Page 64 of Holly Ever After

“Okay, but as for this Sean situation, you both need to get it together. Next time I hear about you two, I want it to be something positive, okay?”

Yeah, it’ll be a positive pregnancy test if we keep going at this rate.

“I'll do my best. Say hi to Dad and Brenda for me.”

“Will do. Love you, sweetie. Stay safe and warm.”

“Love you too. Bye.”

I hang up and take a deep breath. “You are in so much trouble.”

He grins. “Just think, without me, you'd be having these delightful conversations with your TV, Sean.” He inches closer, leaning over me where I sit on the couch, his cocoa mug dangerously close to tipping. “So, am I forgiven?”

I pull the blanket back, inviting him to sit beside me before handing him the remote. “Choose the cheesiest Christmas movie and maybe I’ll think about it.”

So he sits, and does exactly as I ask. We fall back into a routine that’s becoming dangerously familiar. We don’t speak about when the snow outside will inevitably melt. We don’t speak about the world existing outside this cottage. We don’t touch, even when we both know we want to because we both know what happens when we do, and we’re exhausted. But this white-hot tension continues to build. One of us will snap. We always do.

I try to focus on the movie, but all I can feel is the heat of him at my side. He’s close, but not close enough. The cottage turns dark, the only lights coming from the Christmas tree, and maybe it’s the hot cocoa from earlier or the lack of sleep, but my eyes grow heavy.

I try to keep my head upright, but it lulls to the side, every muscle feeling like lead. Sean’s hand is on my shoulder, guiding me back onto his chest. I don’t have the energy to open my eyes. Not when I’m enveloped in his warmth, in the scent that always makes me a little dizzy. I let out a soft moan as I’m cocooned against his body.

Pressing a soft kiss to the top of my head, I hear him whisper against my hair, “Sleep, sweetheart.”

Like my brain has reprogrammed itself to follow his every command, I sleep.

I hardly wake again when he carries me to bed. Or maybe I’m only dreaming because surely it’s only in my dreams that Sean gently cups the side of my face and whispers, “How am I going to let you go?”

Twenty-Four

Sean

“We should go outside and check the snow situation,” I announce, pulling on my boots. “See if we can gauge when this storm is going to let up.”

Holly glances up from her book, eyebrows arched. “We?”

“Come on, it'll be good for you—fresh air and all.”

With a sigh that's part exasperation, part acceptance, she sets down her book and starts bundling up. “Fine, but if I freeze to death, you’ll be to blame.”

“Dramatic,” I mumble under my breath, earning a nudge to my ribs.

We step outside, the snow crunching under our boots. I have to admit, the world looks different under a blanket of white; serene, peaceful.

I start trudging through the snow, measuring stick in hand, heading for a clearing that would give us a good sense of snow accumulation. Holly trails behind, her boots making smaller, dainty impressions next to my larger ones.

“So, what's the expert verdict?” she asks as I plunge the stick into the snow.

“About a foot and a half,” I report. “And it's still coming down. Looks like we're not going anywhere soon.”

She sighs, a cloud of vapor forming around her face. “More time stuck with you. Lucky me.”

Before she can react, I scoop up a handful of snow and shape it into a ball. “Very lucky,” I say, launching the snowball her way.

It hits her square in the arm, and she looks at me, incredulous. “You did not just do that.”

With a grin that I know is inviting trouble, I reply, “Oh, but I did.”

Her eyes narrow, and then she's diving for her own handful of snow. Within seconds, a full-fledged snowball fight erupts. We're both laughing, dodging, throwing—our past tensions momentarily forgotten.

---