Page 41 of Mistletoe & Magic
But when I reach for another slice, he hides a smile full of pride.
Donna, of course, notices everything. She leans her chin on her hand, eyes dancing, and when Remy glances her way, she winks at him. He rolls his eyes and clears his throat, taking a bite of his crust like he can pretend she didn’t just call him out without saying a word.
The house looks different tonight, too. I didn’t notice at first, but now mistletoe hangs everywhere. Over the kitchen doorway. Above the back door. Even dangling from the light fixture in theliving room.
“Real subtle,” Remy mutters, glancing up at the sprig dangling above us.
Donna’s smile is pure mischief. “Tradition, sweetheart. Anyone caught under the mistletoe has to kiss.”
Junie gasps. “That’s the rule!”
I press a hand to my chest, eyes wide. “Oh no. Finn, guess I better call Rowan over.”
Finn nearly chokes on his soda. “Hey. Not fair.”
Donna cackles, and even Remy lets out a laugh, low and rough, that makes my stomach flutter. And luckily the teasing gets us out of kissing under the mistletoe, which without an audience, I wouldn’t mind kissing Remy. He could kiss me anywhere.
The teasing doesn’t stop through the rest of dinner. Remy doesn’t say much, but every once in a while, I catch him looking at me like he’s wondering what would happen if Junie shoved me under the mistletoe with him again.
And I wonder myself. More than I should. I wonder what it would be like to wrap my arms around his neck and pull him in. Kiss him slowly, feel his arms around me. I wonder what he’d do if I kissed him. I know that kissing Remy in my fantasies is pretty hot. In real life, I might combust.
After we all clean up, we migrate to the living room for Christmas movie night. The tree glows in the corner, colorful lights reflecting in the window. Donna insists onIt’s a Wonderful Life. Junie curls up between her and Finn on the couch, leaving the other side empty.
I settle in, pulling the blanket across my lap. A moment later, Remy drops beside me. Not close enough to touch, but close enough that the heat of his body makes me hyperaware of every breath I take. I feel like I’m back in high school, sitting next to the crush I swore no one would ever know about.
I pull the blanket over and give some to him, and he says nothing, just settles in as if this is something we do daily.
Halfway through the movie, my eyes get heavy. The laughter from the kitchen, the warmth of the fire, the weight of the blanket…all of it pulls me under. The last thing I notice is Remy shifting closer, his arm brushing mine, steady and warm.
When I wake, the room is quiet. The lights are dim; the movie is long over. Junie’s gone, probably tucked into bed with Lola at her feet. Donna and Finn are gone too. The only one left is Remy, still sitting right here, letting me use his shoulder like a pillow.
I jerk upright, mortified. “Why didn’t you wake me?”
His voice is soft, deeper than usual in the quiet. “You looked like you needed the sleep.”
Heat floods my cheeks. “Oh, my gosh. I drooled on you, didn’t I?”
He snort-laughs, the sound rough and unguarded. “I have a kid. I’ve been drooled on.”
The way he looks at me then makes my stomach flip. There’s no irritation, no guarded walls. Just warmth. Interest. Something I can’t quite name but that makes me feel like my chest might burst.
I can’t stop myself. I lean in and press a quick kiss to his cheek. His stubble is rough against my lips, and his skin is warm. He freezes, and his eyes close, and he sucks in his breath. His body visibly relaxes, as if he needed that touch.
“Goodnight, Remy,” I whisper before I can lose my nerve, and I head to my room, heart hammering.
I close my door and press my back to it, my pulse racing like I just did something far more reckless than kiss Remy on the cheek. My lips still tingle, my hand itching to go back, to touch him again. I get ready quickly and crawl into bed, pulling the blanket up to my chin, but the warmth under my skin hasnothing to do with the quilt. Every time I close my eyes, I see the look on his face, feel the way his whole body went still like he’d been waiting for me to do that forever. I bite back a smile into my pillow.
Tonight, I didn’t just say goodnight. I started something neither of us can take back. The ball is in his court now. Let’s see what he does with it.
Chapter 12
Remy
“Daddy!” Junie comes flying across the yard, cheeks flushed. “It’s our turn for a picture.”
The farm hums with life. Laughter carries through the rows of pines, high-pitched and breathless as kids dart between the trees with candy canes clutched in sticky hands. Families pose in front of trees for the photographer, and the air smells like pine and kettle corn popcorn from the farm stand.
When I first took over this place, these were the days that I dreamed of.
