Page 7 of Christmas Agreement
I nodded, thinking I really wanted to go out with her before then. Now that the seal had been broken and I had an opening, I was going for this full on.
“So what are you doing on the Monday?” I grinned, keeping my tone light. There was no lightness about it, though. I was completely invested in her reply.
The corners of Katie’s lips lifted, and she shrugged. “Working in the morning. Other than that, I don’t know since we’re officially on semester break next week. I might have burrow in and watch some Hallmark movies or something. Maybe, decorate my apartment a little.”
I straightened, my eyes widening. “You haven’t decorated your apartment, yet?”
Despite my scandalized tone, I hadn’t decorated my place, either.
“My roommate and I have been busy. She wasn’t too into it, anyway, since she’ll be out of town. She actually arranged to go home a week early. She left for California yesterday and won’t be back until the day before school starts again in January.”
“Want me to come over? I can wrestle in a tree, make hot chocolate, hang your mistletoe…?”
She rolled her eyes. “There’s no mistletoe. But yes. I’d like that.” She paused, making a face. “Are you dragging along my brother?”
God, no. Did she want me to?
“Only if you want me to.”
“Mmm…let me think about it. No. No, I definitely don’t want that. He’ll turn a half hour of decorating into a three-hour comedy routine.”
Good answer.
“Should we go get a tree after breakfast?” I offered. “The lot over on Henderson Mill Road still had some the last time I passed there.”
“Are you sure? I thought you just wanted to meet so you could get info from me. You know, about Kyle’s Christmas present.”
Really? She didn’t get that this was about her? I really needed to step up my game—though the sad truth was, it was possible I had no game off the ice.
I shook my head. “I already have all my shopping done. Breakfast is all about us. I wanted to spend time with you.”
“Oh.” Her eyes widened, and she seemed surprised, but then she smiled and looked down at the table. Even so, I still saw the blush coloring her cheeks.
“That’s okay with you?” I prodded.
Her teeth sank into her lip, and she lifted her gaze again. She nodded. “I’m surprised. But I’m okay with that. Very okay. And, yes to the tree. Help with it, anyway. I have a small artificial one from my parents and a bunch of their hand-me-down ornaments, as well as all of the ones I had growing up. I don’t need to buy anything from the tree lot.”
Our food came then, and we settled in, talking about how the end of the semester had gone for each of us and how we thought we’d fair in our classes.
“Hopefully all the guys have passing grades. The end of the year tournaments start after Christmas. There are several right through January and February.”
“I’m planning to go to theIce Invitationalin February. My parents have tickets because we won’t have many more times to see Kyle play.”
I raised a brow at her. “You mean there won’t be many more times while he’s a collegiate-level player?”
“Well, yeah. I mean…after that he’ll…what? Use his business degree to get a job in accounting or something?”
Almost without me realizing, my head shook while I stared at her. How did she not know?
“Kyle and I have been scouted for pros. We’re planning to sign. Charleston Lynx wants us both.”
“Ch…Charlston?” she stuttered. “That’s…far.”
Too far away from her, but I planned to figure that out before Kyle and I left for summer training camp.
“I can’t believe he hasn’t said anything,” I told her. “Nothing is final, of course. We still have to sign. But it’s really a question of when we go, not if we go.”
Her jaw dropped. Then she snapped it shut, her eyes clouding slightly before she looked back to her plate, pushing at a potato with her fork.
