Page 60 of The Holiday Swap

They ducked into the kitchen, which was mostly dark except for the lamplight that streamed through the stained-glass window. Jake shut the door behind him, and suddenly they were completely alone. Charlie held her breath, waiting... For precisely what, she wasn’t sure.

Jake leaned back against the countertop. “Come here,” he said gruffly as he pulled her toward him. This was a different side of Jake than she’d seen before. He still held the same gentle, searching gaze that always made her feel like he wanted nothing more than to really get to know her—all of her flaws, too. His confident steadiness was intact, too, and Charlie found that comforting, particularly amid the chaos of her current life. It was all she could do to control her breathing.

Jake took Charlie in his arms. “May I have this dance?”

“But there isn’t any music,” Charlie said.

“I don’t need music,” Jake replied. So Charlie murmured that yes, he could have this dance, and Jake held her tighter. Their bodies were so close now there was barely any part of them not touching. They lazily danced in slow circles like that for a while, Charlie’s head pressed to Jake’s chest, where she could feel his heartbeat—fast, like hers. Then he pulled back slightly and dipped her deeply, a small gasp coming out of her at the surprise of the movement. But soon his lips were on hers and she was dizzy, both from the kiss and from the position.

He kept a firm arm around her shoulders as he slowly brought her back to standing, his lips never leaving hers. Charlie sighed happily, and Jake smiled, breaking the kiss momentarily. Then he gave her a soft kiss on her forehead and Charlie closed her eyes again, feeling lucky to be in Jake’s arms.

But then tears sprang to her eyes before she could stop them.

“Hey. Hey there, Cass.” Jake held her at arm’s length, looking at her worriedly. “Is this not okay?”

She wiped at her eyes, embarrassed and frustrated at her inability to just stay in the moment and not get emotional. Jake gentlyrubbed his hands up and down her arms. “This is more than okay,” she said.

Now he looked confused. “And you’re upset because...?”

This was it.Tell him now, Charlie.

“Is it because of Brett?”

Charlie shook her head. “No, this has nothing to do with Brett.”

“Then what’s wrong? Please, tell me, Cass.”

Tell him.

Tell him, Charlie.

“Nothing’s wrong, Jake. I’m... I’m just really happy, for the first time in a long time. And that scares the crap out of me.”

His face lit up. Then he kissed her again, before saying, “I’m really happy, too. And for what it’s worth, I’m also scared out of my mind.”

“You are?” Her throat constricted. This was wrong, and yet... she just couldn’t stop. It felt like the first real thing that had happened to her in a long time. Yes, she knew her time in Starlight Peak—and with Jake—would have an inevitable end, and soon. But Charlie wasn’t ready to face that yet, as unfair as that might have been.

“We can be scared together. Deal?”

“Just... don’t let me go, okay?” Charlie’s voice was a whisper, her mind swirling with the seismic shift of the evening.

Jake pulled her back to him and wrapped his arms around her, starting to spin them around in another slow dance. She closed her eyes again and gave herself over to the moment. “I’ve got you, Cass Goodwin. I’ve got you.”

19

Cass

Wednesday: 3 Days Until Christmas...

Los Angeles

Cass couldn’t count now how many times she had taken out her phone to call her sister and tell her the awful news: theBake My Dayjob was being given to Austin, and there had never been anything either of them could have done about it. But she couldn’t stand the idea of breaking her sister’s heart. Not yet. For the past twelve hours she had been wracking her brain, trying to think of a way to fix things for Charlie.

But there was no way to fix this. She could hear Sasha’s voice in her head.Please don’t make us regret giving you the host job over Charlie.And then Austin’s snide response:Well, then good thing it wasn’t up to you, Sasha.

It was over for Charlie. Still, that morning Cass had risen early as usual and started to dress for work. It was supposed to be what Sasha referred to as an “easy day”—a little B-roll, some production stills and teaser videos for the promo of the finale of the holiday baking marathon, and a team meeting. “Charlie, let’s have a chat, just you and I—tomorrow afternoon?” Sasha had said to Cass the night before as she prepared to leave the set. Cass had known that would be the moment Sasha delivered the terrible news.

Which was why this morning Cass had decided not to go in to work. She had left a voicemail for Sasha, when she knew she wouldn’t be in yet, telling her she was sick.

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