I was seriously kicking my past self for giving into my sister. I needed a good Christmas as much as she did. But no! If she suffers, I suffer.
The thought tugged at my heartstrings as I looked at her sulking into her cocoa. It was something real siblings would say. Being adopted, I always had a soft spot for those real sibling feels when I got them. And this . . . wanting to murder my little sister for keeping me from flirting with possibly the hottest girl I’d ever encountered? Yeah, it didn’t get any more real than that.
I took a deep breath and reined in my hormones, trying to pay attention to what Nicole was saying about her soccer team, but it was useless. I could still feel Chelsea’s soft curves pressed up against me. Thanks to the crowded booth we were all slammed into, my leg was rubbing against hers with enough heat to roast marshmallows.
It didn’t help that my hulking six-four frame took up almost as much room as Archer’s, forcing me to mimic his stance—both arms stretched across the top of the curved booth so the girls could snuggle in close.
But that was the problem. Chelsea was snuggling up to me like an Eskimo in an ice hut. The intoxicating scent of her perfume and maybe shampoo kept hitting me in the face every time she ran her fingers through her layers of long blonde hair.
And when she laughed? Forget the fact that it sounded like angels singing. It was the vibration of her very toned torso against mine that had me more jittery than a jackrabbit hopped up on caffeine and Christmas cookies.
At one point, Marissa told a story that had Chelsea laughing so hard her hand grazed my thigh under the table as she doubled over in hysterics. My skin cells practically exploded.
Thankfully, I had a technique handy for such situations when a cold shower wasn’t an option.
I mentally started naming constitutional laws, thanking my lucky stars that I’d chosen to study pre-law.
At least my boring old poli-sci classes were good for something!
I could do this. I just need to stick to my plan of one-word answers so I didn’t slip up and reveal how badly I wanted this girl.
But then her hand was on my bicep and my plan went out the window. It was everything I could do just to remember how to breathe. It didn’t help that I’d flinched like she’d just branded me. Heck, maybe she had because I’d never had a reaction like this to a girl before. I was so flustered I was starting to worry I’d forgotten how to pull oxygen into my lungs, but then she removed her hand and the world started spinning again.
“I love your shirt,” she said. “It’s so soft.”
“Thanks,” I managed, taking a huge swig of my water to keep my lips busy.
“Do you mind sharing?” Chelsea asked, nodding to my cocoa.
“Sure.” I pushed my mug toward her.
I sure as heck wasn’t going to drink anymore. I didn’t think I’d survive having the heavenly angel next to me swiping cocoa from my lips again.
Chelsea took a slow sip and I felt my insides tie up in knots. Sweet St. Nicholas! Even watching her drink cocoa was turning me on.
I glared at Nicole, who was still sulking into her hot cocoa, not even noticing the Herculean effort I was putting forth to keep my promise. I’d better get the brother of the year award for this because passing up flirting with this girl was literally killing me.
Pickup line after pickup line ran through my head.
You want hot cocoa? You should try mine, it brings all the girls to the yard.
I lost my scarf. Can I wrap you around me instead?
I usually warm up by the fire, but you’re hotter.
Are you a snowflake? I bet I can make you melt in my hands.
I smirked at my own wit. What a waste to let these killer one-liners go unused.
The crazy thing was, with Chelsea, I didn’t even need them. With the way she was flirting with me I could’ve left my A-game at home—which I guess I pretty much did, thanks to Nicole’s demands
It was a strange feeling. But one I wouldn’t mind getting used to. I was always the one playing offense. Targeting the girl, laying on the tried and true one-liners that had earned me quite the reputation in my Northwood High days.
To be honest, my college days weren’t much different. And that was . . . actually kind of sad.
I’d planned to buckle down at Princeton and stop being a world-class flirt, as Nicole called me. But I don’t know, I just hadn’t figured out how to stop being such a player. Maybe I hadn’t met the right girl, or maybe I just wasn’t meant for monogamy.
Though the sinful smirk on Chelsea’s lips was making me think otherwise. I had a feeling I’d be happy to sign up to kiss those lips for eternity if she’d let me.
The girl looked like Blake Lively with a Julia Roberts smile and she knew it. Her confidence was so sexy I was speechless. Meeting her had caught me completely off guard.
She was breathtaking, captivating, crippling. And watching her put her red lips on my mug . . .
This is what Superman must feel like every time some ridiculous villain throws kryptonite in his face—powerless.
Chelsea. Made. Me. Powerless.
She finished sipping my cocoa and returned the mug to the table, hitting me with another of her stunning gazes. “It’s pretty good,” she said. But then she gave a flirty flutter of her lashes and leaned in, her lips grazing my ear. “But I bet your lips taste better.”
Her hand touched my leg and my knee jerked up, hitting the table so hard three cups of water spilled. I leapt up. “Sorry! Let me get something to clean that up.”
Nicole caught my eye as I backed away from the table. She glared at me like she somehow thought this embarrassing commotion was me flirting or something.
I swore under my breath as I stormed toward the bar for some napkins. First of all, come on! Nicole knew I had better game than that. Everyone did. Secondly, I was going to kill Ian—that is if Nicole didn’t kill him first for turning her into a needy little worry sponge.
