Page 79 of The Holiday Ex-Files

“A long list, but don’t worry, I’ll still make time to do your renovations—if you ever decide on anything.” He nudged me.

I didn’t want to be his side project. How could I stand in the way of true love?

Oh please, you do it all the freaking time. Why don’t you start spouting your single crap that you push on your followers like a sad drug dealer?

He is a follower, I reminded her. He’s obviously not listening. He loves Annika. We have to deal with it.

Ugh.

“That’s okay. Maybe it would be best if I just held off until the beginning of the year. I mean, you’re so busy, and it’s great that you’re helping Annika. That’s got to make you happy.”

His face pinched. “It’s always good to make money . . .”

She was paying him? That’s kinky.

“. . . but, Cams, I said I have the time to help you, and I meant it. Are you trying to cheat on me with another contractor?”

“No.” I smiled.

“Okay then. Now pick out some cabinets, woman.”

“I’m working on it.” I bit my lip. “Speaking of work, I have your latest photo shoot cropped and edited. I’ll go grab the flash drive for you.” I went to stand up, but Noah placed his hand on my knee. A little thrill went through me. That was so wrong.

“You can get it later. We have serious business to take care of first.”

I tipped my head. “What’s that?”

He looked out the window, the darkness was accentuated with spectacular white flecks. “It’s the first snow. Traditions must be kept. I’ll start the fire and find a cozy movie while you make hot chocolate.”

“Bossy much?” I teased.

He caressed my knee, or maybe he was trying to wipe butter off his hand or something. Whatever it was, it was nice. “Please,” he crooned.

“Since you asked so nicely,” I stuttered, and popped off the couch before I did something both Annika and I would regret. “I’ll be right back.”

“I’ll be here.” He grabbed the remote. “Are you still boycotting Christmas movies?”

I stopped in my tracks and cringed. “You know how I feel about that word.” I scratched my neck.

“I do, and I think you need some exposure therapy. It will be good for you.”

“I’ve been exposed plenty today.” I rushed to the kitchen.

Noah jumped up. “Exposed how?”

I tilted my head. “How do you think?”

His ears pinked. “I don’t know. Like a guy looked down your shirt or something.”

I grabbed my middle and laughed. “Definitely not that. I was home all day, if that makes you feel better. You’re acting like one of my brothers.”

“I’m not one of your brothers, Cams,” he growled.

“No, you’re not,” I whispered. “I appreciate it all the same, though, that you were worried I had been compromised in some way. But no need to worry, no one is looking at me.”

“That’s not true,” he grumbled, before turning on my TV.

“Well, certainly not like how women are looking at you. Did you see you’ve gone viral? You could have your own harem.”

He ran a hand through his hair. “Annika mentioned something about a video from last night. I don’t care what people say about me online. Besides, I’m already taken.” He gave me a furtive smile.

I felt as if I’d been sucker punched. I gripped my counter. “Do you want whipped cream in your hot chocolate?” I asked, five octaves too high. It was either that or, “Are you sure Annika’s the one? She doesn’t even like Luna.”

“I love whipped cream.” He smiled.

I took my time making the hot chocolate. I used real dark chocolate and milk. It was a process, but well worth it. It also gave me a moment to breathe. To think about how important it was for me to act normal. If not, I risked losing Noah’s friendship, and that was the last thing I wanted to do. Men and women could be friends. I believed that with all my heart. Noah had been my friend for many years. With that said, I had no right to interfere with his relationship with Annika. I worried that I was being skanky by even hanging out with him, especially when more than friendly feelings kept popping up like a game of whack-a-mole.

By the time I was done with the hot chocolate, Noah had turned off the lights in the living room. The glow of the fire and the TV made for an intimate setting. Too intimate. But I didn’t ask him to turn the lights back on. With the lights off, it was much easier to see the snow that was steadily coming down. It felt so, well, so C-wordish. So much so, I had to stop and catch my breath.

Noah glanced my way, and a soft expression washed over his face as if he knew how hard this was for me. He patted the seat next to him. “You got this, Cams.”

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