Page 67 of Christmas Criminal

"Come in, come in," I say, gesturing inside.

When she steps inside, I swear I feel a shift in the house. Like she's meant to be here, all smiles and smelling warm and sweet like chocolate and roses.

"Can I take your coat?" I ask, and she shimmies it off, laying her scarf on top of it as she hands it to me.

"Thank you." She smiles as I open the closet along the wall next to us and hang it.

"You're welcome."

Her eyes dip, one hand moving in a circle to gesture at me. "What is all this?"

I shrug. "It's cold out."

"I have never seen you in a sweater. I thought you only ownedI heart mathshirts and Snow Falls High T-shirts."

I roll my eyes as I turn, motioning for her to follow me down the hall and into the kitchen. "And where's your jumpsuit, Criminal?"

She huffs, and when I turn back to her, her eyes narrow. "What, you don't like my Christmas sweater?"

"I love your Christmas sweater," I tell her, as we round the corner into the kitchen. "Even though it is literallynota Christmas sweater."

Her brow furrows. "It is close to Christmas and I am partaking in a Christmas activity. Therefore, the sweater I'm wearing counts as a Christmas sweater."

I lean against the counter. "Are those the rules?"

"Yes," she says, not missing a beat as she steps toward me and presses herself against me, one hand on my abdomen. "And for what it's worth, I like your Christmas sweater too."

She stands on her toes to kiss me, pressing her lips softly against mine. I rest one hand on her hip, drawing her closer, and she sighs into me, her free hand coming to rest on the counter next to me.

"Sweaters must really do it for you, huh?" I ask against her lips, and she laughs.

She takes a step away from me. "What can I say? Every girl has their thing. Although I think theI heart mathT-shirts are still my favorite."

I raise my eyebrows. "And here I was, thinking you thought I was a total nerd."

She shrugs. "I guess I like nerds."

For a moment, we grin stupidly at each other.

And then I remember that the pretty girl isn't just here to be ogled.

I clear my throat. "Um, I have red and white wine if you want. Or sparkling water." I reach behind me, tugging the plate of extra dark chocolate-covered berries I made earlier closer. "And I wasn't sure exactly what ratios your sister uses for chocolate berries, but I did my best with these."

Her brow furrows as she looks down at them. "You made me my favorite Christmas treat?"

"I mean, like I said, I didn't know the ratios. But I tried, so let me know if I should do something different next time." I almost saynext Christmasbut stop myself.

"Wow," she says, plucking one off the plate and popping it into her mouth. A grin spreads across her face as she chews. "Mm, raspberry. They're my favorite." She stands on her toes to kiss my cheek. "Thank you, Nick. That was so sweet of you."

I nod, a blush spreading across my cheeks. "Of course." I clear my throat. "I mean, I know your favorite Christmas activity is rage-eating chocolate-covered things while other people make Christmas happen, so I figured the least I could do is prepare your favorite snack.”

"Nick! I'm not going to come over to help youput up your treeand watchyoudo it!"

I shrug. "I don'tneedthe help. I just... I guess it never felt right putting up a tree by myself. So if you want to be all growly and eat your treats, go ahead. Just do me a favor and bend over while you do it."

She lets out a surprised laugh. "You're secretly naughty," she says, accusing me with one finger.

"I don't think it's really a secret."

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