Page 52 of Merry Kissmas

“Meaning?”

“Meaning I want to give us another chance.I know we live in two different countries, and we’re competing for the same job, but… oh, I don’t know.I just think if I let this week go by, I’ll regret that more than I would if it doesn’t work out.Does that make sense?”

“Yeah, definitely.”He scoots closer, and I see his hand rising toward my face.

“I’d like nothing more than to take you to that bed and put all the shit behind us right now, but I’m just not ready yet.”

He draws back and nods.“Okay.”

“I hope you’re not disappointed.”

“Never.Don’t ever worry about disappointing me.I’ve waited six years, I’ll wait until you’re ready.Just tell me when.”

I nod.“Would you settle for cuddling while we watch the movie?”

“Settle?Fuck, I’ve wanted you in my arms since I saw you in that elevator.”He straightens and puts his feet on the table in front of him, placing his arm over the back of the couch, waiting for me.

I snuggle into his body, and damn, he smells so good.I lean in and inhale him.He chuckles, probably knowing exactly what I’m doing.

“I’m sorry for giving you a hard time about the hug.I’m an asshole when it comes to my past.”

I shake my head.“The only thing I want to tell you is to not feel weak because of people wanting to comfort you.I hugged you because I care for you and wanted to ease the pain I saw on your face.Not because I felt bad for you.”

He nods.“Thanks.”His hand runs down my arm and back up.

We watch the movie, and yeah, it’s my favorite, but there’s a weight lifted off me that makes me enjoy it more than the other two I watched with my family.

The next evening, Mom says that Tre and Tessa won the cookie decorating contest with their ugly sweater.Carter insists it’s because Tessa is a professional and Mom’s friends were actually judging the best-looking cookie, not the worst.

That makes Pierce and me tied with Tre and Tessa, but there are still a lot of events to go.

I look at Pierce across the room when my mom announces that it’s gingerbread house time.

Along the table, she sets down all different shapes and sizes of cooked gingerbread, saying we don’t need to stick to the classic house if we don’t want to.The problem is that if you’re not fast enough, you’re stuck making a structure that will be the ugliest house or unstable, like Tre and Tessa’s last year.

I crack my neck and roll my shoulders as if I’m getting ready to run a marathon or something.Pierce laughs.

“No fighting, and no one leaves here until every sprinkle is picked up.You’ve got three hours.Go!”Mom steps away from the table while we rush it, grabbing all the parts to a house.

Thankfully, Nolan and Ryah are asleep in their playpens, and they’ve proven that they can sleep through anything.Maybe because they’re so exhausted from being off their schedules and all the fresh air.I don’t know, but it works.

“Are we doing it like the sketch?”Pierce asks me.

“What sketch?Did you know we were doing this?”Carter points at me.“Cheaters!”

“Everyone knows Mom does the gingerbread house every year, so if you didn’t already think about what you wanted to build, that’s on you.”

“She has a point, Carter.And it doesn’t mean she can actually construct it.”Tre’s eyes lift in challenge, and I narrow mine.

I turn toward Pierce and nod.Our hands and arms are intertwined while we try to get the frosting to stick the gingerbread pieces together.I’ve never thought that decorating a gingerbread house could produce sexual tension, but we’re so close, and we keep touching.I’m starting to get turned on.The scent of his musky cologne isn’t helping.It makes me want to lean into his neck and inhale.

Hour by hour, I feel myself softening toward him.Maybe it’s me keeping my guard up, but I’m not that wide-eyed, naïve girl he met six years ago.I want him to discover the woman I’ve become and make sure we’re still a good fit before bringing sex into it and complicating things.Things being feelings.

Pierce makes a swing with licorice and pretzels, somehow getting it to adhere to the roof of the porch that wraps around our house.

“Damn, Wainwright, are you a structural engineer in your spare time?”Carter asks.

“My partner is pretty badass, huh?”I grin across the table at my brother.

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