Page 31 of Mishaps and Mistletoe

Was she too good for him? Absolutely. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t thank her for all she’d done for him these past few weeks.

“Johnny, you’re off today, right?”

“Free as a bird.”

“Funny you should mention birds—I might need those kinds of skills this afternoon.”

ChapterTen

Josie’s boots crunched on the sidewalk leading to Kevin’s front porch. The poor guy was so optimistic about the impending snow in the forecast, he was out pretreating his walks. A forecast of one-to-three inches wasn’t grounds for that kind of preparation, but she didn’t have the heart to tell him that. She would, eventually, of course—it’d get expensive real fast if he threw that stuff around all willy-nilly at every threat of flakes.

“How exciting is this?” he shouted from the end of the sidewalk, waving a thickly gloved hand in the air. She assumed he was referring to the snow in the forecast, the first of the season. But a swirling in her tummy hoped he meant their evening together. Since they’d planned to go on the light tour on the trolley tomorrow evening at Oglebay—their last event on the Christmas checklist—they hadn’t made plans to get together tonight. So, Josie was both surprised and elated when Kevin had texted her this afternoon, asking if she’d like to come over to hang out tonight. He mentioned they could enjoy some of the extra cookies he’d smartly stashed in his freezer. Not that she needed the added incentive.

“Come on in,” he said, meeting her halfway up the sidewalk. The sun was just tipping below the hillside, the wild orange of the day’s end and the dark purple of the beginning of night swirled overhead. Strands of lights came to life as she stepped onto his porch. Pine garland twisted around every rung of the railing, and a fresh balsam wreath hung on his door. And he’d decorated the inside of the house even more thoroughly than the outside.

His eyes never left her face as he walked her to the middle of the living room. “I may have hit the Target holiday décor aisle a little hard this afternoon.”

“I think you officially knocked it out.” She turned to face him. “And I love it so much.”

He walked her around the room, pointing out every tiny faux pine tree, gingerbread man, and Santa figurine. Her eyes snagged on two matching stockings he’d clearly labeled with a Sharpie.

“Looks like you and Linus are all set to welcome Santa.” She brushed her hand over the velvety fabric.

“Not just Linus and me.” He scampered—yes, it was a definite scamper—to his room and returned with his hands behind his back. “Now, I noticed you didn’t have one at your house, and I realize this might be presumptuous because I don’t know if you’re quite ready for this or if this was even a tradition for you and your family…” He blew out a breath and slowed himself down. She’d never seen him so excited before. But his jumpiness hinted at a bit of nerves hopping inside him. From behind his back, he offered to her a stocking in the same similar Nordic stitching pattern as the ones already on the mantle. She rubbed her thumb over her name he’d written across the top.

“Do you like it?” He swallowed visibly, his elbows tucked tightly to his sides.

Maybe it was the gesture itself. Or the way he’d been so helpful and willing to share these little holiday traditions with her. Perhaps it was the nervous smile that slowly crawled up his face. It was likely all these things and more. But when she traced her finger over the name he’d written, a name only one other person still called her, something shifted. She was making new holiday memories. With him.

“I love it, Kevin.”

He nodded rapidly. “Great. Okay. That’s good.” He took the stocking from her hands, his fingertips brushing hers. She wanted to tell him to slow down. To look into her eyes. To sit by the fire and make a whole new set of memories with her. But he was a man on a mission—a mission of hanging her stocking on the mantle next to his. Such a simple gesture, but it felt even bigger than the Green-Monster Christmas tree from several years ago.

“You’re not the only one bearing gifts this evening.” She grabbed the small bag off the couch and handed it to him. Linus circled at their feet, barking and skipping at the sight of the present. “I didn’t bring anything for you, buddy,” she said, bending down to rub behind his ears. He immediately flopped on the ground, exposing his belly. Her rubbing made his hind legs shake, and he moaned like it was the most blissful moment of his life.

“I’m pretty sure that’s the best gift you could have given him,” Kevin said with a chuckle. He stuck his hand into the bag and pulled out the socks. “You didn’t!” His face beamed brighter than the strands of lights scattered about the room. “Jojo, this is—I mean, I’ve never—” He shook his head slowly. “Thank you.”

“I just thought you might like them. It’s nothing.”

He looked down at the pair she had pulled up over her skinny jeans. “It’s everything to me. Which sounds stupid, but—”

She placed a hand on his wrist. “I feel the same.” If Kevin’s Clark Griswold-style decorations didn’t short out the neighborhood circuits, the pings of electricity emanating from the look he gave her would cause a statewide outage at any moment. He turned his wrist so his hand was palm-up, sliding his hand to meet hers. The warmth of the action sent fire straight up her arm and throughout her body at record speed.

“These will come in handy for what I have planned tonight.” He nodded to the back door where two sets of ice skates sat propped against the wall. She followed him through the living room to the door, noticing the gentle tremble in his hand. He turned to face her, and his proximity caused her breath to hitch. When he took a deep breath, his chest brushed hers, and now she couldn’t breathe at all. “I need you to do something for me.”Kiss you?He took both of her hands and brought them to her face. “Cover your eyes and count to ten Mississippily.”

She snorted at theFriendsreference. “You’re not going to spray me with sunless tanner or jump out and scare the crap out of me, are you?”

He smiled. “Would it really scare you that much if you knew I was going to do it?”

“I’ve fallen to the ground for less.”

He shook his head. “You’re too much. Just give me a head start.” He licked his lips for the third time since they’d reached the doorway, and while she suspected it was a nervous habit, it drew attention to his mouth, which she was dying to claim with her own. “Can you do that for me?”

“Uh, yeah. Totally.” She brought her hands to her eyes and started counting.

* * *

“Come on out,”Kevin shouted from the other side of the door. She twisted the knob slowly, not because she thought he was actually going to jump out, but because even if he didn’t mean to startle her, he might. Excitement and nervousness swirled in her belly, making her jumpier than usual. But the tension melted from her body like Frosty the Snowman on a hot day as soon as she opened the door.

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