Page 33 of Grump Hard
Her nose bumps my throat, and I feel the curve of her grin against my skin. My pulse stutters like a glitchy snowmobile engine, then roars back to life. I breathe her in—sugar, a hint of her perfume, Holly—and decide this is the best smell in the entire world.
She eases back, palms still hooked around my neck, her cheeks flushed. “We did it,” she says, breathless. “Thanks to you.”
I shake my head. “You’re the magic, Hadley. It’s all you.” I nod over my shoulder, lowering my voice as I add, “And Paulie, though, if we’re not careful, we might need to pull him and Hattie apart. I’m pretty sure he just called her Satan. And I think I heard her accuse him of putting salt in her icing.”
Her eyes widen. “Right. I should intervene.”
She pulls away, deftly pulling Paulie in for a hug, cutting him off before he can cross the room to more thoroughly engage the mayor. While she soothes his savage beast, I congratulate Marge and Timmy.
Soon, tempers have been calmed, medals handed out, and the hall is starting to empty. The rest of the clean-up crew arrives, and I shift into volunteer mode. I’m about to start stacking the chairs to make it easier to clean the candy-and-cookie-covered floor when I spot a familiar figure near the exit.
It’s Elliot, leaning against the doorframe with a big grin that tells me he’s been here for a while. “Call me crazy,” he says as I cross the room to join him. “But it looked like you were having a blast at a corny Christmas competition, big brother.”
“It wasn’t bad,” I admit. “What are you doing here? I thought you and Ashton were going to the movies.”
“We went, but I had her drop me here on the way home,” he says, motioning behind me. “I figured I could help clean up, too. I don’t want you to be the only Ratcliffe chipping in around here.”
I nod, surprised, though I suppose I shouldn’t be. Elliot has maintained closer ties to this town than the rest of us. He and Nancy, a third-generation local, were even roommates for a while. “All right. Let’s start by clearing the floor. I’m sure someone will tell us what’s needed after that.”
We stack chairs in silence, quickly bringing order to our corner of the room. Next, we move on to wiping down the tables before folding them to be put back into storage.
“So, I’m guessing ‘Operation ask Her Out’ is a go?” Elliot asks as we lean another table against the wall.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” I murmur, my pulse spiking.
“Oh, come on, Luke,” he says. “I saw that hug. I’m pretty sure she’ll say?—”
“I’m going to ask her,” I whisper, cutting him off with a hard look. “I just…don’t want to jinx it. Okay?”
He blinks, then nods. “Oh. Okay. Sure.”
“Why do you seem surprised?”
“I don’t know, I just…” He smiles. “You’ve never been the superstitious kind, but it makes sense. We’re all a little different when we’re falling in love.”
“I’m not falling in love,” I say, rolling my eyes.
I’m not. It’s impossible to fall in love in ten days after such relatively limited exposure to another human being. That’s fact. Truth.
So, why does it feel like I’m lying?
“Of course,” Elliot says, clearly equally unconvinced by my protest. “My mistake. I’ll just go fetch a broom, then.”
He does.
I do, too, though I keep my efforts focused on the part of the room closest to the stage, far from my smirking brother. Just as I’m finishing sweeping cookie mess into a pile, Holly appears with a giant dustpan.
“Sorry,” she says, “I got busy talking to the town reporter outside. You should have been there with the rest of our team! They took our picture with our medals.”
I shake my head. “I wasn’t really part of the team.”
“Yes, you were,” she insists, holding the pan steady as I guide the pile inside. “You were integral to our recovery. If you hadn’t come riding in on your white horse when you did…” She stands, grinning up at me as she adds in a softer voice, “Turns out you’re still a knight in shining armor, Luke Ratcliffe. Just like when we were kids.” She heaves a put-upon sigh. “Which, I knew, of course. From the very start. That cranky exterior couldn’t fool me.”
I grunt, fighting a smile. “Well, you’re very clever. Clearly.”
She grins. “I know. I am. So clever that I have an amazing idea.”
I arch a brow. “What’s that?”
