Chapter 25
Chapter twenty-five
Stephanie
“So…” Hailey dragged out the word when I entered our room after scrubbing all traces of tears from my face and finishing my nighttime routine in the washroom across from the Mistletoe.
“That was some kiss.” She wagged her eyebrows in mischief from where she sprawled across the double bed opposite mine, her chin propped in her hands.
I dropped my flour-bedazzled clothes in the laundry bag I’d brought along and spun around to face her. “How did you know?” I touched my cheeks, no doubt burning peony pink on my vampiric skin.
She blinked and closed the fantasy book open in front of her.
“Uh, I know the world fades away when you kiss and all that, but you did smooch in the middle of the living room, and we were all witnesses. Unless….” She bolted upright, springing from the bed and jabbing a finger in my direction.
“You’re thinking of another kiss. He kissed you again! Steph!”
I groaned and collapsed face-first onto the red-and-green plaid quilt on my bed, but I couldn’t keep the silly grin from my face if I tried. And I didn’t bother denying it. I needed this bit of lightness after that conversation with Hiram.
Hailey squealed and pounced onto my bed. “Tell me everything!”
“This feels very awkward, you know,” I protested. While I’d been on the receiving end of girl talk and hearing my friends recap their dates and relationships, my mostly dateless existence hadn’t prepared me for this.
Hailey shoved a pillow at me. “Stop stalling and spill.”
There was no way I was admitting to Hailey this had started out fake. Not with the precious newness of its realness. So I reluctantly shared about the pantry kiss and the flour bomb.
Hailey cackled loudly like one of those deranged Disney villains.
“Quiet!” I hissed, shoving my hand over her mouth.
She composed herself, propping her chin in her hand as she sat cross-legged opposite me on the bed.
“I’ve told Nana several times that flour is dangerous on the top shelf.
Never did I think it would have kissing ramifications.
” She chortled again before smiling widely.
“I’m happy for you, Steph. You’re great together. ”
“Yeah.” It was a small admission, light and breathy.
There was a steadiness to Nash that was heady.
Compelling. Maybe it was our friendship, or the way he’d been such a trooper about my family’s craziness, but things didn’t faze him.
He showed up and kept showing up. That was what I lo—liked about him.
It was too soon for the other L-word. Was it though?
“Hey, where’s Cam? I thought you were bringing him. ”
The light dimmed in Hailey’s face, and she shrugged, tugging at the cuff of her crimson silk blouse. “We broke up after Thanksgiving.”
I blinked at her. I hadn’t been home to Nana’s for Thanksgiving this year, spending it with Liz and the rest of Ben’s family instead. But I thought Hailey and Cam had been cute together. “And you didn’t tell me?”
“Like you didn’t tell me about Nash?” she shot back, a slight bite to her tone.
Yeah, this definitely wasn’t a great breakup because Hailey was never sharp. I arched an eyebrow, and she mirrored me. “Touché.”
“It was mutual. We’re fine. He has his singing career; I have mine. Can we leave it at that for now?” Hailey yawned, stretching her hands over her head. “I’m going to catch a quick shower.”
“Hey.” I stopped her once she reached for the doorknob. I knew deflection when I saw it. “I’ll listen when you’re ready.”
Hailey nodded and slipped out into the hall, pajamas draped over her arm.
Once she was gone, I reached for my phone. After Nash, that kiss, Hiram, and my bathroom breakdown, I needed my friends. In the faint light of the bronze touch-lamp with idyllic forget-me-nots printed on its frosted glass shades, I tapped the button for a four-way video call.
Liz was the first one to connect, her hair curled up into two space buns and looking adorable in a silvery wrap dress. And was her lipstick smudged? “Steph, are you okay?”
Just hearing her calming voice eased my tight breathing. “Hey, yeah. I just…” Just what? I bit my lip and snuggled under the covers. “Did I interrupt something?”
She laughed. “Just a bit of mistletoe. I’m still at Ben’s parents. Did something happen?” There was a small scuffle on her end, a whisper, and then it was quiet again.
“I—”
“Hey, what’s going on?” Paisley’s face filled the screen, her slightly too-large glasses dwarfing her delicate face as she shoved them up the bridge of her nose. “Merry Christmas Eve!”
Rosie barked in the background, but before I could answer, Juliet joined. Only… it wasn’t Juliet. It was a very awkward angle of her… ceiling?
“Jules?” I said.
“Uh… no,” said a very masculine voice that was decidedly not Juliet. “She’ll be a minute.”
Liz cackled. “Oh my gosh, Myles!”
“It’s not what you think,” Myles groused. “She’s finishing gift wrapping and asked me to answer while she’s putting the presents under the tree.”
