Page 21 of A Curvy Wonderland

He nodded. “Any plans now that you’re off for the afternoon?”

I shrugged. I hadn't really thought about it. I worked so many hours over the holidays babysitting that I never really got a ton of time to myself. And my friends were all busy this year, so maybe I would just go home? That sounded awfully boring.

Eldan dragged his Santa boot through the snow along the sidewalk’s edge. “I have some more presents to wrap... if you want to help.”

My heart skipped a beat for some funny reason. “I’d like that.” You’d think he’d asked me on a date or something for how quickly I accepted the offer.

We got into Polaris, and I looked over at him, wondering if I had read the situation wrong before. Eldan always acted like he preferred time to himself. Inviting me felt like a big deal. I hoped it wasn’t all in my head.

12

ELDAN

My hands were sweating inside my gloves as we drove back up the hill to Emerald Acres. It was one thing to hang out with Holly when Lucy and Tatum were around, another completely to be with her by myself.

Maybe inviting her over had been a bad idea. Maybe being with her and wearing the Santa suit and everything was just brainwashing me into some Christmas-magic thinking of a romantic relationship like the kind in the Hallmark Christmas movies Mom constantly played on the television this time of year.

But I couldn't exactly turn back now. Not with her sitting next to me and flicking through the channels on the radio until she found a station playing her favorite Christmas song, “Holly Jolly Christmas.”

“It has my name in it,” she said gleefully.

I had to chuckle. I wasn't much of a laugher. I didn't like comedy shows, preferring to watch and read things that made me think. But with Holly, it seemed easier and easier all the time.

She smiled over at me and sang along, completely out of key and not caring at all. She was still better than Michael Bublé.

I wish I had that kind of abandon, the ability to fully enjoy myself regardless of who was around.

Some of her bravado must have worn off on me, though, because I’d followed through on my plan of asking her to spend time with me, alone.

I parked in front of the café and let her inside. It wouldn't be opening up for another hour or two, so we had the place completely to ourselves. I turned on the percolator for hot cocoa and then said, “I'll go get all the wrapping stuff from the house.”

She nodded, already looking through the hot cocoa packets on display. There were so many options from mint to peanut butter and more.

I walked across the way and into my house where all the lights were off. Even Bob wasn’t home. He was probably off with Mom and Dad while they prepared for another busy day of Christmas tree sales.

So I got the wrapping supplies from the craft room and a big tote bag of presents, bringing them back to the café.

When I walked through the door, Holly had somehow found some to-go cups behind the counter and had already poured for each of us a cup of cocoa, whipped cream on top.

“How did you do that so fast?” I asked as I set down the supplies and presents.

She smiled bashfully. “I hope it's okay I went behind the counter.”

I took a step forward and collected my cocoa from her. A tentative sip led to a deeper drink, savoring the warm chocolatey liquid. “It definitely is. This is delicious.”

She looked at me, giggling.

“What?” I asked.

“You have some…” She stepped a little closer, reaching out her hand. “Can I?”

Part of me wanted to say no, but I held still, and her hand flicked softly over my upper lip. The touch was like a crackling fire, sparking more than I expected. She wiped it off, and then brought it to her lips, tasting the whipped cream.

My lips parted as I watched her, mesmerized.

Then she looked down, almost embarrassed. “Sorry, I didn't have a napkin.”

“Let's start wrapping,” I said, trying to make sense of everything I was feeling. I passed her a roll of wrapping paper and a set of scissors, and then got myself another roll. After a few seconds, I realized she wasn’t moving. She was staring at the wrapping supplies.

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