Page 30 of Sleighing You
He nodded but still studied me, wary of that tiny, brief outburst I had. “Maybe I deserved that duh. But what if I see your bingo game and raise the stakes? If we get approved to move the store’s location, it will have a ton more space. We could create a section of the store tailored for the adult customers. Focus less on kitschy Rudolf and have a more sophisticated ambience with Victorian decorations and beautiful blown glass ornaments. And yes… there could even be an ‘adults only’ area with products that are slightly naughtier.”
I thought about this a moment… but the word “naughtier” left a foul taste in my mouth. “Slightly naughtier? Like drinking Bingo…”
“And maybe some Santa themed lingerie. Gag gifts. That sort of thing. What do you think?”
I liked the idea of a more adult section of the store with Victorian decorations. But this idea of an adult section behind a black curtain like we were some porn shop straight out of 1970s New York? Yeah, I didn’t love it. In fact, I hated it. “I… I…” Heat spiked through my chest, energy and anger rising. Santa lingerie? What made him think of that? And who was he thinking about wearing it? I pictured the supermodel he had dated and broken up with at last year’s Christmas party… she was the Victoria’s Secret type. Despite their very loud, very public break up at that party, maybe he still wanted her. Maybe he was picturing her in a lacy Santa suit right now. “I… I hate it.”
Chris’s eyes flared. “You hate it?” He scoffed. “Why am I not surprised?”
“What’sthatsupposed to mean?”
“Nothing. Just… nothing.”
“It’snotnothing. You’re not surprised, and I want to know why. Is it because I’m no fun? Because I’m boring and predictable and—”
Chris closed the space between us. His lips hovered above me, and his hands drove into my hair gently and with a soft tug, angled my neck up toward him.
If my heart had been pounding before, it now all but stopped.
“I’m not surprised because you are the yin to my yang. You, Avery Pinkerton, are the opposite of me in every way. So… no, I’m not surprised you don’t love my idea. Not because you’re anything less than spectacular. And the fact that you combat me makes you perhaps the most interesting person I’ve ever met.” His eyes softened as he searched my face. “I like you… I think you know that. But this… initiatinguscan’t come from me. And it’s okay if you don’t like me back—”
I pushed onto my toes and kissed him, without letting him finish talking. Even though I was the one to start the kiss, his lips immediately took control, devouring mine.
I moaned against his slick mouth and parted my lips for him. It was the single greatest kiss of my life. Panting, we both pulled back, still embraced in each other’s arms. I clutched his shoulders, not trusting my own feet to withhold my full weight just yet.
His hot breath skimmed along my ear. “Youarespectacular, Avery. I love how strong you are; how opinionated you are. And that you’re not afraid to call me on my bullshit.”
I chuckled and nuzzled into his neck, inhaling his deep, woodsy scent. “Youthinkyou like those things about me… but give it time.” Those attributes tended to ultimately be the reasons people couldn’t stand to be with me for very long. My strong opinions were cute on date number one when I seemed passionate, but they were far less cute a couple months in.
“I don’t think so. You don’t understand… I’ve been surrounded by yes men my entire life. There are only three people in my life who deal it to me straight—my parents and my sister.”
My face twisted into a frown. “Did you just compare me to your parents and your sisterdirectlyafter kissing me?”
“First of all…youkissed me.” He chuckled, brushing his lips across my jaw. “And second, don’t make this weird, Avery.”
“Memake it weird?!You’rethe one who brought up your parents while your mouth was still on my skin.”
Chris cringed.Yep. Avery Pinkerton: Making things weird since 1996.
I sighed. “Okay, fine. MaybeImade it a little weird, too.”
His hands fell to my hips and he gave them a squeeze. “It’s okay… I like weird.”
“You say that now. Just wait until it’s July and you’re decorating a Christmas tree with me.”
My gut tensed as I waited for the reaction… a tightening of his mouth or the draining of color from his face. Here we were sharing our first kiss, and I was bringing up domestic tree decorating literally six months from now. Had I not learned anything in my years of dating? Don’t scare men off…
But what I thought was hesitancy was simply Chris rolling his eyes at me. “We own a Christmas shop. I’m used to decorating trees all year long.”
I shook my head. “I’m not talking about the store. I’m talking about the tree I have in my apartment.”
His brows creased. “You have a tree in your apartment, too? The apartment that’s directly above the store that looks like Santa’s workshop threw up everywhere?”
I smacked his arm. “Hey! That store is beautiful. And yes. I own a tree… it stays up all year. I decorate it for various holidays—Easter, Halloween, St. Patrick’s Day, Valentine’s Day…”
“Answer me one thing, Avery.” His eyes narrowed as he leaned slightly back from me. “Why do you keep trying to push me away?”
“I’m not!”
