Page 47 of The Christmas You Crash

“Actually, we might have everything we need to make some,” Lexi says once she’s done choking. “I bet there’s even stuff to make royal icing.”

“Really?” Sugar cookiesandan afternoon with the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met? Best Christmas ever.

She nods. “I’ll check, but I think so.”

Making Christmas cookies with the guys was fun. But making them with Lexi? I don’t think there could be anything sweeter.

twenty-three

RYDER

“No, no, no!”Lexi’s shout rings out as I flip the switch on the stand mixer and turn it on high. I’m so ready to eat some sugar cookies. Just gotta mix this flour in with the wet ingredients, and then I can sneak some dough.

Lexi shouts one more time, but it’s muffled by the sudden cloud of flour plugging up my eyes, my nose, my mouth, and even my ears. Her shouts morph into sputtered laughter, and then she’s howling from a few feet away. Once I wipe the flour from my eyelashes and turn to her, I find her doubled over, laughing so hard, she’s clutching her belly and muttering something about trying not to pee her pants.

As I’m opening my mouth to tell her off, another puff of powder erupts from the mixer. I hurry to shut the damned thing off, but it seems the vast majority of the flour has already ended up all over me and the floor. There’s barely any left in the big metal bowl.

“Oh my god,” Lexi gasps, still clutching her stomach. Her green eyes dance as they survey me, lingering on my hair. Shegiggles, snorts, then wheezes as she laughs. “Oh, my god, Ryder. You look...” She laughs some more. “You look like an old man.”

An old man? What the hell? When my fingers go to my hair, I understand. It’s covered in white powder. Covered. My own lips twitch as I do my best to sound offended and menacing. “You think this is funny, OTG?”

Lexi’s continued wheezing tells me she’s not intimidated. Tears leak from the corners of her eyes as she nods emphatically. “Yes. I really, really do.” She pulls out her phone to snap a picture of me. “This is so going to be your photo in my phone.”

“Alexis,” I growl, stalking forward. “Don’t you dare show that picture to anyone.” I reach for her phone, but she pulls her hand back and shoves it in between her breasts. Not sure that’s the deterrent she thinks it is.

“Don’t even think about it, mister,” she shrieks as flour falls from my hands and arms, dusting the sleeves of her sweater. “I don’t want to have to change.”

My answering grin is wicked. I wasn’t planning on getting her dirty. At least, not until she said that. But now?

As I lunge for her, flour creates a cloud around my body. I look like that stinky kid Charlie Brown is friends with. The one who doesn’t seem to know how to take a bath. It floats down to the floor like a fine snowfall. Lexi tries to avoid my grip, but I’m so much taller than her, my arms are so much longer, it doesn’t take much effort for me to capture her in a bear hug before she can fully escape the kitchen.

“Ryder!” Her shrieks turn into squeals as I curl my body around hers. And then I shake my head. “No! You asshole!” Lexi tries to push me away between bouts of laughter. Her whole body vibrates as she loses herself in a fit of uncontrollable giggles. I keep shaking the flour out of my hair and into hers.

We’re both going to need a shower after this.Damn. I guess we’ll just have to take one together.

When she’s good and covered—though there’s still way more flour all over me than there is covering Lexi—I tug my phone from my pocket. Flipping it to selfie mode, I keep Lexi wrapped in my arm and use my uninjured hand to take the photo. It’s not as easy to use my non-dominant hand, so it’s not framed as well as it could be, but I don’t care. Because it’s instantly one of my favorite photos of all time.

We’re both laughing. Our eyes crinkle in the corners, and we’re both smiling with all our teeth. I’m absolutely covered in flour, while it forms a fine layer over Lexi. But that’s not the best part. The best part is that she’s looking at me. Not the phone. Me. And her expression is so unguarded, so genuine and full of affection, that I fall for her right then and there. Thelikeand attraction I’ve been feeling since day one shifts and coalesces into something much stronger. Not love—it’s too soon for that, even for me and my sappy, romantic heart—but this is no longer just a crush.

I snap another photo, so I can remember this moment ten years from now. Because as much as Lexi talks about this thing between us being nothing more than a snow-pass, I know that’s bullshit. There’s no way I’m letting her leave this cabin and walk out of my life. Nope. My plans have changed. She thinks we can’t work, but I think she’s just scared to take a chance. And I get it. I really do. But I’m not scared. Right now, with a giggling Lexi pressed against my body and wrapped in my arms, I’m way more scared of letting this chance go.

It might not be easy, but I’m going to fight for Lexi Cross. I’m going to make her mine.

I turn, kissing her hard as I snap another photo and then another. And when we pull away, breathless and flushed, I take one of that too. “How about a silly one?” I request, brushing the tip of my nose across hers.

Her smile is so free, it solidifies my plan. She nods. “Okay.”

Turning our flour-covered faces to the screen, she sticks out her tongue and crosses her eyes while I puff out my cheeks and arch one eyebrow. Then we make a different face and take another. And right as I’m about to tap the button a final time to take another photo, Coach’s name flashes across the screen.

Lexi’s body tenses in my arm. I don’t need to look at her to know that all traces of the silly faces and the laughter in her expressive eyes are gone. My thumb hovers over the screen as my mind scrambles to change direction. I don’t know what to do. I’m planning to ignore the call when Lexi speaks. I hate the brittleness in her voice, when it was filled with such freedom and joy moments ago.

“Answer it.”

My throat is suddenly dry, and it has nothing to do with the flour. Turning to Lexi, I let her see how much I don’t want to answer this call. “I don’t need to, baby.”

She bristles. Whether at the nickname or my tone, I can’t tell, but I know we’re taking two giant steps back, and I fucking hate it. Her lips press into a thin line. “Just answer it, Ryder.”

I want to ask her if Coach called her yet today, but honestly, I’m afraid of her answer. If he had, she wouldn’t look so grim, would she? Fuck. What is wrong with Coach? She’s his daughter. She should have been the first person he called. The only person hecaresabout calling. I want to shout at him that he’s a fool, and he’s hurting the most precious woman in the world. But he’s my boss, and she doesn’t want him to know she’s here. So, I suck in a deep breath and hit the answer button.

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