Page 28 of Mistletoe Kisses

He leaned in, and I got a whiff of lime on his breath. “You should be ready to live, laugh, love your heart out.”

I leaned into him like he was gravity.

Someone laughed nearby, which caused me to pull back.

We moved to the next stop, and it was like stepping into Keaton’s parents’ house. The last time I’d been to their place, I’d counted twelveLive, Laugh, Lovesigns without putting in any real effort. Not to mention signs with other sayings.

“My best friend Keaton’s parents have a ton of these in their house. We usually sneak one in every Thanksgiving, and they’ve never said anything. I’m not sure if they’re playing along or figure that the other of them bought it for their house whenever one appears.”

Lucas let out a cheerful laugh that I wanted to hear again and again. “That’s brilliant. You have to take one back for Christmas.” Lucas sobered slightly as a sad smile crossed his face so quickly I nearly missed it. I wanted to hope it was because Christmas meant that I’d be gone soon. I’d accepted that he didn’t mind—maybe even liked—spending time with me, but once I was gone, I couldn’t imagine he would be too upset about it. He had such a fulfilling life. Why would I leave a mark on it?

“I do. Help me pick one out?”

His smile widened. “I’d love to.”

We moved over to a wall with signs featuring tons of trite inspirational messages in every color of the rainbow.

Bless this mess.

All because two people fell in love.

Keep calm and carry on.

But first, coffee.

Dare to dream.

“Do you have any of these signs in your place?”

Lucas puffed his chest. “Proud to say there are zero in my apartment, but I do have a painted wood sign in my bathroom with a toilet silhouette that reads:Best Seat in the House. My little brother Eddie thought that was a funny housewarming gift when I moved in a few years ago.”

I smiled and made eye contact with him. He held it, and I didn’t look away for several intense seconds. I was proud of myself. His dark eyes were easy to get lost in. “I’m all for subversive signage.”

We wandered to another part of the store with smaller signs near the drink and passport stamping table. Lucas grabbed us each a taster of eggnog cosmos. He looked as skeptical as I felt as he studied the cup.

“Bottoms up.” He grimaced as he clinked his cup against mine.

“I can’t believe you drank it.”

I turned toward the voice and saw Lucas’s brother wearing a large camera around his neck. An unfamiliar man stood next to him. He was also a redhead, had a patch of freckles across his cheeks, and was several inches taller than me.

Lucas barely suppressed a cough. “Regrets are happening.”

“I still regret drinking that one last year,” the man with Warren said.

“Hi, Arlo.” Warren smiled warmly at me. “This is my boyfriend, Reed.”

Reed held out his hand. “Great to meet you.”

“You too,” I said. I immediately felt the urge to retreat but fought it under Lucas’s encouraging smile. I didn’t know them, but they were Lucas’s people, so I could try.

“You’re responsible for the ‘blind date with a book’ thing, right?” Reed asked.

“I gave Ron the idea. He did great work putting it together.” My instinct was always to give other people credit. Why was it so hard to take it for myself?

“Arlo worked his butt off. I’m impressed.” Lucas rubbed his hand in slow circles on my upper back as he said it. I wasn’t sure he realized what he was doing, but his brother sure noticed. Warren smiled kindly at me.

Reed opened the canvas tote bag hanging off his shoulder to reveal a half dozen wrapped books. “I picked these up as stocking stuffers. It’s such a great idea!”

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