Another first, she thought, smiling to herself as she leaned closer into Rush’s warmth. At this rate, this was going to be a very exciting year.
At Rush’s house, one of the first things she’d noticed was the lack of a tree. Moving or not, it was too bleak for December. A house needed at least a little light and cheer.
“Admit it,” she said, looking up at him under the glow of the strung lights. “This is cozy.”
“It’s crowded.”
“Hey,” she said softly, squeezing his arm. “If this isn’t your thing, we don’t have to stay.” A snowflake drifted down, catching on her eyelashes and refusing to melt.
He exhaled hard. “I’m not the best company tonight.”
“Let’s go then,” she said immediately, her old reflexes kicking in despite her disappointment. “We can grab dinner instead, or call it a night?—”
“No,” he said firmly. “I want to be here, Lily. I’m just keyed up over work. It’s hard to turn it off sometimes.”
“What happened?” She held her breath, wondering if he’d answer.
“Nothing worth talking about.” Before she could push, he lifted a hand to her chin and tilted her face up. He studied her for a moment, something unreadable flickering in his eyes before his shoulders eased. “Show me the perfect tree you’ve been talking about.”
She tugged him down the nearest row to inspect the treesuntil her eyes lit up in front of the giant fir. The branches were full and wild, and the top tapered to a precise point, just waiting for the star she’d put in the box she’d packed for him. Alongside it, she’d packed an assortment of ornaments scavenged from her mom and aunts, and an old metal tree stand she’d dug out of Annette’s attic. Nothing matched, but they would add some cheer to his bare house. She couldn’t stand to think of him going home to such bleakness.
“This one,” she said with certainty. “I love it.”
Rush eyed it, skepticism written on his face. “That thing’s enormous. No way it’s fitting in my living room. How about this one?” he asked, pointing at a much smaller, more typically proportioned tree.
“That one’s boring,” she said absently, circling the tree to see the back. “If I wanted perfect, I’d get a fake tree. This one has character. It will fit. I know it. I’m an expert at this.”
“If you say so.” His brow rose, but he didn’t argue.
They brought the slip to the makeshift wooden hut, where a bundled-up teenager in a puffy coat checked them out. When Lily pulled out her wallet, Rush was faster, sliding a card across the counter.
“That was supposed to be my treat,” she said as they wandered over to the tables set up with holiday crafts and gifts while the tree was bound and loaded onto Rush’s truck.
“That’s not how this works,” he said simply, and she let it lie, understanding that Rush was old-fashioned enough to think going dutch was a terrible idea, and that, with him, there wasn’t much room for debate.
“This will be fun,” she said, warming her hands with a new cup of cider. The latte had done its job, giving her a boost of energy, and she fairly sparkled with excitement.
“What’s the plan now?”
“The plan is to decorate,” she said. “Technically, you’resupposed to wait a day for the branches to fall, but we can at least water it tonight and put up the lights. The lights are my favorite part of Christmas.”
She paused to admire a table of handmade jewelry and bowls of polished stones. “Christmas has always been huge in my family. My mom bakes for days—cookies and pies, and cinnamon rolls the size of your head. Evie and I still watch Christmas movies in our jammies, and make hot chocolate when we decorate the tree. And of course, Theo and Amber are hosting their Christmas Eve party again.”
She glanced up at him and kept her voice light. “Are you going?”
Theo usually invited half the town, although Rush hadn’t ever come before. She held her breath, aware that she was asking more than he probably wanted, but she wanted him to meet her family. They were always so worried about her asthma and how she was handling the breakup. She wanted them to see the man in front of her and know that she was handling everything fine. Just fine.
But it was a lot to ask, and she knew it. Her family was loud and nosy and impossible to ignore. She loved them all dearly, but Tucker had never taken to them, and it had hurt her. She was afraid Rush would feel the same, and she knew it was unreasonable, but that would hurt even more.
What was happening to her?
“I hadn’t planned on it,” he said, not meeting her eyes.
The brush-off didn’t surprise her, but it still left a pinch in her chest. She chose a delicate necklace with a heart-shaped rose quartz and held it up to her neck to look in the mirror. “What about you? Any Christmas traditions in your family?”
Rush shrugged. “Sarah and Rachel and Gram always took care of that. Pop and I usually went hunting at the cabin.”
“Typical boys,” she teased.
