Page 112 of The Duke Who Saved Christmas
No.
That was a terrible idea.
Walking around these Christmas lights with our hands clasped and my heart fluttering was the worst possible decision I could make right now.
“Sure,” was the word that actually left my lips as I stepped up beside him outside of the toy store window.
The truth was that I didn’t want to let of his hand. There was something so strong and warm about the way our fingers fit together, and the occasional brush of his thumb against the back of my hand was more comforting than it had any right to be, even if it was through our gloves.
My fight with Hazel had been a howler. It’d been a culmination of the frustrations of the past few weeks, especiallythe time since I’d been here, and Thomas had once again saved me from a horribly awkward situation.
I didn’t always fight with my brides, but then again, my brides weren’t always my sister, either.
I was too emotionally involved, and when it came to my sister, my feelings were far too convoluted for me to keep a reasonable distance.
This was the first and last time I would ever organise a wedding for someone so close to me. I didn’t care how much I was paid. Never again would I cross my personal and professional life like this. It really, truly was not worth the stress I felt.
I didn’t even know why I’d gone to the pub. I really shouldn’t have. I should have stayed at home and gone right to bed after my nightmare Zoom call, but something about my room felt so suffocating that I had to get out.
I knew Hazel was there.
I also knew Thomas was there.
I went in spite of those things.
Maybe it wasbecauseThomas was there that I went.
I didn’t know exactly what it was that I felt for him, but I knew it was more baffling and confusing than anything else I’d ever felt for another person. It was something I simultaneously wanted to throw away and hold onto, and I had no idea how to handle it all.
In the insane lead up to my sister’s wedding, Thomas felt like my only escape from the pressure. He expected nothing from me, and despite our prickly past, he’d never once judged me when I’d unloaded my problems on him.
Maybe that was why I was letting him drag me into the toy store when I didn’t need to buy any toys.
“What on Earth do you think I need to buy in here?” I asked, looking around at the stacked shelves of LEGO he’d ledme to. “I’m not sure Grandpa can manage the little pieces these days.”
“You met Danny yesterday morning, right?” He glanced down at me. “He’s kind of spoilt by my mother.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
“I want an excuse to build a cool LEGO set,” he said after a moment. “What can I buy him that I can build and pretend it’s for him?”
“That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever been asked.” I laughed, scanning the shelves. “I know next to nothing about LEGO, nor about what little boys like.”
“Fine. Then humour me.”
I pressed my lips together to fight my smile. “Humour you?”
He leant towards me, lowering his face until his lips were close to my ear. “Humour me,” he said in a low voice. “And let me win right now, all right?”
Let him win?
Ah.
Of course.
He was trying to distract me from my own annoyances. He was trying to give me a place to escape to.
I was going to give in.
