Page 11 of Snow Place Like Home
“Yeah. Lived up to all my expectations.” I smirked before glancing out the window to see the snow coming down even harder now. “I better head to the hotel before it’s too deep to walk in.”
“No!” she said, louder than normal, before clearing her throat. “I mean, it’s snowing really hard right now, and—”
“And what?” I asked, my voice teasing.
“And ... look at this place.” She tossed her hands in the air. “I haven’t decorated my Christmas tree yet. It’s totally bare, and it’s Christmas tomorrow.”
“What were you waiting for?”
“I’ve been so busy setting up the vet clinic, I just haven’t had time. And it’s not safe for you to walk home in a blizzard right now anyway.”
“A blizzard, huh?” I covered my smile with my hand because it was snowing pretty good, but it was far from a blizzard.
“It’s not safe. And I need to get these ornaments on the tree, and you know I’m accident prone, so do you really want me to put the tree topper on by myself?” She moved across the room and pulled out the box labeled “Ornaments.”
“You want me to help you decorate your tree, Sunny?”
“I mean, I’m fine doing it on my own, but if you insist.” Her cheeks flushed pink, and she pulled the lid off the box.
“I insist.”
I definitely insist.
Chapter Five
Goldie
Imade us some hot cocoa in the kitchen and brought a cup to Ace, who’d placed the angel on top of the tree for me. I took my own cup and moved to sit on the couch beside him to admire the tree.
“You’ve even pulled out the whipped cream and sprinkles?” He dipped his finger into the cream and popped it in his mouth, and holy hot chocolate, this man was too much.
I squeezed my thighs together in response, because damn he was sexy.
That kiss.
I’d nearly combusted.
I had to stop things before they went too far. I couldn’t be trusted around him.
“Of course I did,” I said, doing my best to act unfazed.
“Man, I remember so many Christmases at your house growing up. Your mom always made the cocoa just like this.”
I glanced over at him staring at me, and my heart pounded hard in my chest. “What?”
“You’re just—perfectly you.” He shrugged as he pulled the first ornament out of the box, and it was one of the quirkyornaments my mom would get us every year. “Braces off. I remember your parents got me one of these too. There was this one for the braces coming off, and I’ve got a football ornament from them, and an ornament that’s a driver’s license for the year I started driving.”
“Yes. My mom loves a milestone moment.” I snorted as I started hanging the ornaments.
We had a story for almost every single one. We laughed and talked and reminisced.
And I tried hard not to think about that damn kiss.
But it was all-consuming.
“What do we have here?” he said as he pulled out the snow globe at the bottom of the box.
The snow globe that he’d gotten for me the Christmas before I left for my freshman year in college.
