Page 27 of My Secret Santa Mason

“Fuck it,” I muttered, brushing the snow from my coat and shaking myself before I spun around to face her. “What the hell were you thinking?”

She glared at me, her cheeks flushed from the cold and her eyes spewing fire. “It wasn’t like I wasplanningon getting caught in a storm, you know. I’m not an idiot.”

I shook my head. “Yeah, well, it’s going to get worse before it gets better. Storm like this? We’re not going anywhere until it clears up.”

The snowstorm outside had turned the cabin into a sanctuary, the wind howling against the walls but I’d built a fire and it was starting to heat up the small front room. I wasn’t used to company. This cabin had been built for one, and it had always been my escape from the world. But here we were. The cabin was small, cozy but not much for decorations. Just the bare essentials.

She unzipped her bag and started digging into it.

“What are you doing?” I watched her dubiously.

“I’m not just going to sit here in this… this cave,” she said, rummaging through her bag. “It’sChristmas, Mason.”

“It’s not fucking Christmas,” I growled. “It’s still a couple of days.”

She shook her head, refusing to see the logic in my statement. “The whole month is Christmas, okay? We need to dosomething.”

I frowned, leaning back in my chair as I watched her pull out a few things. Decorations. A coiled string of lights. Candles. “Like what?”

“Like making this placefeellike Christmas.” She stood with her loot in hand and looked around.

“Oh, no,” I said. “You’re not messing with my place. I don’t want that shit in here. It’s bad enough that the town looks like Christmas threw up all over it.”

She glared at me. “What, are you allergic to holiday cheer or something? I did most of those decorations, you know.”

“I know,” I said coldly.

She narrowed her eyes at me but didn’t shoot back a nasty comment. Instead, she moved around the cabin, stringing the lights across the mantel and placing candles on the table. The glow from the fire mixing with the soft light of the candles cast a warm golden hue over the room. It was… different. Warmer. Softer.

And I didn’thateit.

“There,” she said, stepping back to admire her work. “It’s not much, but now it feels like Christmas.” She looked proud of herself.

I stared at the lights for a moment, the warmth of the fire seeping into my bones, making me feel warm. It wasn’t just the fire, either. Cami had turned the cabin into something decorative andnicein just a few minutes. I actually liked it.

Fuck if I was going to admit to it, though.

I wasn’t used to feeling anything but the cold out here. I didn’t know what to make of it.

“I’ve never decorated for Christmas,” I said.

“Really?”

“Why would I?”

She looked around. “Because it’s that time of year. About family and togetherness…”

“Not much togetherness here. I live alone.”

She tilted her head, shifting a little closer to the hearth and rubbed her hands together. She was still cold. She wasn’t exactly dressed for a storm like the one that raged outside.

“What about when you were a kid?” she asked.

I shrugged. “That was a long time ago. Not really something I look back on much.”

She frowned but didn’t push it. Instead, she lit another candle and placed it on the windowsill, the flickering light casting shadows on the walls. “Well, now we’re together,” she said softly. “It’s Christmas, Mason. You should try to enjoy it.”

I didn’t respond. I watched her move around the cabin, bringing warmth and decorations and wonder with her. It wasn’t just the fire, or the candles, or the lights that made it seem warm and comfortable. It was… her. Something about her being here, making the place feel less like a cabin in the middle of nowhere and more like a home. And I didn’thatethat, either.

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