That tracked since Juliet was a notorious Christmas Eve gift wrapper.
But I had to laugh, clearly picturing the Caldwell Chargers’ quiet goalie with his man bun in the epitome of discomfort at having to answer a girls’ video chat.
It wasn’t like we were indecent or anything, but comical nonetheless.
“Thanks, babe!” Juliet sang followed by a definitive kissing noise. She was a grinch for all but that man.
“Jules,” Paisley groaned.
“Sorry, give me a minute.” Her background changed from the ceiling to the pink-themed Christmas tree in her living room. “What’s up, Steph?”
“Nash kissed me. Or I kissed him.” Technically that living room kiss was on me. But the pantry… Yeah, he started that even if I asked. That sent the fireworks off.
“Are you serious?” from Paisley.
A piglet squeal imitation—definitely Liz.
“Wait, that was what you wanted, right?” A very Juliet question. And given what they knew about Jarrett, a fair one.
I sighed softly. “Yeah. It was a mistletoe kiss in front of my family.”
“Oh.” Liz hummed softly. “So it was for show.”
“Kind of.” I blew out a breath, pinching the bridge of my nose. Maybe one day you’ll let me kiss you for real. Those words etched into my brain on a loop, and I recited them to the girls, followed by the pantry saga.
“Wow, Steph…” Juliet mused. “I know I was reluctant about this in the beginning, but he’s good for you. Like, really good.”
“I just wish I could see all this cuteness firsthand,” Paisley sighed dreamily. “It’s so much better than a rom-com.”
I raised an eyebrow. “I’m not a public kisser.”
“That mistletoe kiss says otherwise,” Liz cut in. “I’m going to find a bunch before you get home and plaster it everywhere. Ooh, maybe Kelsi can help me smuggle it into the office. I know better than to ask Emmett.”
“One, you’re hardly a mastermind if you’re telling me your evil plans, and two, that’s an HR fire waiting to happen.”
Liz groaned. “Spoilsport. Fine, just our house then.”
“Are you sure that isn’t just for your and Ben’s benefit?” Paisley asked slyly.
Liz groaned. “Three and a half months. Do you know how hard that is?”
“Yes!” Juliet and Paisley chimed in, and we all laughed.
We chatted for a few more minutes about blasé things and trading Christmas family escapades.
Liz was in good hands with Ben and his family for the holidays, and I missed those few Idaho Christmases we’d spent with Juliet, Paisley, and the rest of the Satterfield clan.
Soon after, Paisley and Juliet said their good nights first, but Liz stayed on the line a minute longer.
“You know how you said to be careful about my heart?” I whispered.
Liz was quiet for a moment. “Yes.”
“I think it’s too late.”
“Do you love him, Steph?”
Did I? It felt too soon for that word. We’d been fake dating for less than a week. True, we’d been friends longer than that, and I’d admired him for years. But love? “Isn’t it too soon? It would be crazy, right?”
Liz snorted. “You’ve had two years to think about it, honey. Crushes fade. If this hasn’t, maybe it’s because it’s the real thing. Let me ask you again. Do you love him?”
“Yeah,” I whispered. “I think I do.”
“Falling in love can be scary, especially when you haven’t done it before,” Liz said soothingly. “But if he’s the one God has for you, it’ll work out. Are you feeling anxious?”
“That he’ll decide he can do better than me,” I whispered.
“Steph, not everyone will abandon you like your dad or those stupid guys you’ve gone out with. I’m still here.”
For now. I shoved that aside and confessed, “He makes me feel safe. Like I can breathe. I’ve never felt that way before.”
“Then I think you should see where this goes. Thoughtfully. Prayerfully. Don’t let fear hold you back.”
I silently offered a prayer of thanks for such a friend, who could celebrate my joys while also calling out my self-sabotaging tendencies.
“Thanks, Liz. And thank Ben for letting me borrow you. I’ll get out of your hair and let you get back to smooching.
” The conversation about my dad could wait for a different time.
I wasn’t in the mood to rehash it all again.
She laughed. “You saved him from a round of charades. Trust me, he’s your biggest fan right now.”
Exhaustion pulled at me as I joined the laughter. I’d won the friendship lottery with a friend who could make me smile no matter how close I was to tears. “Love you, Liz.”
“Love you right back.”
After hanging up, I pulled out the knitted garment I had been working on and finished stitching together the final seams. Nash’s gift was done with no time to spare. I tucked it into the gift bag I’d brought before burrowing back under the covers.
I barely heard Hailey come in a few minutes later. And after a mumbled good night, I rolled over to face the wall, a smile touching my lips, and fell asleep dreaming of Christmas morning, pantry kisses, and a dark-eyed handsome man with adorable glasses holding my hand.