“Onyx—“
“Don’t say no. Don’t say anything but that you’ll come to my place and let me cook for you.”
“On—“
“Please. I’ll make us a late breakfast.” He glanced over at the huge clock he had on the wall. “I’ll make you a hot chocolate. Extra marshmallows. Just the way you like it.”
“How do you?—“
“I pay attention. I might have been trying to fight off what I feel for you these last couple of months, but I still paid attention.”
“To the way I drink hot chocolate.”
“To everything you do.”
“But… that’s crazy. I mean, how would you even know this?”
“Snowflake, you’re the only person on the face of this earth who drinks hot chocolate in the middle of a heat wave.” I felt my face heat up. He really had been watching me the way Lola swore he did.
“Let’s go eat.” He tugged on my hand, but I didn’t go with him. I had no idea why I was resisting going back to his place. How long had I been dying to go in there and see what he’d done with it? To check out if the kitchen would look as good as I thought it would with the glitter in that warm shade of white in the early morning light?
“The candy canes aren’t done,” I mildly argued, but we both knew it was just an excuse.
“We can finish after.”
“What about having to take the stuff to the brewery? Shouldn’t you?—“
“Austin and Bash are in charge of that.” I knew that already.
“Then you have to dress up as Santa next week?” I asked, trying to give myself some more time even though I’d overheard them talking the first day we got to work. I hadn’t meant to eavesdrop, but the shouting had been hard to miss when they were right by me.
“Yes,” he said.
“Look, Onyx, I appreciate your apology and completely accept it. I just don’t think…” He caught my wrist and tangled our fingers together. I almost gave myself whiplash with how fast my head bent to look at his thick, tanned fingers tangled with my much lighter ones.
“Don’t think. Just say yes.”
“Why?” I asked. “I mean, you should rest up. The toy drive starts tomorrow, and you probably have a lot on your plate, and then you have to dress up next week and?—“
“I need an elf,” he blurted out, and I could see it in his eyes. Jesus, had that been there all along? The way he looked for a reason, anything, to keep me around just a little longer? If I thought back to his visits at the hardware store and the way he argued with me on things that felt like he was doing for the sake of arguing.
“An elf.” I snorted.
“Or a Mrs. Claus.” His dark eyes liquified, and I found myself swaying closer to him.
“A Mrs. Claus,” I repeated, all while thinkingsign me up. The thought was ludicrous, and I laughed. I couldn’t help it. “I’m pretty sure you could raise more than enough money for all the sports programs in four counties if you did some kind of auction for the spot of your Mrs. Claus,” I teased, trying to lighten the mood. But I could tell by the expression on his face that he wasn’t having it.
“What if I told you I only have eyes for one certain Mrs. Claus? Or a naughty little elf to help me out?”
“What’s this weird fascination you have with elves?” I found myself asking in a more than flirty tone. One I knew he didn’t miss when his hand tightened around mine and he pulled me closer into his body. “Onyx.”
“I love when you say my name, snowflake.”
“Snowflake,” I repeated. My brows bunched. He’d called me that more than once and even before winter had hit. “I don’t get that nickname. Is it supposed to be an insult?”
“Quite the contrary.” He swallowed; his Adam’s apple rose and fell. “Have you ever looked at one? Really looked at one, up close?”
“I mean, sure, but… there’s nothing special about a snowflake, Onyx.”
