Right.No touching her hand.

He chuckled.It was ridiculous.Obviously there wasn’t some stupid curse at play when they touched hands or lips.She just…shook him up.

And he was starting to like it.

She was different from all of the women he’d ever been with before.He liked not knowing exactly what was going to happen when she was around.He liked that she was sharp enough to figure out that there was something going on with otters.He liked that she’d seemed enchanted by Ellie.He really fucking liked that she’d worn a dress for him.

He likedher.

So, fine.He wouldn’t touch her hand.For now.

But that was not going to last.Not for long.Maybe not much past the threshold of the cabin.

They unloaded the boxes and bags.Ellie and Leo had come up with a surprising number of Christmas decorations to send to the cabin on this fake mission.It was fake.It was clearly a last-minute attempt at distracting Bailey—and maybe throwing them together out away from the rest of the family for a chunk of time.That was exactly the kind of thing the Landrys would do.Even if there weren’t rogue otters to hide.

He carried the last box into the cabin, kicking the door shut behind him.

Bailey was kneeling in the midst of the other boxes.All of them were open and she’d started pulling things out.

“Oh my God, my grandma had these.”She held up two ceramic Santa mugs.“We’d have hot chocolate in them on Christmas Eve.She made the best hot chocolate.From scratch on the stove.”

The woman sitting on the braided rug in front of the ugly plaid couch that had probably been in that cabin longer than Chase had been alive was nothing like the nerdy alligator scientist he’d been obsessing about.This woman was softer.More open.Not preoccupied with research reports about giant lizards that skulked around the bayou.She was here with him, her eyes lit up over the Christmas decorations that had been thrown haphazardly in the boxes.

He was even more obsessed now.

He set the box on the coffee table and joined her on the floor.“You have good family Christmas memories then?”he asked.

“Oh, definitely.”She smiled as she pulled a stuffed snowman from the box.“I miss home a lot but especially this time of year.”She held the snowman up.“It’s funny to me they have snowman decorations.There’s no snow here.”

He smiled.“Maybe that’s why they have the decorations.”

She laughed.“Maybe.”Then she sighed.“I do miss the snow this time of year.”

“Where’s home?”

“Minnesota.”

“Oh.Yeah, you’re used to snow.”He chuckled.

“Yeah.And cold.”She looked down at her dress.“Could never wear this back home this time of year.”

“Bet you’re pretty cute in a hat and mittens, too, though,” he said.

She looked mildly surprised.“Thanks.”

And now he wanted to see her in a hat and mittens.Making a snowman.Or maybe ice skating.And he didn’t even know how to ice skate.

“Do you ice skate?”he asked.

“Of course.”She laughed lightly.“Everyone in Minnesota knows how to ice skate.”

He loved her laugh.“I thought maybe you were here because home wasn’t happy,” he said honestly.

Bailey shook her head.“Oh no.This is actually the first year I haven’t been home.Last year it worked out.This year was my turn to be on call for work.”

Chase could admit that he didn’t really know what she did in her job.Chase had only been in Autre for two weeks this past summer and he’d spent a lot more time partying than he had concerned about climate change.

The woman in front of him could change that.