Page 71 of Always Mine

He laughs, finishing off his pastry and stuffing the wrapper in his pocket. “Me too. I know I joked about Annabelle the other day, but seriously, that kid was just as creepy.”

“I blame you for this. We’re cursed. If my mama’s Santa figurines start talking, you’re paying for the cleansing of their house,” I tease, playing into his theatrics. I love having him like this. He drives me nuts and half the time I want to strangle him, but his banter and outgoing personality are two things I’ve always lived for.

“What if we can’t find a priest in time?” His eyes widen and he looks at me with horror. “Do you think it’ll go full-blown Exorcist and take over your mama’s body?” Pressing a hand to his chest, he lets out an overanimated gasp as he looks at me with mock fear.

Yup, he’s in this… Adding every bit of flare he can.

I snort, taking a sip from my cup and trying to not roll my eyes. “That seems a bit extreme.”

“I’ll say, I should have become an actor instead of an athlete. I think I’d have succeeded.” His expression is so serious that I hate to be the one to pop his bubble.

“My mama taught me that if I don’t have anything nice to say, I shouldn’t say anything at all.”

“Oh, you’ve finally decided to listen and start taking her advice, huh? Good for you. I’m proud.”

This fucker. “Be glad I’m feeling gooey on the inside with chocolatey goodness and not in the mood to fight you.”

“Ah, but I love to rile you up.” He winks, but I react quickly, smacking the beak of his baseball cap, satisfied when it falls to the ground. “And here I thought you were filled with Christmas joy. You’re a big ole Grinch.” He turns back to the pitiful-looking tree. “Guess we really won’t be getting this beauty after all.”

Rolling my eyes, I’m walking on to the next tree. “I’ll pass. It’s too depressing.”

“But it’s not. Have you ever seen the movie? They made it look really nice.”

Is he pleading for this tree? It’s not going to happen. I’ll be damned. It looks like it’s already dead.

“Good for them.” I glance at him over my shoulder, motioning between us. “We aren’t getting that kind though.”

He huffs, walking alongside me. We look at several but I’m not really vibing with any. I don’t know. Is it stupid to think that the perfect tree will call to my soul? Am I making this sound like some kind of Hallmark movie?

“What about this one?” Paxton waves his hand to the left, signaling for me to check it out.

My eyes widen as I take in the monstrosity of a tree. “Now you’re being a smart-ass. Also, what the hell kind of assorting order is this? They should separate these by size.”

“Eh, it’s giving us a chance to explore.” He’s so glass half-full all the time. Yet another thing I’ve missed so much. “What kind of tree do you want anyway? You seem like you’re looking for something specific.”

I kind of am, but not, and that makes no sense to say out loud. So I do my best to try and explain. “I think maybe a six, seven-foot tree. About—” I make a circle with my arms “—this big around. I’d like it to be full. Not too full or it’ll shed a lot.”

He’s biting down on his lip, trying not to laugh. Great, he thinks I’m a nutcase. Well, he’s not the only one. “Oh, yeah, you’re not picky at all.”

“I know.” I sigh, looking around at all the beautiful green trees. “I just haven’t had a real tree in so long. I want it to be perfect.”

I feel Paxton’s fingers on my chin a second later, and he’s tilting my face to make me look at him. His expression is soft, eyes filled with so much warmth and familiarity that it envelops me from the inside out. It’s the exact same way he used to look at me before everything went down between us, maybe even after. It’s something we’ve both felt, but I’ve kept chained away in fear that it would destroy me. Now, here I am, like an idiot, melting into the one thing I know I shouldn’t want.

Love.

“Then a perfect tree you shall have.”

He presses a light peck to my lips before going back to our search. All the while, I’m in a daze, heart pounding with the desire to kiss him again.

TWENTY-FOUR

Paxton

I feel like time is flying by.

It’s funny how a few months ago I was begging for that, but now all I want is for it to slow down so I can savor all the time I have with Wyatt.

Wyatt.

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