“What happened?” His tone held that same tenderness I was beginning to associate with him. It was somehow safe and soft, a gentle place to land. Such a contrast from his rough, outdoorsy exterior.
The sigh that wheezed out of me was soul-deep and wrapped in heartache. “I was with someone for two years.” His jaw clenched, but he nodded along. He’d known. “Hudson and I started dating shortly after I moved to Denver after school. I think I was looking for a place to belong, and at the time he was fun and new and . . . he hated my mom.”
Sam’s mouth pressed into a hard line. “I can see how that would be appealing.”
“But he found a job that moved him to Nashville. And we’d been dating for two years, so it felt reasonable for me to go with him. Looking back, I’m not sure if he ever actually invited me or if I just assumed that if he made a life-altering decision that it would of course include me. And he never asked me not to come, so . . .”
Anyway, I quit my job—a job that I absolutely loved—and I let my apartment know I wouldn’t be re-upping my lease. I started looking for teaching jobs near and around Nashville, and then . . . then we fell apart.” I let out a long sigh. “In hindsight, we’d been falling apart. We’d stopped having anything in common after we got past hating my mom. He was a nice,decent guy. We just weren’t right for each other.” I pulled my coat tighter around my middle, a shiver sliding down my spine. “When I didn’t find a job, we decided he’d go on without me, and I’d wrap up things in Denver, then follow later. It was an excuse for both of us. It took about one week of being apart for us to realize we were over. Well, for him to realize we were over. But honestly, I’m glad I found out before I moved rather than having to find out after picking up my life and moving across the country. I just wish I would have figured it out before I quit my job and gave up my amazing rent-controlled apartment.
My apartment let me extend my lease for a couple of months because they were doing renovations on my side of the building and didn’t think they’d be able to get anyone until they were done. But in that time, I realized I’d never really put down roots in Denver. Because I’d found Hudson so early, I didn’t have any close friends. I’d quit my teaching job and lost those contacts over the summer when I was busy helping Hudson move. There just wasn’t anything keeping me there anymore. When Teagan told me about the long-term sub job, I jumped on it. I didn’t have anything else to do. Why not?” I held my mittened hands against my face. “Why not Mistletoe?”
“Hudson’s an idiot.” Sam’s tone did not invite argument.
I laughed. “No, he’s really not. We just . . . we were better at being friends, maybe? Or maybe better at being acquaintances? We just weren’t meant to be.”
“Fuck that. He’s an idiot. I would never have left you behind. I had a hard enough time being left behind by you.”
I shot him a disbelieving look. “Come on, I’m not—”
“You think I didn’t want to jump in the car every time Cooper got to visit you? You think I didn’t try to reach out to you a hundred different times after that kiss? I pined for you, Holly. Pined.”
My cheeks were flaming hot now. The cold temps could not touch this level of flush. But he wasn’t finished. “Teagan made me understand that you wanted nothing to do with me. But if I would have known . . . if I would have understood why . . . nothing would have kept me from knocking down your door and making you listen to me.”
“Sam,” I breathed, my body so light and weightless I worried I might float away.
He leaned closer, his body heat washing over my chilled skin. “I’m glad you’re here,” he murmured. “I’m glad you found your way back to Mistletoe. Back to me.”
And then he kissed me. His nose was so cold, but his lips were warm. His tongue was hot. He held my face in his own gloved hands and kissed me thoroughly until I was struggling against all the layers, desperate to get closer to him.
“Do you want to go somewhere warm?” he breathed against my mouth, our lips grazing with every word.
“Yes.”
“Let’s go.”
CHAPTER 13
Baby, It’s Cold Outside
Sam lived in an adorable old house off Main Street. It was one of those original in-town houses that was built in the early nineteen-hundreds. It was, of course, fully decorated with colored lights and LED wreaths and candles in the windows.
But the free advertising for his business didn’t stop at the Christmas décor. The large front yard was meticulously landscaped with big oak trees and flower beds that would be bursting with blooms in the spring. There was a big sun porch and a white picket fence beyond the detached garage. It was beautiful and a surprise and yet somehow so Sam.
Maybe not the young Sam I grew up with, but this business-savvy, smart, mature version of Sam I was getting to know.
He parked in the driveway and led me up the manicured walk into his house. I was expecting more decorations, more festive fun, more . . . well, just more. But the inside was surprisingly bare.
“Oh,” I said, laughing.
“What?” He took off his outer layers and gloves, tucking the gloves into his coat pockets and hanging it in a little alcove nearthe front door. The arched doorways and rich original wood gave the house a personality the lack of furniture did not.
“The outside is so jolly. I was expecting, uh, a fully furnished home?”
His laughter echoed through the empty rooms. “I have a couch.” He pointed at the living room off to our right. Sure enough, he had a big leather sectional set up to watch a huge TV hanging above a fireplace.
“That’s good. I always say you need at least one piece of furniture in every home.”
He grabbed my waist, tugging me back against his chest. His mouth dropped to my ear. “I have the essentials.”
