Page 19 of Say Yule Stay
Closing out of my messages,I scroll to the security app and wince at the number of missed notifications.
Oops.
Apparently I’d been so distracted by Lacey, I’d completely missed everything happening outside the walls of my house.
“Lace?” I start, practically swallowing my tongue when I look up to see her thumbs teasing the top of her leggings over her hip bones. “Fuck.”
“Yes, I was hoping you would,” she tosses back with a wink.
“No, Sawyer and Hallie are on their way here, and we’re going to Coastal Eats.”
Pausing, she stares at me. “Umm…”
“There’s food that’s going to go bad and they should be here in a minute.”
“Did you know about this?” she asks skeptically, and I hand her my phone, waiting a beat as her eyes track over the screen. “So, I need to put clothes back on?” With one hand on her hip, she huffs as she hands my phone back.
“Regretfully, yes.”
“You owe me for this.”
I think the words are supposed to be a threat, but I’ll happily do any penance she needs me to later.
I’m about to tell her that when headlights shine through the window followed by the beep of the horn.
Looks like Murphy is back to being my number one best friend.
16
LACEY
The ride to Coastal Eats was an adventure.
Sawyer’s girlfriend, Hallie, jumped into the back so the guys could ride up front. I hadn’t seen her since high school and it was nice to catch up despite how much I’d been hoping tofinallyget naked with Walker.
It’ll just have to wait.
Hallie told me about being a traveling nurse and how she ended up back in our hometown. She gushed over Sawyer, and I gaped at her when she told me that Sawyer had seriously dated her sister.
Talk about a plot twist.
And that was only the beginning.
Driving through the quiet streets of Starlight Bay felt like something out of a movie, the wind whipping the snow around with not another car in sight. We all laughed at the fact that out of the four of us, Sawyer was the only one who didn’t grow up with New England winters.
He assured us that his Jeep Wrangler had seen more than a few mudding adventures when he lived in Tennessee and he wasn’t worried.
Didn’t stop us from teasing him though.
Sawyer only threatened to kick us out once before we finally pulled into the parking lot near Coastal Eats.
“Did you come down and shovel already?” Walker asks Sawyer, his hand out to steady me as I climb out of the back seat.
“We offloaded the already prepared dishes to some of the elderly residents. A couple of the bigger tourist parties paid but went back home when the storm got bad. I contacted everyone, and the rest is just excess for us.”
“Shit, man, I’m sorry,” Walker says, running a gloved hand over his hair as we walk down the sidewalk toward the shop. I’m hit with a twinge of guilt but startle when Sawyer just laughs.
“You’ve on dish duty tonight so we’re even,” Sawyer drawls as he slips the key into the lock and holds open the door so we can file in.
