Page 24 of The Christmas You Crash

But I like that he’s not. Not that I’ll tell him.

“The stove’s gas powered, right? It should still work. How about I make us some tea?”

“You don’t have to do that,” I say. “You’re a guest. I’ll do it.” The problem is, I’m wrapped up in so many blankets that I almost fall on my face when I stand and try to untangle myself. “Oh, shit!”

Strong arms wrap around me and pull me into a hard chest. He smells like expensive cologne and raw male musk. Despite knowing it’s creepy, I breathe him in, hoping he doesn’t notice.

“You’re kinda clumsy, aren’t you?” When Ryder smiles—really smiles—he has dimples. It makes his handsome face look boyish and impish, and I like it more than I should.

“No,” I say. The words come out breathy, and I swear his eyes darken. “I’m not usually clumsy.”

Those damnable dimples deepen. “I just have that effect on you, huh?”

It takes a second to register what he’s said because I’m too busy staring at his mouth. Jesus, how can one be grumpy and horny at the same time? Am I grumpy because I’m horny?Get it together, vagina. We arenotgoing there.I roll my eyes at him. “Sure, sure. Whatever you want to tell yourself.”

His deep chuckle rolls through my chest as he rights me and helps untangle me from the mess of blankets. “Just sit your cute ass down, Oscar. I’ll make the tea.”

Spluttering like an idiot, I blink owlishly at Ryder. “Oscar?”Cute?

“Yeah,” he says, laughing. “Because you’re a grouch in the morning without coffee.”

“I am not!”

He doesn’t even look at me as he strides into the kitchen, shivering now that he’s discarded his blankets on the couch. “Are your arms crossed right now? And do you have a pouty little frown happening?” He turns the knob for a burner on the stove, letting out a relieved little sigh when it clicks on and lights.

Meanwhile, I look down at myself. Sure enough, my arms are crossed over my chest, and I’m definitely scowling. Damn him. Letting my arms fall, I say, “I don’t have my arms crossed.”

The man laughs, as if he knows I just dropped them. “It’s okay, Lexi the grouch. I get that way at the end of the daysometimes.” He glances at me out of the corner of his eye while moving to the cabinet that holds the tea bags. “Earl Grey, rooibos chai, mint, or green tea?” he asks.

“Rooibos, please.” I pull the blankets over my head and wrap them back around my body. The power needs to come back on because it’s unbearably cold in here.

A few minutes later, Ryder sets two steaming mugs of tea on the coffee table. “Here, let’s pull the couch closer to the fire, and then we can watch movies on my laptop. I have a power bank, and my computer has a long battery life, so we should be able to watch a few movies at least.”

“That sounds nice,” I agree. We push the couch closer to the fire, and then Ryder grabs his gear from his room.

“I hope you likeDie HardandNational Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. I have those and a few other random movies downloaded.” He sets his laptop on the coffee table and taps away at it.

“Either of those sound good to me. But so we’re clear,Die Hardis not a Christmas movie.” I take a tentative sip of my tea and smirk when Ryder’s face morphs into one of shock and disgust.

“Excuse me, Oscar, but it issoa Christmas movie.”

“Oh my god,” I say with a sigh. “Don’t call me Oscar.”

He smirks. “OTG?”

“What?No!You suck.” I refuse to have my nickname be OTG. Oscar the Grouch? Come on.

Ryder starts bopping his head along to some phantom beat, and then he raps under his breath. “OTG, yeah, you know me.”

That has me bursting with laughter. “Oh. My. God. You are such a dork.”

“You like it,” he says, parroting my words from the night before.

I can’t deny it, so I say nothing. Because I do like it. A little too much. And that’s dangerous.

“All right. Here we go.” Ryder starts the movie on his computer and settles down on the couch next to me. We’re both bundled up in blankets, the fire is roaring, and the tea is steaming hot, but I’m still chilled.

At the halfway point of the movie, while John McClane realizes no one will be able to help him, and he’ll have to deal with the terrorists on his own, I’m shivering.

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