Page 13 of Connected By Christmas
“Thanks.” He kisses my forehead before heading to the kitchen. I look out the windows and see the outside world blanketed in white. Burrowing down deep into the covers, I start to read where I left off last night, immediately reliving how my heart has always belonged to him, even if I didn’t know it yet.
Chapter Five
Noah and Emma
NOAH
I cleanup the breakfast mess in the kitchen and can’t help myself as I glance over at Emma, curled up on the couch by the fireplace. It’s one thing to have your book out to millions of strangers, but it’s a whole other ballgame to watch the most important person in your life read it right in front of you.
Even though our genres are entirely different, with her being a children’s book author and me being romance, we work really well together, bouncing ideas off of each other and helping each other with edits. It’s become a daily routine for us, whether we are in our office we share writing side by side or curled up in bed at night going over edits.
This book is different, though. It’s not a memory we both share of another lifetime. It’s right here, right now. It’s everything I feel about her and everything we have gone through to be right here in this present moment. It’s not easy writing down your feelings for someone when there aren’t enough wordsto describe what you feel. It’s like trying to contain the universe in a bottle. It’s too infinite and too powerful to ever fit in a small space.
Her laughter rings out, making me smile. I throw the dishtowel down on the counter and head for the bedroom. Instead of sitting here driving myself crazy and watching the pages turn, I decide to go for a run and get this nervous energy out.
Throwing on some sweats, I pull on a hoodie over my t-shirt and lace up my running shoes. I’ve been on a run a few times when we visited, and there are some nice trails out back that are fun to explore.
“I’m going to go for a run while you finish up the rest of the book. Will you be okay while I’m gone?” I ask, coming back into the living room.
She lifts her eyes to meet mine. “Of course. Have fun,” she smiles as I bend down to kiss her goodbye before heading to the door. Chuckling softly, I see her nose already back in the book as I step outside. I can almost guarantee she will be in the exact same spot when I return. Nothing can pull her away from a good book…well, almost nothing. I can be very persuasive when I want to be. I can’t stop the grin that splits my face when I remember the last time I got her to put a book down. If the satisfied look on her face is any indication, she didn’t regret it for a second.
The snow crunches under my feet as I step down from the porch. I make a note to shovel the snow off the stairs when I get back. Pulling on my black beanie to cover my ears, I breathe in the cool, crisp air. With the new snow from last night, it looks like a winter wonderland out here. I can’t help but take in the beauty of the white-covered pines and mountains off in the distance.
I walk around back to the tree line and find the path. With the cover of the trees, the snow isn’t more than a couple of inches on the trail, so I easily set a steady pace as I take off through the woods.
My muscles warm up, and by the time I hit the turnaround point at the top of the trail, I’m drenched in sweat and feel the burn in my legs that I’ve come to crave on my runs. I stop to admire the mountain view when my phone rings. Pulling it out of my zippered hoodie pocket, I grin when I see Mav’s face on the screen. Accepting the FaceTime call, Maverick and Bella’s face appear.
“Merry Christmas!” They both are in matching Christmas pajamas, and I can’t help but laugh at how I never thought I would see the day that my best friend would be engaged, let alone wearing matching plaid pajamas with a reindeer on his shirt. It just shows how much he loves my sister.
“Merry Christmas to you guys. Nice pj’s,” I grin.
“Don’t even pretend you weren’t wearing a pair this morning. I know for a fact our girls went shopping together and got us both a few pairs,” Mav laughs. “Besides, I’m not even going to lie—the flannel keeps my balls nice and toasty, and the comfort level is a ten.”
“Oh my God,” Bella says, laughing. “I’ll be sure to mention how toasty your balls are if I leave a review.”
“You need to. Guys would want to know these things.”
“He isn’t wrong,” I laugh. Two golden retrievers fill the screen as they jump on the couch and try to sit on their laps.
“You aren’t a puppy anymore, Daisy,” Mav groans when their dog sits seventy pounds on his warm and toasty balls.
Chuckling, I watch Nala attack my sister with kisses. Nala is our golden retriever. I’ve had her since she was a puppy, and I thought I was her favorite until Emma came along. The two of them are very close, and now that Emma is pregnant, Nala rarelyleaves her side. It’s like she knows there is something worth protecting in her belly.
“Has she been good for you?”
“They are always good together.” My sister rubs behind Nala’s ears and is rewarded with another kiss. “We drop them off tomorrow at Mom’s. I don’t know how she will do it with three of them, but she insists they will be fine for the week.”
I laugh, thinking of poor Hurley and how these two younger goldens are going to keep him on his toes. Our parents have Hurley, Nala’s dad, and he has no clue his life is about to be turned upside down for a week. “At least they have the big backyard to run around in. That will help.” I chuckle as Bella tries to see the camera past the fur sitting on her lap
Mav throws a ball into the kitchen, and both dogs jump down and race to find it. “You guys ready for everyone tomorrow? Our flight gets in at four, so we should be there around five.”
“We’re ready. I’m excited for you both to see this place. The pictures of the renovations don’t do it justice…and,” I turn my camera around and show them the view, “we have snow for you all.”
“Wow. It’s beautiful,” Bella says, taking in the mountains in the background. “I can’t wait to see it in person.”
“It is beautiful. Looks cold, too,” Mav laughs. I turn the camera back around and grin.
“It is. I feel like my balls are freezing up while I’m standing here talking to you.”
