Page 30 of A Gift for her Festive Firefighter

“You can absolutely say that,” she breathed, feeling a rush of emotion wash through her at the simple gesture shared between them. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been hugged, and I miss them.”

“Me too.”

“Consider me your huggy-buddy…”

“Only if you’ll think of me the same.”

“You got it – and I’ll handle the cooking. Bring the roaring panic and anxiety down to a small roar and let someone help you.”

“Oh gosh,” he blurted out, hugging her tightly. “Are you sure? You don’t mind? I want it to be perfect and I shouldn’t have opened my mouth to the guys or you – but if it’s my first Thanksgiving in my first place, it just seemed like a shame to be alone.”

“It is a shame, and I’m really glad to help. Plus, we get to spend the day together.”

“So, we’re still on for dinner tomorrow night?”

“Absolutely.”

“I should probably extract myself and ‘un-hug’ you, shouldn’t I?” he laughed easily, causing her to smile. “Is it too early in the relationship to talk about decorating a Christmas tree together?”

“I should say ‘one event at a time,’ but you are on, captain,” Holly chuckled, unmoving from his embrace, and closed her eyes in happiness.

“Am I in trouble?”

“No. Why?”

“I prefer ‘Captain Hotness’ or ‘Hostess’ a little more,” he teased, before burying his nose against her hair. “Seriously, what perfume is that because it’s giving me little shivers down my spine. Let’s get you another bottle or two.”

“The guys are going to start gossiping,” she whispered nervously, remembering he was on duty and feeling a little self-conscious about her appearance, her scent, or all of this newness between them.

“Let them,” he breathed, brushing his lips softly against her temple. The sheer tenderness of the moment, that gesture she felt to her very fingertips, was more than she bargained for – and she would have offered up everything at that moment to have him do it again, only to have him withdraw slowly. “But you are right. I should probably head out.”

“What time tomorrow?”

“Five? And we can take my new little mongrel for a walk afterward, if you like. I need help naming him.”

“Awww,” she crooned, clasping her hands together happily. “I would love to help name your puppy.”

“See you tomorrow night then, my pretty pixie.”

“What? I’ve upgraded from ‘creature-feature’?”

“Oh yeah,” he said huskily as he backed away, nearly tripping on the coiled air hose on the ground. He laughed sheepishly, gave her a little wave, and then smiled. “See you tomorrow evening for our first date.”

“You got it, Captain Hotness.”

“Darn straight,” he chuckled, winking at her. She watched a moment longer as he climbed into the truck, said something to the other guys, and then again – all of them waved mockingly, but this time all of them were blowing kisses in her direction, and she could hear Cade’s happy laughter easily on the breeze.

Chapter 11

CADE

Ohhhh man, I am nervous…

To say that Cade was ‘stressed’ was putting it mildly. He had his first real true date with Holly tonight. The puppy cried all night until he let him sleep on the bed beside him, which resulted in him sniffing Cade’s breath or licking him right when he was on the edge of sleep.

“Being awoken by a mutt French kissing me is not my cup of tea… no matter how adorable he is,” he muttered absently, rubbing the back of his neck and offering up a prayer for a few minutes of peace. The banks were running the final credit checks before he closed on Tuesday, the holiday, the date, the puppy driving him bonkers, the lack of sleep – you name it, it seemed to be thrust into his world with no warning.

Holly was going to drive since she was still working on his car – not that he minded. She was taking the dent out of the fender, replacing the radiator, the belt, and the pulley. Every time he brought up the price, she waved him off.

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