Chapter 26
WALKER
“Have you heard anything else about the job?” I ask as Lacey lies next to me on the couch, her leg draped over mine and our hands clasped together where they rest on my chest.
“They want me there on the twenty-seventh.”
“What are they paying you? I’ll offer you double. Just say you’ll stay. Or we can make it yule—you know, keeping in line with the holiday spirit.”
She grins but I’m not kidding. I’d do almost anything at this point to get her to stay. And who doesn’t love a good dad joke?
“To do what?”
“Manage our books? I can get you set up right here in town. You can work for us exclusively, or I’ll handle all your start-up paperwork and you can be a badass running your own business.”
“Walker.” My name is a warning I readily ignore, brushing her hair back from her face and cupping her cheek.
“Look, I know it’s reckless to ask you to stay, but I don’t want you to go. I want you in my space. In my bed. And I’d be doing us both a disservice if I didn’t tell you I’m falling for you. It should feel sudden but it doesn’t. It feels—you feel—like I’m exactly where I’m meant to be.”
Sitting up, Lacey sighs when her lips press against mine, the kiss seeming more resigned than content.
“How about a compromise?” she offers, and my heart sinks but I nod, because if there’s any chance of this working, I can’t be the only one making demands.
“What if we try long-distance for a while? Maybe I decide that I hate the job in Chicago and then we can reassess?”
Her hazel eyes are full of equal parts hope and uncertainty, so I paste a smile on my face and press a kiss to her forehead.
“Okay, baby, you’ve got yourself a deal.”
“That is the worst elf stocking and shoes I’ve ever seen,” Lacey taunts as we face off after dinner, with rows and rows of sugar cookies waiting to be frosted.
“They’re much better than the reindeer you attempted,” I fire back, making her snicker as she points a butter knife at the offending cookie.
“You’ve got me there.”
“I told you we should stick to one color per cookie.”
“Where’s the fun in that?”
“We have to give these away. There’s no chance we’re going to eat a double batch of cookies, and seriously, who is going to want to eat this warped snowman I attempted?”
“I told you the white frosting needed more confectioners’ sugar.”
“And I already said you were right,” I repeat, letting my gaze rake over her as she does a little victory dance before picking up another cookie.
“I’ll never get tired of hearing it.”
I stare at the rows of naked cookies and realize I’d much rather have Lacey naked. Seriously, how many more of these are we going to do?
Placing my cookie back on the paper towel in front of me, I stalk around the island toward her. “I have an idea.”
“What’s that?” she says distractedly without looking up.
Caging her against the counter, I breathe her in, her little gasp of surprise going straight to my cock.
“We can box the rest of these and take them to your parents’ when we go, and everyone can decorate their own cookies.”
“Oh?” It’s more of a breath than a word as she sets the cookie and knife down and looks at me over her shoulder. “So what are we going to do instead?”
Teasing my fingers along the hem of her sweater, I move back enough to pull it up over her head, leaving her completely bare.
“Have you been like this all day?” I growl, turning her to face me and immediately cupping her tits in my hand.
“Yes.”
“I fucking love it.” I love you. “And now, I’m going to enjoy it.”