Page 50 of Booked for the Holidays
“I don’t know if I’m—” I start.
“You don’t have to be anything,” he interrupts. “Just don’t write him off before he’s had a chance to show you he’s not the same guy who left last year.”
I nod slowly, heart thudding in my chest.
He points a finger at me. “And if he screws it up again?—”
“I’ll kill him,” I finish.
Jasper laughs. “Not if I get to him first.”
I smile, but there’s a tremor in my chest I can’t quite hide.
FIFTEEN
LIAM
Snow flurries drift downin that postcard-perfect way, except I’m standing in a drift up to my ankles trying to untangle fifty feet of rogue Christmas lights with fingers that no longer feel attached to my body.
Juniper emerges from the barn wearing a Santa hat she did not have on five minutes ago. It’s fuzzy and ridiculous, and when she pushes a strand of hair behind her ear, the pompom bounces like it has its own agenda.
“Don’t say it,” she warns, bending to grab a strand of lights.
I wasn’t going to say anything about the hat. I was too busy trying not to stare at the flush on her cheeks and the way her red coat cinches tight at her waist.
“You look festive,” I say innocently.
“You sound smug.”
“I’m not.” I hand her the end of the string I’ve been detangling for twenty minutes. “I’m just thrilled to be in the freezing cold doing electrical work with zero credentials.”
We’ve been assigned by Julie Jensen to decorate the barn at The Frosty Fir tree farm where Jasper and Stella’s surprise engagement dinner is to be held tomorrow evening. According to everyone who knows her, Stella loves a good light display.So here we are. Battling the snow and frost and dim lighting to bring a romantic holiday vision to life.
Juniper snorts, then promptly slips on a patch of ice and face-plants into my chest. I wrap an arm around her on instinct.
She freezes, her palms flat against me. Slowly, she leans back just far enough to glare.
“Don’t say anything,” she mutters again.
“Still wasn’t going to,” I murmur. “But for the record, I’d catch you every time.”
Her eyes flick to mine, and just for a second, the world goes quiet. The wind stills. The lights twinkle. I swear the snow pauses midair.
She clears her throat and shoves the string lights at me like a shield. “Let’s go. You better not mess this up. This is for Jasper and Stella.”
“I know.” I grin. “Very hush-hush surprise dinner. I’m an excellent secret keeper.”
She lifts an eyebrow at me. “Speaking of secrets…I talked to Jasper.”
My heart thumps. “Yeah?” I try to sound casual but fail miserably.
She fiddles with a bulb that’s gone dark. “He said you told him. About last year. About me.”
“Did he?” I ask, but she ignores my lame deflection.
“I didn’t realize you’d actuallytalkedabout it,” she says, a note of wonder—or maybe confusion—threading her voice.
I shift closer, tucking a loose strand of hair under her hat. “I told him I messed up. That I wanted to fix it.”