Chelsea
“Okay,” I hissed into Marissa’s ear when I finally pulled her away from our table, “what is Chris’s deal? I thought his sister told you he was single?”
“She did,” Marissa confirmed.
“Then why is he completely ignoring me?”
Marissa gave me that knowing smirk of hers, the one that made me think she was a lifetime older than me, rather than my college roommate. I knew another incomprehensible Texan saying was coming my way, but in the almost three years I’d known her, I’d learned it was easier not to fight it.
“Ya know,” Marissa started, “being all cattle and no hat never works out.”
Yep, I was gonna need a translation. “Meaning?”
“You’re trying too hard, Chelsea. Just let it happen naturally. If it’s meant to be, it’ll be.”
“You do realize I’m only here for a few hours, right?”
“So?”
“So, I’ll probably never see him again and he’s exactly the type of distraction I need after my atomic breakup.”
“Listen, I know you just got your heart broken, but—”
“He didn’t break my heart,” I interrupted.
Marissa gave me a disbelieving stare. “Either way. Chris is a good guy. I’m not gonna help you love him and leave him on Christmas Eve.”
“But what if he’s the one?” I argued. “You’d seriously deny helping me find my Mr. Right?”
Again, Marissa gave me a skeptical look. “You think Chris Fraser is the one?”
I shrugged. “He could be.”
Marissa sighed, her hopeless romantic heart caving. “Fine, I’ll see what I can do. But only if you promise to stop coming on so strong.”
“Strong? I practically licked cocoa off the guy’s face and he didn’t even blink!”
“Please! His face has been redder than Rudolph’s nose since I introduced you!”
I grinned. “Really?” Maybe I hadn’t lost my touch.
Marissa laughed. “I think Chris Fraser might have just met his matc
h.”
“So you’ll help me?”
“I said, I’ll see what I can do.”
“I was thinking maybe we could start with convincing him to play my fake boyfriend since you said I technically need to be the date of someone from Northwood to be here tonight.”
Marissa got that spark in her eye that said she was already two steps ahead of me. She linked her arm through mine and tugged me back toward the table, grinning.
“What are you so smiley about?” I asked.
“Oh, I’m just planning exactly how I’m gonna say ‘told you so’ when you beg me to help you date a guy from my weird little hometown.” She stopped walking, her eyes widening dramatically. “Oh wait. That already happened.”
I stuck out my tongue at her. “Now who’s being all hat and no cattle?”
“You got one right! I’m gonna turn you into a Texan yet.”
“Nope. You’ll nevah get tha Boston outta me,” I corrected, with my heaviest accent.
Marissa snorted and dissolved into a fit of laughter. I couldn’t help it. I giggled too.
To be honest, I was probably having the best holiday I’d had in years. My parents were great and they loved me in their own way, but we hadn’t spent a Christmas together since I was six. That had been our first ‘trial holiday’ after the divorce.
To say it didn’t go well was an understatement. Needless to say we didn’t do holidays together anymore. My dad moved to Utah, my mom stayed in Boston and now I was in New York. We never really forged those strong holiday traditions that Marissa and her friends seemed to have. There certainly weren’t high school mixers waiting for me back home.
Nope just an empty dorm room.
My mom was currently on a cruise with all her single girlfriends. Knowing her, she was probably parked in front of a blackjack table with a dirty martini in her hand. And Dad, if he was home, was probably watching sports in his bland house that had all the appeal of a hotel room since he traveled so much for work.
So yeah, when I said I had nowhere else to be, I hadn’t been exaggerating.
And if I was being honest, a tiny bit of Chris’s appeal might have been that he was part of this unconventional family of Northwood alumni. It was appealing to me. I mean, so was his chin dimple and flawless bone structure, but I wasn’t completely shallow.
Hearing Marissa call him a good guy certainly hadn’t helped. She was with Archer, Mr. Perfect, so I knew she had high standards. So for Chris to get ‘good guy’ praise from Marissa was a big deal. It kind of made me want to get to know him even more.
Hopefully I’d get the chance.
If I wasn’t too old to make Christmas wishes, that would be mine—to get to know Chris Fraser. Okay, if we’re making wishes . . . I wouldn’t mind kissing him under the mistletoe. But as I approached our table, I couldn’t help noticing the tiny crease between his brows, the slight worry-lines on his frown. Chris was upset . . . on Christmas.
And suddenly, my Christmas wish wasn’t about me anymore.
My normally selfish heart grew two sizes as real feelings filled my chest, and a new, overwhelming desire to help someone other than myself took hold.
All I truly wanted for Christmas was to make Chris Fraser smile.
Chapter Ten
Marissa
I took mental stock of all the problems I now had to solve. Casey and Lucas, Alex and Grant, and the last-minute addition of Chelsea and Chris. I really wanted to help poor Nicole, too. She seemed so worried about Ian.
I knew what that was like.
I always battled my burdens when Archer traveled to away games. But my faith was stronger than my fear.
