Page 28 of No Time for Traditions

“Uh huh,” Marty called out from the front porch.

Brittany shut the door and stared at the huge mess of lights.

“I’ll help.”

“Thanks.” She shook her head. “This could take a while.”

“I’ve got nowhere to be. I fed my dog this morning.”

“You have a dog?” Brittany’s face sweetened in such a way that Greg wished he’d mentioned Buttercup a lot sooner.

“Yeah, a yellow Lab. She’s about two.”

“What’s her name?”

Greg chuckled. “Before you judge, my nine-year-old niece named her. Buttercup.”

“Aww, that’s adorable.” Brittany held a hand to her heart. Again, Greg found himself jealous of his own dog.

“You should meet her. If you like dogs, you know.”

“I love dogs. We always had one. My favorite was Scout.”

“Yeah, I remember Scout. I rode with Scott one time to pick up something before football practice. A blue heeler, right?”

“Yeah.” Brittany’s face lit up.

Barbecue and dogs. Brittany had no idea liking both of those automatically made her ten times hotter.

“There’s one string.” Greg shook out the string of lights he’d just untangled.

“Oh, let’s see if it works.” Brittany pulled the lights toward the wall and plugged them in. All but one bulb lit. She smiled. “I’ll put them on the tree.”

As Greg sat down to work on the next set of lights, he peered around the room. It was perfect. The white wood walls and dark wood floors. The crown molding and rock fireplace. And Brittany. He’d fallen in love with this place in one day.

And he’d perhaps fallen in love with her.

Greg took in a deep breath and continued working on the lights. He shouldn’t let himself think this way. They hadn’t even kissed. For all he knew, she didn’t see him in that way. He was sure by now, she saw him as a friend. They’d come a long way from the day he’d dropped off Marty’s plot maps. But he didn’t want to be just her friend. He’d thought Brittany thinking of him as a decent guy would be enough. But it wasn’t.

He wanted her to feel about him the way he did her.

“How’s it look?”

Greg raised his head from the mess in front of him to see Brittany standing at his side. He stared at her, getting lost in her big blue eyes. After a moment, she raised her eyebrows, and he remembered she’d asked him something.

“Oh.” His gaze darted toward the tree. “Looks great. I’ve almost got another one for you to check.”

“I can help.” Brittany knelt down beside Greg and put her hands on the pile of lights. His hand brushed across hers, and his chest tightened.

Enough. No more guessing what she thought of him. Greg had to know.

“Brittany?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you planning on going to the Christmas Eve tree lighting?”

“Yeah, my family always goes. It’s tradition.”

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