk to Harley alone, you might not have to ask that question twice,” Tripp says to his sister.
Mandi stares at him hard, then finally relents. “You can use Jack’s bedroom, but don’t complain about the mess. If you’re not back in ten minutes, well, I’m not going to come looking for you. But I can’t promise you that the kids will give you much peace.”
My heart races as I follow him down the narrow hall into a little boy’s bedroom. It’s every bit the mess Mandi promised, but my focus doesn’t stay on the scattered toys for long.
Tripp reaches for my hand, and suddenly, it’s only us. No toys, no kids screaming in the other room, no Christmas celebration waiting for us to show up.
“When I said last night was a one-time thing, I lied.”
“Oh really?”
“You lied too,” he points out.
“I did. I just thought…”
“That we were getting this out of our systems?”
“Yeah, something like that.”
He cups my cheek, tilting my face up. “Harley, I’ll never be able to get you out of my system. I’ll never be able to look at another Christmas tree and not remember how right everything felt with you.”
“Ah, did I make your Grinchy heart grow two sizes too big?”
“You’ve made it grow ten sizes bigger. I think that’s why I avoided you since you moved here. I was scared of how fast I’d fall for you if I let myself get too close. One night, and I fell fucking hard.”
“That might’ve happened to me too,” I admit.
Tripp flashes me one of those panty-melting smiles, and my knees go instantly weak.
“Are you still scared?” I ask, because I sure as hell am.
“Sure,” he admits. “But scared or not, I’m all in to give this a real go.”
“Really?”
“Our biggest hurdle was Mandi, and apparently, she conspired with Mother Nature to conjure a blizzard and strand us together. So, I think we’re in the clear there.”
“This feels fast,” I admit. “But it feels right, too. It feels like…”
“Love?”
“I was going to say a Christmas miracle. But sure, we can go with love,” I tease.
Tripp presses his lips to mine softly, sensually. It’s a kiss filled with promise of a future. One we’ll build together.
“I love you, Harley. And I’m ready to go back out there and tell everyone how I feel. But only if you’re okay with that.”
“I love you too, Tripp. And I think if we don’t go back out there and tell everyone, Mandi might convince Santa to put us on the naughty list.”
Tripp chuckles, pressing a kiss to my temple and threading his fingers through mine. “The naughty list isn’t so bad,” he says, his voice low and seductive enough to make my nipples instantly pebble. “When we get home tonight, I’ll prove it to you. One orgasm at a time.”