Page 71 of Rule 2: Never Join a Christmas Dating Show
“I’ll, um, just go...” The bellboy backs away, his eyes darting between us.
“Wait!” Sebastian gets his wallet out, then presses some bills into the bellboy’s hands.
Then the door closes, and Sebastian and I are alone.
Again.
“How do you feel?”
“Like my head is pounding.”
Sebastian grimaces.
“And my body is bruised and sore.”
Sebastian’s gaze bounces to my torso, as if he can see the bruises beneath my clothes.
Maybe I need to make it easier for him. I unbutton my coat.
“Do you need help?” Sebastian asks.
I don’t.
I mean I can handle coat buttons. But for some reason, everything in my body feels loose, and I can scarcely keep from smiling.
I narrow the distance between us. “I need help.”
I stretch out my arms. If they’re waving in the air, I can’t unzip anything.
He steps closer, and even with my head spinning, I notice how his throat works when he swallows. His fingers tremble as they find my zipper, and something in my chest aches. I want to catch those elegant hands in mine, tell him he doesn’t need to be nervous. Not with me. Never with me. I am not Bryce.
Sebastian grabs hold of the zipper and pulls it downward. The sound of metal teeth loosening fills the room.
My coat is open. Sebastian stares at my chest, as if preparing to draw the Blizzards logo and needing to memorize each angle.
Sebastian removes the coat from my body, his eyes wide.
I think he likes me.
“I don’t,” Sebastian says.
I frown. Did I say that out loud?
He smiles. “You did.”
“You like me,” I say, stretching out my arms so he can remove my coat.
Sebastian ducks behind me, moving his hands over the puffy material and sliding it off.
“Now my sweatshirt.” I raise my hands over my head.
He laughs. “I’ll need to stand on the bed to get it off you that way.”
“Okay.”
I turn around and sweep Sebastian into in my arms.
“Luke!”
