“Yup, that’s my apartment.” I frowned as the realization struck me. “Wait, how do you know where I live?”
He shrugged and started walking again. “Nolan must’ve told me.”
We dodged a little boy whose hat was falling off his head, trudging behind his parents and sister, crying that he was cold and wanted to go home.
Andrew chuckled then glanced at me. “Are you getting close to toddler meltdown status yet? I know I’m dragging you all over this place.”
I shook my head vigorously. “Not at all. I like being out here.”
With you.
The little boy’s cries faded away and we were alone on the path, surrounded by pine trees of all shapes and sizes.
He tipped his head as he studied me. “But your cheeks are all pink. Your nose too. You sure you’re not freezing?”
I barely felt the cold, especially with Andrew looking at me that way. “I wore layers.”
“Ofcourseyou did.” He chuckled and pulled a few needles off a nearby branch.
“I’m surprised you’re even wearing a jacket.”
“Oh, it’ll come off once I start sawing, trust me.”
“That’s assuming you’re going to find a tree. Because so far you’re striking out.” I gestured at the trees. “Trash, every last one of ’em. Absolute garbage. Disgusting.”
His laughter echoed around us. “Okay, okay, I get it. I’m being too picky. You know what?Youpick my tree.”
My eyes went wide and I waved my hands in front of me. “Oh, no way. Too much responsibility. If I choose wrong I’ll have to hear about it for weeks.”
“Weeks?”He shook his head. “If you choose wrong I’ll never let you forget it. Ten years from now I’ll be reminding you of the time you made me get a Leyland cypress.” He shuddered.
I felt a tiny surge of joy even though Andrew probably didn’t catch the implication of what he’d said. Ten years. A lifetime. And we’d still be talking?
“I’m serious, Higs. You’re picking.” He pointed the end of his hacksaw at me. “You’ve got five minutes.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Challenge accepted. Try to keep up.”
I took off at a jog, scanning the trees as I passed them. I could hear him laughing behind me.
“I was kidding, you don’t have to run.”
“Nope,” I shouted over my shoulder at him. “I figured you out. I know exactly what you want.”
I skipped the rows of squat pine trees with fat branches, andthe ones that were so tall that they could only fit in McMansions. I backed up cartoon-style when I came to the part of the field that had what I was looking for and headed down the narrow path to make my choice. Andrew caught up, but hung behind me as I scanned my options.
I stopped in front ofthetree. “This one,” I said confidently.
“Interesting.” He adopted a thoughtful expression, like we were in a museum looking at a sculpture. “And why do you think so?”
“You said you don’t like crowded branches, and this tree has some space in between them. You didn’t like the blue spruce so I’m guessing you prefer a deeper green, which...” I gestured up and down the tree like a spokesmodel. “Plus, it’s uniform, pleasingly plump, and still tall enough to look impressive in your house.” I leaned closer and shoved my nose into the branches. “And it smells amazing.”
Andrew stalked around the tree, taking it in from every angle. “There’s a little bare spot back here.”
“Are you putting it in the center of the room?”
“Of course not.”
“Then put that part against the wall and no one will know. Come on, that’s like Christmas Tree 101.”
