Page 293 of Accidentally Under Your Tree

"They are cute."

"What was the other one?" Will leaned forward for a better look. The curve where his neck and shoulder connected became my sole focus until I remembered he'd asked a question.

"The rooks are snowmen." Rose and I said in unison.

"Gotcha." Settling back, he draped an arm around my waist.

She nodded. "Yeah, they're kinda a bummer."

"The elves are the big winners," I agreed.

"Clearly."

The combination of my relationship with Rose repairing, and the love blooming in my heart for Will, had me giddy with Christmas spirit. I was practically Buddy the Elf.

Stop being so corny.

But I couldn't help it. My sister and I were not only on speaking terms, but friends again. My parents were being incredibly cool about the turn of events.

And Will, with his sexy hands, was mine.

I was happy and grateful.

Being bold was really paying off.

Will's arms wrapped around my ribs. I breathed in the clean smell of his skin.

He kissed the top of my head. "God, I want time to stop."

Laying my head on his chest, I tried to nuzzle into him as much as I could. "Me too."

"Maybe I could push back my flight."

He and Rose were scheduled to fly home in four days.

"I won't be far behind you. I'm going to start packing within the minute you leave."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

I ignored the movie on the basement television screen, too busy absorbing every detail that I could of Will. It would only be a few weeks of missing him. I could make it.

Even if I didn't want to.

Deprivation had never concerned me much. It did this time.

There are phones and the Internet. It'll be fine.

He might have been thinking the same thing or sensed how my heart was growing heavy because his arms pulled me in even tighter.

Footsteps moved down the hall. Unlike our first time alone in the basement, we didn't have to pray that we wouldn't be caught.

The door to the garage opened, and the sound of large boots on the floor overhead was distinct and out of place—considering it was well after midnight. A man's voice drifted down the stairs. I recognized it was Lawrence, but he and Rose were too quiet to make out any of their words. They went back and forth, their tones changing from irritated to vulnerable.

"There's no logic in the way I feel about you." His voice had notched a little louder, anger biting at every word. When he continued, he was too quiet again.

But his pain echoed in my head.

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