I wished I could pass that onto Nicole, but I knew from experience that was one trait that couldn’t be traded. Still, I hated seeing her so miserable. But without Ian physically being here there wasn’t much I could do to help other than send up a silent prayer for his safety.
Hopefully Ian’s flight status had just gotten lost in the chaos of the hectic holiday shuffle. Nicole said he flew out of JFK. That airport was a madhouse on a good day. I could only imagine the chaos on Christmas Eve.
I told myself everything was fine with Ian’s flight and decided to focus on the problems in front of me.
It was time to right some wrongs.
My hands were more than full. I was definitely the kind of girl who believed in miracles but asking for so many was a tall order. Even for a Texan.
I was determined to help all of my friends find happiness this holiday, which meant I was going to need my partner in crime.
I found Archer chatting with a group of high schoolers sporting their Northwood football jackets. I waved and he gave me the wink, the special one that meant, please come rescue me. So that’s exactly what I did.
“Hey, babe,” I said, laying a loud kiss on his cheek. “We’d better go sign up for Christmas Carol-okey! I want to get a good spot in the lineup so everyone can check out the routine we’ve been rehearsing.”
After a few snorts of laughter, the teenaged boys excused themselves and Archer wrapped his arms around me. “Our routine? Where do you come up with these things?”
I laughed. “Ya know what they say. All the world’s a stage.”
His deep laugh rumbled through me. “And the whole world’s going to be your stage one day, babe.”
“Thanks,” I replied, standing on my toes to give him a real kiss this time.
Archer’s arms encircled me tighter until my feet left the ground. I loved the way his kisses always left me feeling so weightless. Sometimes I was convinced the only way I hadn’t just floated right out of the atmosphere was because he held onto my heart so tightly.
I’d given it to him right here in this very restaurant, without really knowing it. I’d just been trying to right some wrongs of my own back then. It turned out so well for me that it’d sorta become my life’s mission to help everyone find the kind of happiness Archer and I had.
“You really are a lifesaver,” Archer replied after setting me on my feet. “Those kids wanted me to recite every play I ever ran at Northwood.”
“Well, you are their hometown hero.”
Archer’s brow wrinkled with modesty. “I’m not the only Northwood legend here.”
“Speaking of . . .” I trailed off, pulling Archer further away from the crowd before going into detail.
“What’s up?”
“I think I figured out a way to help our friends.”
Archer
“Great! How?”
Marissa bit her lip and cocked her head a bit. I knew that look. She always got it right before she tried to let me down easy. “Just say it,” I teased, already knowing she was trying to figure out the nicest way to tell me something unpleasant.
“It’s just . . . acting’s not really your thing and I have a feeling this plan of mine is going to take a little extra finesse.”
I smirked. “And I’m just a bull in a china shop?”
“Babe, you know I think you’re capable of anything—”
“Ris,” I cut her off. “I’m teasing. Football’s my thing. I’ll leave the acting to the professionals,” I said with a wink. “Just tell me what you need me to do.”
Marissa whispered the details of her plan, which left me shaking my head.
“What? I think it’ll work,” she said, defensively when she saw my grin.
“If you say so.”
“I do. You just be a good toy solider and do as I say. I’ll take care of the rest.”
“If you say so,” I repeated.
“I do,” she quipped, putting her hands on her hips and giving me that bossy pout I loved.
I leaned in and gave her a quick kiss, and a jaunty salute before heading to work to carry out my orders.
I sure hoped Marissa knew what she was doing. Either way I knew I was going to follow her blindly. I guess that’s what true love could do to a guy. That sassy little Texan had me wrapped around her finger and I loved it.
; It was kind of comical considering my role on the football field required the complete opposite. I expected the same kind of blind devotion from my teammates that Marissa inspired in me.
The girl ruled my heart. A less confident guy might’ve had trouble admitting that. But not me. Quite the opposite, actually. Marissa had saved my life. Maybe not in the literal sense, though sometimes it felt that way.
Even though I’d been popular in high school and captain of the football team, I’d never truly felt like I belonged. I carried so much weight around with me. The pressure of failure and anxiety over perfection had nearly made me give up the sport I loved. Without Marissa, I probably would have. I certainly wouldn’t have learned to love again. Not when my only experience had been the conditional love Lexy Bale had shown me.
Man was I glad I’d let Marissa in.
I felt like the luckiest guy in the world to be with her. Not many people could say they’d found their soulmate, especially back in high school.
Actually, it’d been here that our love story truly started.
Maybe that was the extra crackle of magic I felt in the air tonight. Being here, with Marissa, with all our old friends, surrounded by mistletoe and great memories . . . it felt . . . I didn’t know how to describe it exactly. I just knew I didn’t want it to end.
Chapter Eleven
Casey
Someone nudged me in the side. I looked up to see Marissa standing next to our crowded table. “Casey, can you help me with something?”
I hesitated. Marissa had just gotten back from some secret conversation with her roommate, who was now batting her fake eyelashes at Chris. I assumed whatever this little chore was that Marissa needed my help with was about getting the two flirts together.
Marissa loved to play matchmaker. I didn’t. But Marissa was in luck. I needed a distraction. Anything was better than sitting across from Lucas pretending everything was fine when it most certainly was not.
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