“Uh, what did you say?”
“Ballsy.” He got up from his job—sorting through the red and green yarn I’d given him to string around the tree—and took the object from my hands. “My niece gave him to me a couple years ago. She named him Ballsy.”
“No one discouraged her from the name?”
“In hindsight, we probably should’ve.” He smiled and picked up the battered garland and gently placed it on Snoopy. “I’m not one to decorate.”
I motioned around the living room and stifled a laugh. “I couldn’t tell by the plain walls.”
“Sarcasm isn’t a good look on you.” He frowned again and huffed as he went back to sorting yarn.
Watching a large man untangling balls of yarn did some sort of thing to my heart. It was almost like it skipped a beat, seeing two things I’d consider complete opposites joined together. I set a hand on his shoulder and patted it.
“Why don’t you hang up pictures of your niece and nephews? Or some football accolades? No one should have bare walls.”
He opened his mouth but closed it before settling on a grunt.
“That’s the spirit!” I teased and earned a semi-smile from him. “After the holidays, I will force my way back in here and hang up pictures with or without your permission.”
His posture straightened. “Planning a break-in already?”
“I do know about a crappy window downstairs. Just saying, I could get in if I wanted to find a way.” I wiggled my eyebrows, hoping he’d give me the rest of his smile, and it worked.
His momentary grumpiness subsided, and he flung a pillow at me. “When my ex and I broke up, I threw everything into a box including all the pictures. It was cleansing to not see her face or have any memory of her in my space. I never got around to redecorating.”
“It’s been a couple of years, right?”
“Yeah. I know. Terrible excuse. My priority has been football. It’s my escape—my solace.” He ran a hand through his thick hair. “I didn’t take care of the house because one bad season meant I could get fired. But coming home each night, I craved silence and nothing. That doesn’t make sense to someone like you, does it?”
“What does that mean?” I was unsure if I needed to defend myself or not. It was nice to hear him share about his past but not at the cost of making fun of me. “Because I’m so loud?”
“Not at all,” he said softly. “Because you’re so colorful. I might have the respect of my players and coaches, but my job is to win at the end of the day. That isn’t the business of making friends, which means very few attachments to things or people.”
Unsure how to respond, I pursed my lips and returned my attention to decorating. A couple of minutes passed before Harrison’s large frame appeared behind me. He set his large hands on my hips, and my heart raced at his proximity. Butterflies partied in my stomach, and I urged them to settle down. They seriously needed a curfew.
“I didn’t upset you, did I?” His voice was husky and filled with concern. “I meant it as a compliment, and you’ve been silent since then.”
“No. I appreciate you asking.” I smiled up at him.
Catching me off guard, he kissed me. It was a sweet, just-because kiss, and my face burned red.
“Ah, well, the kiss distracted me,” I said.
“Good.” Amusement danced in his eyes. “That was a blizzard-buddy kiss.”
“I’m a fan of them.” I ignored the pang in my chest at the reminder of our temporary arrangement.Blizzard buddy.I pushed him away and went back to the box before I spoke. “This might seem like prying, but your breakup sounds like it was pretty bad. What happened?”
“It is prying.”
“I’m a nosy person. But more importantly, you seem to carry a smidge of anger about it still. Thatcan’tbe healthy.”
“You sound like my sister.” He grumbled something else but I didn’t catch it.
“I can’t wait to meet her.”
“Yeah, might be regretting that decision already. I can picture the two of you ganging up on me.”
“Poor Harrison.” I earned another smile from him. “Enough stalling. Tell me about the breakup. You’ve already heard about my disastrous and lackluster dating life. It’s only fair you have your turn. We’re together for this snow-mageddon, so spill it.”
