Page 67 of 12 Days of Mistletoe

Wait—was she? No. She’s been testing me, seeing how I’ll handle the tenants and?—

Quinten: And it’s working.

Me: What do you mean it’s working?

Quinten: If you’re trying to kiss the girl, it’s working. So, why couldn’t you seal the deal, man? Did she outright reject you? Or did you get cold feet? The girl is a fox and you’re, well, you.

Q sends a series of laughing emojis, having a good chuckle at my expense.

Me: She didn’t reject me. She didn’t get a chance to.

Quinten: But you think she would have?

Me: Honestly, I don’t know. I’m pretty sure she thinks that the whole situation was crazy.

Quinten: You’ll never know unless you try and succeed. Or try and get rejected. Good luck, bruh. There’s a surfboard and a cute instructor calling my name, but keep me up to date.

THIRTY-THREE

bonnie

The driveback to the Cherry Plum apartments is quiet. The kiss we didn’t share might be bringing out my OCD. It feels like unfinished business. It feels like something undone that needs completed. It feels like my body is buzzing with too much caffeine and it won’t stop until Elliot Eaton kisses me—soundly and preferably without an audience.

“Thanks for coming. I know my family can be overwhelming.” Elliot’s eyes are on the road. I wish he’d look at me, but then there’s ice and snow on the ground, and like the rule-loving man that he is, he’s paying attention to what he’s doing.

So, I watch him while he talks. I try to read each and every movement he makes. I must be calm enough because Noel snoozes in the back. “It was…fun,” I say. Sure I had a small panic attack and kissed Elliot like a sumo wrestler going in for the pin in front of his dad—but let’s go with fun.

Still, that not-so-great kiss makes our almost-kiss an even greater loss.

Elliot laughs, and I get the smallest of glances from him. With it, my heart skips a beat. “It was a lot. Baking with my mother and sisters… it’s a lot. You’re a trooper.”

I swallow and peer down at my hands for a second. “I appreciate your help.” I can’t deny that my new friend—at least I think we’re friends—helped calm me today. His presence calmed my heart and set my nerves at ease. Again.

Not to mention—I’m going to make sure he holds up his end of the bargain. He can be the bad guy. Not me. They’re his family, they’ll forgive him. I can’t stand the thought of David, the girls, and even Marlene hating me until the end of time. I don’t want to be talked about like Jess—the wrong girl Elliot gave his heart to. Nope, I will be the one that got away. The one that Elliot was dumb enough to say goodbye to.

“You have a nice family, Elliot. They pretty much adore you.” I blink over at him, studying his reaction. “They worry about you too.”

He gives his head a small shake. “They might like you more than me.”

I snicker and nibble on my inner cheek. “They don’t. They’d never.” I swallow and finish what I’ve been thinking for more than a day now. “You are special.”

I watch his brows pull together at my words, but he doesn’t say anything. He obediently watches that road. And I appreciate it.

Quiet, Elliot turns into our building lot and finds a parking space up front. This is where we separate. My OCD—or maybe it’s my UKB (unfinished kissing business)—decided to sprout its ugly head today because it doesn’t like the idea of separation, not one bit.

Sitting back in his seat, a small sigh falls from Elliot’s chest. “I’ll walk you up.”

My insides stir and the over-caffeinated tingling in my lips intensifies. I don’t mind if Elliot Eaton wants to walk me to my door—though we both know this building inside and out.

I don’t bother putting the leash on Noel, and she sticks to my side as we walk through the building’s front doors.

“So,” I say once inside. “What’s on our May Elliot’s to-do list tomorrow?”

“Are you working?” He darts a glance my way.

“I’m walking dogs in the morning and putting in a few hours at Canine Compassion. But I can do that any time of day.” I hope I don’t sound too eager. An anxious, eager girl isn’t exactly attractive. Still, it’s a fair question. Thanks to Elliot’s grandmother, it’s reasonable to assume we’ll see each other tomorrow.

“She’d like to take Bill some of her hula girl gingerbread men. She said if we could join her, that would make her happy.”

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