Page 38 of The Mistletoe Trap
“Sounds like you’ve got it all figured out, buddy.” Gavin ruffled the kid’s hair. “Any pointers on which booth I should hit up for one of those bears?”
Chapter Thirteen
Julie rolled over and cracked open her eye so she could see what time it was.
The stuffed teddy bear she’d snuggled up to last night greeted her instead of her alarm clock—that’s right. She was at the Frosts in Colorado, not her apartment in Phoenix. She flicked the jingle bell on the end of the bear’s hat and grinned. She’d been chatting with Kory, doing her best to throw out flirty lines that were safe around the Holiday Bazaar crowd.
He’d mentioned the mistletoe, and a shrill, alien-sounding laugh came out. As she’d remained glued to her seat, awkwardness had crowded the space, and she’d made a joke about waiting until her two moms weren’t breathing so heavily over her shoulder while darting a glare at both of them.
In truth, as she considered giving in to the tradition, all she could think was that she wished it were Gavin instead. If she’d kissed him earlier, that would require a twenty-four-hour cooling off period before she planted her lips on another dude, right?
She’d been mentally beating herself up for not seizing the opportunity—and honestly, she hadn’t been sure with which guy she even meant—and then Gavin had strolled over.
“I won you somethin’,” he said with a grin so wide it should come with a UV warning. With a flourish, he slipped a teddy bear from behind his arm brace. “This is the bear that looked the most like me. Brown skin, big and strong, and check it out”—he tugged on the green fuzz that made up the stuffed toy’s elf costume—“a uniform so tight it’s practically painted on.”
The bell on the tip of the bear’s hat jingled as Gavin shook it at her, and she’d squealed and hugged the stuffed toy to her chest. No boy had ever won her a prize before. She realized he was merely being considerate and kind because that’s who he was. Still, she’d forever treasure the elf bear, and the memories it evoked of their wardrobe-malfunction scandal.
Kory had wished her goodbye—reminding her that he was there—and the relief that spread through her made it pretty clear which guy she wanted to kiss. If only it wouldn’t end up being a total disaster. As simple as a kiss sounded, she couldn’t just go swapping spit with her bestie and expect it to not affect their entire relationship.
“Looks like you’ll be the only man in my bed this trip,” she said to the teddy bear, and Kylo Ren lifted his head and narrowed his eyes at the new addition. “Come on, you can share for a week, can’t you?”
Her kitty stood, stretched at the leisurely pace of watching paint dry, and jumped off the bed, tail in the air. Julie climbed out of bed, slipped into her worn yoga pants and a T-shirt, and threw her hair into a messy bun.
Last second, she picked up the bear and kissed his fuzzy snout. “There. Now I won’t be tempted to kiss another guy today.”
Doubtful, but hey, she was going for optimism. After taking a moment to steel herself and demand the butterflies in her tummy remain dormantor else, she pocketed her phone. Then she headed downstairs to see what exciting adventure was on the schedule for the day.
…
Gavin wiped the sweat from his brow with his forearm and blew out one last puff of cloudy air before heading inside the house.
Around seven in the morning, he’d woken up, watched game film, did his physical therapy exercises, and then found himself pacing past the office door. Then back to his room.
Then suddenly he’d be standing outside the door again, fist raised and ready to knock.
He’d thought up all manner of excuses to go in and wake Julie up. They didn’t have much time; could she work out his shoulder again; and did she still have on the tiny panties he could barely make out underneath her tights before he freed her skirt last night?
That last one propelled him to layer up and go for a run. It’d been refreshing, the cold nipping at his exposed skin and his lungs burning with each inhale of frigid air. Better yet, it’d helped clear his head of improper thoughts about his best friend.
But after he stripped off his beanie, gloves, and sweatshirt, and made his way to the kitchen, there she was. Stretched onto her tiptoes, reaching for the coffee beans.
Gavin walked up behind her, gently placed his hand on the small of her back to warn her he was there, and then reached over the top of her and grabbed the bag of roasted beans.
She spun around, and her chest bumped into his.
He should step back. Give her room to make her coffee. Do anything but gape at her like a man who hadn’t had a decent meal in weeks.
“Mornin’,” he said, and while he’d stuck to the one-word greeting to be safe, it’d come out husky, with the hint of longing that watching her body stretch had provoked. That perfume was doing a real number on him, too, demanding he lean in and sniff her neck.
Hell, might as well lick it while he was there.
Julie ran her gaze over him. “Wow. I felt like enough of a slacker before, but you went for a run already? In the cold?”
Since his focus had snagged on the pulse point beating away at the base of her neck, it took him a moment to put her words together. “No rest for the wicked and all that. And it’s not that cold. It’s a sunny thirty-five and getting warmer by the minute. During last week’s game against Green Bay, the high of the night was two degrees—they don’t call that stadium the Frozen Tundra for nothing.”
Julie shivered, as though speaking the temperature had made it drop inside the kitchen. “That sounds like torture.”
“It was actually pretty fun. Until…you know.”
