“Nope. Nope. Nope. Not happening. I call dibs on this room today. You can have the rest of the house, okay? Please. Just leave me and my movies alone.”
“No can do.”
“Look, you’re way ahead of whatever score you’re keeping in your head after last night. All I’m asking for is a moment of peace.”
The seconds tick by without a smart retort from him. So long that I have to remove the pillow between us to make sure he didn’t fall asleep on me. It would’ve been awfully fast, but I’m convinced this couch has superpowers.
Baylor cranes his head to look at me. He’s sitting closer than I thought.
“What are you doing?” I narrow my eyes at him.
The side of his mouth pulls up as he holds his pointer finger up to his lips in a hush motion. “I’m giving you your moment.”
I let out a long sigh in defeat. “I don’t have the energy to fight you today, Baylor.”
Trying to unwedge myself from the cozy crevasse I formed with one arm is more difficult than I expected. Even more so when a warm arm circles my waist and pulls me back.
“Let me make a deal with you.” His breath hits my ear, and I shiver.
“Only if the deal is you removing your arm before I bite it off.” I put as much threat in my voice as possible.
His large frame shakes silently with mirth as he leans into my side. “You watch one movie of my choice, and I’ll leave you alone for the rest of the day.”
I look up at the screen, grinding my teeth together.
He points up at the redhead pulling a suitcase down a snow-covered road in heeled boots and a thin designer jacket. “I can already tell you how this plays out. That rich city girl falls for the farm boy in the middle of bumfuck nowhere and pays off his family’s debt, so they can keep the farm. He realizes she’s not what he expected and tells her he loves her. She ends up staying. The end.”
I cover my mouth to hide my smile, but he sees and pulls my hand away.
“I’m right, aren’t I?” He stares down at my lips.
I bite my lip and giggle. “Way to ruin it.”
His eyes soften as he watches me for a beat, and then he loosens his arm around my waist. My stomach twists with embarrassment at how quickly I miss the warmth.
“Do we have a deal?” he asks.
I purse my lips as I consider it. How bad can it be anyway? If it truly is a Christmas movie, the chances of me liking it are drastically high. As long as it isn’tDie Hard. My dad and I argue every year about whether that movie is a holiday movie or not. At the time, it’s infuriating, but now, it kind of makes me smile.
“Can I take that smile as a yes?”
“Fine,” I reluctantly agree.
Baylor hops off the couch to fetch the remote. Before he returns, he reaches into a drawer in front of the television and pulls out a handful of different kinds of candy. I perk my head upright as he kicks the drawer shut with his foot, but I’m too stubborn to ask him to get me something.
I’m still eyeing the candy drawer when Baylor settles back into the couch beside me and hits play on his movie. He tosses a box of Red Vines into my lap, and I practically squeal with excitement.
I’m tearing the package open as I turn and look at him. “How did you—”
“Shh.” He nods at the screen. “It’s starting.”
To know my favorite drink is one thing, but to know my favorite candy is … ugh, it’s confusing. He shouldn’t know anything about me. He’s too observant. What possible motive can he have for that? Or for sitting here with me when he could be doing anything else? He could watch whatever this black-and-white movie is upstairs in the family room. Granted, that TV is much smaller than this one, but it’s not like you can call any of the televisions in this place small. He could play pool in the study or take out one of the snowmobiles I saw in the garage. Hell, he could be outside, carving an ice sculpture of himself for all I care. But instead, he’s chosen to sit here with me.
I study his sharp features as the movie lights up his face, hoping to discover any ill intentions. The muscles of his jaw flex under recently shaven skin as he works the candy in his mouth. The skin is smooth and the muscles taut—my favorite combination. I’ve seen the same muscles dance when he’s crossed with me about something, when I’m being stubborn, or sometimes, when he’s trying to suppress laughter. Baylor eating candy while watching his favorite Christmas movie is a new one, and I take a mental note of it.
His tongue swipes across his lower lip, wetting it, and I can’t help but lick my own in response.
“What are you thinking about, Penny?” he rasps.
