But the protector in me can’t handle the look of utter defeat on McKenna’s face. So, I do the one thing I know will get a reaction. Good or bad, it’ll be better than the shell of the girl I know.
As we reach the front door, she still hasn’t looked up to take in her surroundings. I set the bag from Riley’s on the rocking chair before turning McKenna toward me and bracing one arm against the siding above her head. The other hand grazes her chin, tilting it up until her eyes finally meet mine.
“Funny thing,” I whisper, our lips merely inches apart. “Someone decided to place mistletoe all over town.” My fingers urge her chin up a little more, and I grin as realization lights in her eyes. Before she can react, I close the distance between us. Her lips are soft, the taste of dark roast and peppermint hitting my senses. I’d be okay getting my daily dose of caffeine from her lips if it means this.
I wish oxygen wasn’t a necessity as I lean my forehead against hers and slide the hand on her chin up to cup her jaw. As she settles back on her feet, her lashes flutter against pinkened cheeks.
“Hi, Kenna,” I whisper as her hand releases its grip on my shirt.
“Hi.”
Then, to save us from anything more happening, I do the last thing I want to do. I back away, grab the food bag off the chair, and walk through the front door. “You’ll have to be mindful around town, blue eyes. Never know when that pesky mistletoemight pop up,” I call over my shoulder, chuckling as she shrieks my name.
Catching her under the mistletoe doesn’t sound so bad.
Chapter 4
McKenna
Iforgot just how small this place is.
The kitchen and living room are one space with a small hall to the side that has the bathroom, the bedroom, and Reece’s so-called super-secret locked room. At least, that is what Jett calls it whenever she gets the itch to try breaking into it. Either way, calling this a farmhouse is generous.
The place smells faintly of cedar and coffee, like every surface has soaked up Reece’s routines. A mug sits abandoned on the counter, half-full, the same way he always left one at study nights in college. I trace a finger over the worn wood of the table before realizing I’m doing it—touching his things like they might explain how he’s changed and why I still notice.
Christmas is five days away, and the bare Christmas tree by the fireplace is close to resembling Charlie Brown’s tree. Green garland with warm tree lights rests across the mantel with four stockings hanging on iron reindeer hooks.
Firewood is stacked in the fireplace with kindling and newspaper tucked underneath for an easy light. Maybe I can convince Reece to light it even though the low tonight is only inthe forties. I wouldn’t be against curling up in the loveseat with my copy ofFestive Fakingand tuning out the world for a few hours.
The thought makes me laugh. Who curls up with a holiday romance after spending the morning crying in a principal’s office? Me, apparently. Because pretending I’ve got everything together has always been easier than admitting I don’t.
As much as I want to throw a fit and snap at Reece for leaving me hanging in the doorway, I can’t find it in me. Maybe it’s because I’m exhausted from the day’s events, but the way he caged me against the door as his lips claimed mine felt too real.
I yelled at him for all of thirty seconds. I can still feel it—the heat of his breath, the scrape of stubble when he pulled back too slow. The kind of kiss that sticks under your skin no matter how loudly you pretend to hate it.
The chicken bacon ranch wrap with a cup of ranch on the side that Reece places in front of me is enough to curb my frustration, at least for the time being.
As Reece drops into the seat across from me, his long legs spread open in that wide V men do as he slouches against the back of the chair. His green eyes never leave me, and I’m suddenly self-conscious of how dipping this wrap in what is essentially a tub of ranch before stuffing my face must look to him.
I should not care what Reece thinks of my eating habits. He is the one who purchased it and placed it in front of me. I should not feel wary of how I look stuffing my face with yummy food.
And yet, I bring the food back to my plate and sigh. “Can you not stare at me right now?” He grins like a cat caught mid-pounce, completely unbothered by my glare. Typical Reece. I could be on fire and he’d probably hand me marshmallows.
“Just seeing how long it takes,” he says innocently.
“How long what takes?”
“For you to lay into me about overstepping by showing up at your place of work this morning and dropping off that stuff for your students. I actually thought you’d have yelled at me for it by now.”
It’s my turn to drop back into my chair. Is it crazy that this morning’s events seem days away at this point? A soft laugh escapes as I think back to how worked up I got over his gesture. Instead of being thankful for his actions, I wanted to tear him down.
“Before you build up to tearing me a new one over it, just know that I didn’t do it on my own. Jett and Noah and a few others in town helped to make it possible.” I hate the adorable look on his face as he admits to things before I say a word.
“Reece…you didn’t need to do any of it, but I appreciate it.”
“Whoa, whoa, wait…Who are you, and what have you done with McKenna?”
I give him a playful shove as I laugh softly. “Stop. Seriously, thank you for thinking of the kiddos. They loved it.”
