Page 60 of Take Me Home for Christmas

“Outta here,” he said as he opened the heavy metal door to the outside. It clanged shut behind us as we left.

Chapter Eighteen

Brax

My plan got us out of that reception hall and into my car. I started the engine, turned on the wipers because it had begun to snow, and turned to Mia. “I want us to celebrate, but I need a little help from you.”

“That sounds fun. Define ‘celebrate.’”

“Food…and you.”

“Nice.” She grabbed my hand. “In that order?”

Turned out we were both starving, so she directed me a few blocks away to Outta This World Burger, which was apparentlytheplace in town for the best burgers. It was a drive-up restaurant, the roof shaped like a flying saucer. Cute.

We took our food a little ways out of town to a lookout Mia knew of. Our view was stunning—an iced-over lake with a full moon, surrounded by a forest of pines. I cranked up the heat to make it toasty.

In between bites, I looked around. “Where are all the teenagers with steamed-up car windows?”

“Ha. Stick with me, kid,” she said. “We locals know the private spots.”

“Too private for bears?” I locked the doors as images of hungry carnivores mauling our car figured prominently in my mind. Although it was snowing so fiercely by now that all the sensible ones would probably stay snug in their dens tonight.

She laughed. “Bears hibernate. You city boys are so suspicious. We’re literally the only humans for miles.”

I took note of the rapidly accumulating snow. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”

“I thought you’d like it.” She waved her hands around to demonstrate. “It’s peaceful. No parents, no brothers, no dogs.”

The windshield was already covered. “Wait a minute. Are you saying we’re going to do more than eat our burgers and enjoy the view here?” I imagined us having to answer a few awkward questions for the snowplow driver who showed up to shovel us out.

She flashed a knowing smile. “If you’re lucky. Now eat your cosmic fries. And relax…enjoy the Christmasy view.” She reached over and snagged a fry. “Once, I drove four of my college friends two hours just to get these burgers. I still dream about them sometimes. And the double-fudge shakes.” After taking a long pull on her shake, she offered it to me. “You like it?”

I gave her an enthusiastic nod and a thumbs-up. The food was good, but the view was great. The view on the inside of the car, that is. Mia was eating with the abandon of someone who hadn’t eaten in a few days, and her relief was palpable. I was happy she’d gotten through the party. But now I wanted time for us, but how and where? I didn’t know how to bring it up without sounding like a horny teenager.

Soon, we’d devoured everything and began balling up our papers and stuffing them into the white Cosmic Burger bag.

Mia sat back and patted her stomach in contentment. “I was starving. Nothing like stress relief to rev up the appetite.”

I chuckled. “Was it that bad, talking to Charlie?”

“It was good. You were right to encourage me to do it. And I realized something.”

I hope her answer involved telling me how much she wanted to kiss me. And other stuff. “What was that?”

“Do you really want to hear?” Her tone was cautious.

I crumpled up the bag and stuck it between my seat and the door. “Hit me.”

She blew out a big breath. “I realized that I may have been the one to check out of our relationship first. Mentally, I mean. Like, Charlie made his choice to stay, and I made mine to go, but neither of us had the courage to break things off until he pretty much forced them to end.”

I thought about that. “Cheating is not exactly the best way to end a six-year relationship.”

“That was pretty devastating. Looking back now, I think part of me was relieved. What I mean is, when I got to Milwaukee, I was so excited to be starting fresh. I think honestly that I’d started to check out even before he found Erin, and he sensed it.” She lifted her milkshake cup. “Anyway, to closure.”

Lucky me that things didn’t work out with good ol’ Charlie. That made me smile. “To closure,” I echoed, touching my cup to hers. “And new beginnings.”

Mia

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