Page 49 of Stocking Stuffers
Rosie brought them back to the issue at hand. “Sasha, you have to tell him how you feel.”
“I don’t know.”
Wouldn’t taking that jump be better than never seeing him again, never experiencing his rough, greedy kisses? She couldn’t imagine never handing him another sex toy, never seeing him laugh or blush. She wanted to see the things he created out of seeds and wood and mulch, wanted to experience the gardens he built when they were in bloom and beautiful.
She closed her eyes, a fissure shooting through her resolve like someone had taken a nutcracker to her heart.
Her life yawned out in front of her, and it suddenly seemed barren. Not because she’d be unhappy living it the way she had for so long. Romance and love weren’t required to feel complete or content. She hadn’t been lying when she’d said she had all the love, connection, and intimacy she needed, that her life was full and good.
But her life was missing Perry Winters.
It was a puzzle piece clicking into place. She didn’t need him to be happy. But shewantedhim. She wasn’t sure she could let him in completely. It might take work. It might hurt at moments and end in heartache. But maybe he was worth it.
Not maybe.
Hewasworth it.
She hadn’t thought she’d ever be willing to risk her heart again.
But Perry was … special.
“I think he’s worth it.” She scrubbed a stray tear off her cheek. “Worth the possibility of pain.”
“Christmas is about possibility, Sasha,” Benji said with a big grin. “You got screwed in the Christmas karma department last year. The world owes you a big strapping Christmas hero. He is strapping, right?”
Perry had said he loved Christmas because of the possibility in the air, the potential. Maybe he’d been on to something.
“He’s strapping.”
“And does he want you?” Rosie asked, always the logical one.
“He did. But I kind of rejected him.”
There was nokind ofabout it. She’d rejected him.
“We need a scheme,” Benji said with a triumphant cackle. He’d had the most mimosas that morning. “A Christmas scheme. You’re the Grinch, and he’s the schoolgirl that cured the black hole where your heart used to be.”
“He’s Cindy Lou Who,” Rosie whispered, excitement and awe in her voice. Evidently, even Sasha’s rational, reasonable sister could be moved by the spirit of the season.
“A Christmas scheme,” Sasha repeated, her mind reeling with all the things Perry had said he loved about Christmas—the possibility in the air, the romance, the excitement. “I think I know exactly who could help.”
Chapter Nine
Valerie woke Perry up from his doze on the couch with a mug of eggnog.
“Hey, Val.”
“Hey, sleepyhead.”
“Sorry I passed out on you.”
“It’s okay. You needed the shut-eye. You’ve got dark circles. Looks like you’ve been punched.”
He felt like it too.
He hadn’t slept much since the snow-pocalypse had passed and everyone had gone back to their regularly scheduled lives. Including Sasha.
He was moping, basically. Sad that he’d felt a connection that evidently wasn’t there. Mad at himself for wanting to push when she wasn’t interested.
