I sigh. “Seriously, why am I friends with you?”
“Because I don’t take your bullshit,” he tells me. “And I give you a discount on your Christmas tree.”
That puts a smile on my face. “I need to come out this week and cut one down.”
Hunter shakes his head and leans back in his chair. “You better come quick. All the good trees are going fast.”
“You know I can’t pick it out too early.”
It’s always been my tradition since I moved into my house to pick it out after the post-Thanksgiving rush. Too many people going all at once make it hard to study the trees. I want to spend my time with them to pick the very best one. Not necessarily the biggest or the prettiest, but the one that calls to me.
Hunter thinks I’m crazy, but I don’t care.
“Well, come soon. Otherwise, you’ll get the Charlie Brown tree.”
I take a sip of my drink and smack my lips together. Fuck, is this hot cocoa ever delicious. “And I would make it the most beautiful tree in town.”
Hunter smiles at me, a small quirk of his lips that’s hidden beneath his well-groomed beard. “You would. I dropped off the tree for the tavern on my way over.”
“You’re the best.” I blow a kiss in his direction. “Are you still coming to Ugly Sweater Night?”
Hunter groans. “Are you going to make me? You know how tired I am this time of year.”
“Yes. You know I won’t take no for an answer.”
“Take your new roommate.”
“We’ll see.”
Another eye roll from the tall man across from me.
“Stop judging me. I can feel your judgment from here.”
Hunter quirks a brow at me. It’s all he has to do. The fucker.
“I’m not judging.”
“Yes, you are. I can hear your thoughts from here.”
He sips on his peppermint hot chocolate. “Oh yeah? What am I thinking then?”
“That inviting Brooks to live with me is a bad idea because I’m in love with him.”
“You said it, not me.”
“You suck, you know that?”
The corner of Hunter’s mouth quirks up in a half smile. “I haven’t been doing much of that lately.”
I lean back in the oversized, upholstered chair. “And whose fault is that? How many times have I tried to set you up, Hunter? Hmm?”
“Sue me if I don’t want to be set up.”
“Maybe if you come to Ugly Sweater Night, you might meet someone.”
Hunter groans, scrubbing a hand over his beard. “You are so hard to say no to, you know that, right?”
I give him a playful smile. “It’s my superpower.”
