“Who needs luck when you have a snowman-building champion and a strong hockey player?” He dramatically flexed his muscles, although they were hidden from view under his coat. Unfortunately.
I laughed again, completely surprised at this new side of Holden.
Could he be feeling lighter around me too? Like somehow we were both able to be truer versions of ourselves when we were together? Or was all this Christmas spirit going to my head?
We got to work quickly, deciding to build the base first. Holden scooped and packed snow like he was preparing for battle, and I had to admit he was efficient.
We were going for the classic Frosty the Snowman. With the limited amount of time we had been given, we figured going simple while focusing on detail would give us the best chance at winning. I snagged a top hat, scarf, lumps of coal, a carrot (since there was no button for a nose), and a stick that I hoped we could use to somehow make a pipe. There was obviously no broom, so we’d have to make that out of snow as well.
Making the body was easy, especially with a hockey player who had big hands to pack snow. Holden stacked them on top of each other like it was no big deal. Shaping Frosty’s arms was a little more challenging.
I worked on one arm while Holden worked on the other. Finishing mine, I looked to see how different our two arms were—and how best we could shape them to match.
I tilted my head and gave Holden a look. “You gave Frosty a bulging bicep.”
He stepped back, standing next to me as he looked at Frosty and thoughtfully stroked his neatly trimmed beard. “I know. I’m thinking we should give him a six-pack to go with it.”
I laughed and playfully pushed him back toward Frosty. “Go fix his arm. I don’t think muscly Frosty is going to bring up fond memories of childhood or evoke the classic cartoon.”
He threw me a side grin as he started to smooth out the arm.
He’d been smiling a lot today, which seemed almost odd…but also how it should be. Somehow I’d been able tobreak down his barrier while we’d been decorating cookies, and I hoped that it would continue to stay down. At least with me.
Gah. That probably wasn’t the right thought to have.
I hurried to start working on the pipe, taking the stick and covering it in snow. Once that was done and the arm was fixed, we both began to work on the broom together.
Our hands moved along the snow, packing it along the body of the snowman since we couldn’t make it stand on its own. But each time our hands brushed, our eyes would flick to each other, my cheeks warming from the briefest of contact. We might have had gloves on, but it didn’t stop the jolt of warmth and electricity that flowed through me.
Between the small touches and the heady scent of his cologne, I wasn’t the least bit cold in these frigid temperatures.
After placing the eyes, pipe, and hat on our snowman, we took a step back to admire our work. Our Frosty looked amazing, and all that was missing was his nose.
I handed the carrot to Holden. “You can do the honors.”
A loud voice rang out. “Ten more seconds!”
Holden took the carrot from me and shoved it straight into Frosty’s face. A littletoohard.
The snowman’s head wobbled once…then tipped clean off, landing on the ground with a loud, slushy smack.
My hand flew up to cover my mouth in shock, but laughter bubbled up anyway. “You really don’t know your own strength, do you?”
Holden stared at the decapitated snowman, then looked at me. “So I guess we’re not winning.”
Just then, the voice called out again. “That’s it! Time’s up!”
I smiled at Holden, letting him know I didn’t care about winning. “Unless a decapitated snowman is exactly what the judges are looking for…then probably not.”
He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. “At least he went out with style.”
I glanced down at the snowman’s smiling head lying in the snow, then back at Holden. “Honestly? I think this just made my day.”
Really,hehad made my day. From what I knew about him so far, he wasn’t a big Christmas person, and it didn’t seem like he had a lot of experience with holiday traditions, which made it all the more special that he was stepping out of his comfort zone for this. Forme.
His eyes softened, and for a second, we both stood there covered in snow, slightly out of breath, and grinning like idiots.
“Come on, Frosty,” he said, scooping up the snowman’s head. “Let’s see if we can patch you up before the judges get here.”
