Page 69 of Tacos & Toboggans
“I’m staring at the good in the world,” I whispered, lowering my lips to hers to steal a kiss. It started soft and gentle, but quickly heated, my tongue sweeping across hers while she pressed closer, angling her head to give me better access for my every whim. Her soft moans went straight to my groin, and I was thankful my winter coat would hide my growing appreciation of the woman in my arms.
Someone cleared their throat, and we broke apart as though we’d just been caught making out in the backseat. Then again, maybe we had, since it was Gabe standing at the base of the stairs.
“Sorry to interrupt,” he said, but he was trying to hide his smile, which told me he wasn’t sorry in the least. “But in light of what happened the other night, we’re clearing the park to ensure everyone gets home safely. We noticed Jaelyn’s car in the lot.”
“We were just leaving, officer,” Jaelyn said, turning to march down the stairs.
At the bottom, I smiled at Gabe. “Yeah, we were just leaving, officer. Thanks for checking on us. We appreciate you looking out for us.”
Jaelyn turned back and hugged Gabe. “We do, even if you’re a joy kill.”
We headed down the path with Gabe’s laughter following us. I opened her door and helped her into the car before climbing in myself. She started the car and flipped the heater on high, only to fill the car with colder air.
“We have a problem,” I said, turning to grab her hand.
“I’m sure we can fix it,” she said, calm as a clam as she twined her fingers in mine. “Tell me the problem.”
“We can’t fix it,” I said, my head shaking as I tried to rub some warmth back into her cold hand. “There’s no going back now.”
“I’m not following,” she admitted, locked in on me now as the car started to warm.
My gaze darted toward the beautifully lit tree for a moment before it drifted back to hers. “I kissed you in the gazebo when the tree was lit.”
“You’re right. We can’t walk that back,” she agreed, her lips tipping up on one side.
“I didn’t say I wanted to.”
“Maybe it won’t matter,” she said logically. “The legend says the gazebo picks the couple, but for all we know, ten more couples will kiss under the gazebo before Christmas, right?”
“Right.” I nodded dramatically as though the very idea of being the Christmas couple was downright terrifying. “I just have one question.”
“Sure. Ask away.”
“How do we know?” I asked, tipping my head.
“Know what?”
“If we’re the Christmas couple,” I clarified. “Will we get an email? Letter? Text? Carrier pigeon? Like, how does it work exactly?”
She stared at me for a full thirty seconds before she burst out laughing, resting her forehead against my chest. “You had me there for a second. Trust me, if we had the answer to that question, we could sell tickets to couples who would want to kiss under the gazebo’s roof. It’s a legend, Major. Don’t question its authority.”
Her wink was playful when she hit me with it. Then she put the car into drive and headed toward my house. I couldn’t help but wonder how she would feel if we were the Christmas couple. Would she accept that we were meant to be? As difficult as it has been to convince her to let me take her on a date, it might be easier to convince her that the legend was real.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Life had been…hectic. That might be an understatement, but I’d roll with it as I faced myself in the bathroom mirror. “Girl, you need to get more sleep.”
I’d been burning the candle at both ends for the last ten days since the tree lighting. It turns out that mentioning my website during the speech had brought a flood of orders for books that I hadn’t been expecting. Thankfully, I had already closed the deadline for Christmas, so these orders were for the new year. However, with over two hundred orders, I had no choice but to hunker down and get to work. When I wasn’t working at Evergreen Acres with the school-to-work kids, I was drawing. The holiday season had also been busy for Major, so we didn’t have much time to spend together beyond evenings where he would do paperwork, and I would draw. So much for the legend of the gazebo, right?
Maybe not.
The nights we did manage to spend together always ended with hot kisses or falling asleep together in his giant, fluffy bed. Somewhat concerning, however, was the fact that he never made a move whenever I was in said fluffy bed. Was I interested in being intimate with him? That was what tormented me late at night. From a purely physical point of view, there was no question that I wanted to warm his bed asmore than a cuddle buddy. From an emotional one, it was a harder call. If he kicked me out, I still had no viable rental options. I didn’t think he’d do that, but it would be awkward to remain here if things went south after an attempted relationship. Never a fan of casual sex or friends with benefits, that was another sticking point for me. No matter the promises each person made to keep it casual, someone always caught feelings and got hurt when it ended. The problem was that part of me knew I’d already caught feelings for Dr. Warren, so cementing them by making love was a dangerous road to walk. Especially when I couldn’t leave Bells Pass, and he just got here.
With a sigh, I swiped on some concealer, a bit of light eye shadow, and some mascara, hoping it would fool him into thinking I’d been sleeping far better than I had been. The downside of a date at the tree farm was the layers required to stay warm out there. It had snowed several times, which meant boots were required, especially since they were calling for more later today. Why it mattered that I looked like a fashion plate for today’s event, I couldn’t say. He’d seen me at my very worst and kept coming back, but I guess it came down to showing him that I cared enough to put in the effort for him, regardless of what we had planned. With that thought in mind, I tugged on my new crocheted ear-warming band I’d picked up at the farm last week, then pulled on my parka. Stretchy gloves were all I could get over the splint that I was still required to wear, so I pulled them on. Unfortunately, they didn’t offer the kind of warmth I’d need today. Maybe Major would hold my hand to keep it from getting too frosty. After a glance in the mirror, I shrugged. A fashion plate I wasn’t, but I didn’t look half bad. When a knock sounded on my door, I was ready.
“Good morning,” I said when I pulled the door open. My handsome date stood on the stoop, a cup from Crystal’s Coffee Bar in hand. “Good morning,” he said, leaning in to kiss my cheek. “You look beautiful.”
“Thank you. I was hoping you’d understand that I had to dress for warmth and not fashion for this date.” Why did I say that? Good lord, this was going well already.
