Page 37 of Holly and Nick Hate Christmas
“Why not? You believe in essential oils.”
She huffed as she switched the tub to her other hip. “Those workwondersfor preventive health—”
“You ladies need any help?” Nick appeared in the closet doorway. I’d forgotten we were essentially in his room. Which was good. Because I’d already spent way too much time since our early-morning run-in thinking about how he’d looked opening his door all sleepy and pajama’d.
“Holly needs a lot of help,” Olivia muttered.
I opened my mouth to protest, but honestly, at this point, she was right. However, I was in too deep to stop now. I positioned my hair to show off the elf ears and flashed Nick an “all is merry and bright” smile.
“I mean, really, what good is being a big sister if no one listens to you?” Olivia started past Nick, and he quickly stepped aside to give her and the box clearance. She paused in front of him. “Do you have sisters?”
He held up both hands, as if to apologize. “Only child.”
“Well, that must be peaceful.” Now out of the closet, she turned to face us, gaze zeroing in on Nick. “Doyouthink I’m right about Mom?”
Panic flashed in Nick’s eyes. “I’m, uh—I don’t think I know Grace well enough yet to make that call.”
Olivia harrumphed. “That’s pretty wise, actually.” She raised an eyebrow at me and then jerked her head toward Nick. “Remember what I said.” Then she took her box and left the room.
Husband material.Oh, I remembered. But my sister didn’t know the Hans Gruber side of this man, the side that kept jolting me back to reality every time I got a little too aware of his coffee-brown eyes and his masculine presence.
Like now.
Alone.
In a closet.
Nick furrowed his brow at me. “What did she mean by that?”
“Don’t mind Olivia. She just needs her peppermint oil.” I reached up and draped the strands of twinkle lights around Nick’s neck, brightening my voice. “Look at you, all adorned. Now you just need a star!” I bopped the end of his nose with my finger.
The color drained from Nick’s face, but to his credit, he kept his expression neutral. His bobbing Adam’s apple gave him away, though, which I considered a win.
I picked up the box full of stockings and tree skirts and shimmied my hips. “Ready to get yourFeliz Navidadon?” Man, I was good at this stuff.
“If by that you mean trim the tree, then absolutely.” Nick straightened his legs, as if bracing for impact. I knew the feeling. I wasn’t looking forward to sorting through endless homemade ornaments from my siblings’ childhoods and only finding one or two with my name on them. I guess we were both pretending not to hate Christmas at this point…a fact that once again had me questioning if this charade was worth it.
But Ihadn’tbeen pretending when I’d agreed to be Nick’s Christmas date, or when I’d literally tripped all over myself while meeting him on my parents’ front porch.
And clearly, hehadbeen pretending.
I squared my shoulders, matching his solid stance. “You know there’s going to be a tree in almost every room of the house, right?” Darn it if he didn’t smell like a forest right now.
He dipped his head. “As there should be.”
“It’ll take all day.” I shifted my weight, adjusting the tub of décor in my arms. “And Mom is really particular about where everything goes, so get ready to follow a lot of instructions and fail miserably.”
Nick took the box from me and easily tucked it against his side. His voice dipped low. “I love a challenge.”
Oh boy. It was my turn to swallow. “Lydia made a new playlist.”
“I hope it has something from Trans-Siberian Orchestra.”
This guy was good. “And Josh Groban.” Forget it. My voice was losing its faux festiveness. MaybeIneeded that peppermint oil. “Let’s go.” Go get it over with, anyway. I started forward, thinking Nick would move out of the way.
But he didn’t. He remained rooted to the beige carpet, still wearing the lights and holding the box of décor he’d chivalrously taken from me, leaving me nothing to do except stand there and try not to accidentally inhale his snowy-pine scent.
“I need to ask you something.” His eyes deepened to espresso as he leaned in a little closer.
