“Good Lord, you scared me half to death,” she said, clutching her chest. Well, she yelled it because she was still wearing the headphones. After a couple of deep breaths, she removed them and then pushed a button on her phone that stopped the music.
Naturally, she’d slung little bits of paint everywhere in the process.
“Sorry. I got concerned when you didn’t answer my knock,” I said.
She gave me a sheepish grin. “You mean to say you were concerned about little ol’ me?”
“Yes. I, ah, think I figured out what was wrong with the contract. I can make hot chocolate now.”
“Tell me more,” she said in a low voice that made my breath catch.
“Well, I wondered if you were still up for that Christmas movie.”
“Only if I get to pick.”
I shrugged. “Sure.”
I left her to clean up her workspace—something she actually did this time—and went upstairs to make the cocoa. Soon we settled into the living room with our mugs and cookies to watch a movie. We’d never really done that before. Usually, she watched her programs or I watched mine. Occasionally, we’d be in the same room for Braves games, but she preferred to sit on the floor and craft on those nights.
Suddenly, Miss Ruth’s love seat felt a little smaller.Love seat, the words rang out in my head. We were sitting on a love seat. I’d been harboring some pretty adult thoughts about Aubrey’s candy cane underwear and now we were sitting together on aloveseat, which made me think about making love, which made me wonder what kinds of sounds Aubrey might make if I kissed that spot just above her collarbone and…
Stop it. She’s your best friend’s little sister.
Besides, it would never work out. Today’s whirlwind cleaning aside, the woman drove me crazy with how she left her shoes wherever she kicked them off or how she didn’t see the need to do dishes immediately after a meal. Heck, I was lucky she hadn’t flung paint on me earlier.
Suddenly Hugh Grant was talking about airports, and I held in a groan. I remembered this movie well because I’d watched it again with Deidre last Christmas. The last thing I needed to do was to sit on a love seat with Aubrey Longfellow while watching a movie that included, among other sexy premises, porn extras. Did she do this on purpose?
“Oh, wait,” she said, her face an adorable shade of pink. “This movie is kinda long. Maybe The Grinch?”
I cleared my throat. The Grinch would be much better. “Uh, yeah. But the animated one.”
“Of course,” she said with a tone of voice that suggested there were no other versions ofHow the Grinch Stole Christmas, and I heartily agreed with her on that assessment.
“Thanks for the hot chocolate,” she said at about the time The Grinch started formulating his plan.
“Sure. It was your idea,” I said, taking a larger gulp than I meant to. I put my cup on the coffee table and leaned back on the couch. I sat to the left; she sat to the right. My right hand was mere inches from her left hand. My fingers twitched.
She stared at the television—like I should be doing—but I couldn’t help but study her profile. Her nose had a slight bump on the bridge from where she broke it playing basketball with Zach and me. She hated that bump, but I thought it gave her character. She also hated her freckles, but I loved those, too. Her lips begged to be kissed…
Cole! Eyes on the television.
And the Grinch’s heart wasn’t the only thing in danger of growing three sizes, so I glued my eyes back to the screen.
But here’s the thing about The Grinch: it’s not long. Soon, we were sitting in the living room with nothing to do. Was it just my imagination or did she not want to leave the living room anymore than I did?
“Well,” she said. “That certainly got me into the Christmas spirit.”
“Makes you want to go down and rob an entire village of their decorations and presents and roast beast, huh?”
She laughed, as I’d hoped she would.
“Seriously, though,” I said. “Thanks for all of your decorating and the cookies and everything.”
Her smile widened and she shrugged. “Just thought it might be a nice thing to do.”
“It was,” I said.
“Is there anything else you really like to do for Christmas?” she asked with some hesitation. “I hadn’t moved in yet last year, and I don’t want to cramp your style this year.”
