Page 59 of The Christmas Cookie Crush

Grinning, I shrug. “I hope so.”

She chuckles. “Text me the details. It’ll be easier for all of us if I meet you there.”

Holding up her hand in a wave, she leaves before I can say, “Okay.”

Checking into the cabin by myself is a little strange. Nora’s been with me the other two times we’ve gotten hotel rooms. But if she thinks us having our own cars is better, she’s probably right. As much as I enjoy the last few minutes with her when I take her home in the mornings, it’ll be easier to get to the bakery and then ChristmasFest tomorrow if we have our own vehicles. Plus, I can get those extra few minutes in the room instead of in the car. That’s empirically better.

After collecting the keys—actual keys attached to flattened hexagons with Honeymooners’ Cabin printed on them in black script—I follow the directions outside and around the back of the main building to a small log cabin on the edge of the property. The ground drops away just on the other side of the cabin, and I imagine the views are pretty during the day, doubly so in the summer. But it’s dark now, the night clear, but no moon to speak of, making it difficult to see anything outside the circle of light cast by the porch light on the cabin.

Once inside, I flip on the lights to discover a cozy one-room cabin complete with a log bed off to one side. Gauzy cream curtains flow from the ceiling to the floor at the corners and they scattered rose petals over the cream bedspread. On the other side of the room, there’s a fireplace with a couch in front of it. The switch on the wall next to the fireplace tells me it’s gas, which is great. After shucking off my coat and boots and hanging my coat on the hook by the door, I carry my bag over to the bed, then switch on the fireplace. On the coffee table in front of thecouch, there’s a bucket of ice with a bottle of champagne nestled inside. Two champagne flutes sit upside down on a tray next to the bucket along with a small rectangular plate bearing four chocolate-dipped strawberries.

Standing next to the couch, I survey the rest of the room, taking in the cozy blankets draped over a ladder leaning against the wall near the bed and the western mountain style decor. Peering through the doorway on the wall opposite the entrance, I think I spy a large, oval tub. When I poke my head in and turn on the light, I see that I’m right. There’s a huge jetted tub with plenty of room for both of us to fit in it. More rose petals are scattered around the tub, towels artfully rolled and sitting on the ledge next to it, a selection of bath oils, soaps, and lotions clustered in front of them.

“Perfect,” I whisper. It’s everything I was hoping for when I booked it. And if Nora’s had a rough day—though I hope it got better after I saw her this morning—this should do the trick to help her relax and make her feel better.

My phone alerts in my pocket, and I pull it out to find a text from Nora.

Nora

I’m here. Where’s the cabin?

I text back the directions I followed to get here, then put my coat and boots on and head out to meet her.

When she sees me walking down the path, she stops, her whole body slumping at the sight of me. Which isn’t usually the response I’m hoping for. But when I get closer, it looks morelike relief. “I’m so glad to see you,” she whispers, sounding near tears.

I scoop her up in a hug. “Hey,” I murmur. “What’s wrong?”

She shakes her head against me. “Nothing. I’m fine. It’s just been a long day, and I’m tired.”

“Did your parents give you any grief about coming here?”

She shakes her head again, wiping at her face with her free hand when I release her. “No. No, they’re fine. Mom did tell me I needed to be home tomorrow night, but I told her I knew that already.” She gives me a smile, which is just a flash of teeth in the darkness out here.

I reach for her bag, and she lets me take it. “Well, ChristmasFest is almost over,” I say, trying to sound cheerful. “That’s good, right?”

“Right,” she answers, but she doesn’t sound all that confident about her answer.

After getting inside, I set her bag next to mine and pull her into my arms, wrapping her up tight and dropping a kiss on her nose. “What’s wrong? Was today that terrible?”

Her eyes stay glued to my throat, and she shrugs. “No, it was fine. I think I’m just tired. And …” She bites her lip, shaking her head. “Never mind.” Meeting my eyes, she does her best to hitch her mouth into a smile. “Like you said, ChristmasFest is almost over. I’ll be able to rest and sleep and relax in just a few days.”

“Yes.” I give her a squeeze. “I’m looking forward to having a whole string of days off we can spend together.”

Her breath catches. “Don’t you have to work? I know you came mostly to help with ChristmasFest, but you said you were going to stay here and help indefinitely.”

I’m nodding before she’s done speaking. “Yes, that’s all true. But Grampy insisted I take a whole week off after ChristmasFest. He said that it’s fairly slow, at least compared to the lead-up to Christmas, and he always takes a week off to recover from ChristmasFest. Since I’ve done his job and then some, I get to take that week off too.”

Her lip is between her teeth again as she listens, and I reach up with my thumb to ease it out, then kiss her.

Whatever’s bothering her, it doesn’t hinder her willingness to kiss me back, at least. She surges against me, and the kiss quickly turns into something altogether hotter than I originally intended. I’d planned on us taking a leisurely soak, enjoying champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries before moving to the bed, but I’ll definitely take this.

She’s tugging at my clothes, impatient to get them off me. I step away to pull my shirt off, and she strips down as well, crawling into the bed in just the scrap of fabric she calls a thong. Lying down on her side, she looks at me, eyes dark and lips pouty. “I need you,” she whispers, and if I thought I was hurrying before, those words light a fire under my ass.

Tossing my clothes away, I climb onto the bed with her and lie down, tangling our legs and pulling her close. “I’m right here.”

CHAPTER THIRTY

Nora

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