“Hands up!” Rachel dropped her supplies and shot her hands into the air like a chef on a cable network cooking competition. “All done!”
Holden did the same, but much less dramatically. “Shall we crown the winner?”
He stood from the sofa and took the end of his garland between his fingers. Stretching it to its full length, the rope of popcorn came in just shy of his six-foot, three-inch stature.
Rachel easily had that beat. Prematurely celebrating her victory, she jumped up and flung the strand into the air, lifting her arm clear above her head. Even more garland remained coiled on the floor, but she wouldn’t need it. That was all extra. She whooped in delight.
“Looks like you get to keep your title, Your Royal Highness.” Holden gave a theatrical bow.
“That was really fun.”
“Well, of course it was. It’s always fun to win, isn’t it?” he asked in jest.
“It’s fun just being with you.” She rolled the garland into a big popcorn ball and left it on the coffee table.
She had put the conversation off all night, and time was running out. She was like Cinderella awaiting the ominous stroke of midnight when reality would come crashing down. It was a countdown she nearly dreaded.
After their garland making session, they watchedIt’s a Wonderful Lifeand shared the rest of the bottle of wine, along with stories from their past that translated differently with the new lens of hindsight and maturity to view them through.
What would her teenage self think if she could see her now, snuggled at the side of her sworn adversary? Rachel decided she didn’t even care. What mattered now was this moment, and she would cling to it for as long as she could.
Later on, the credits rolled on the movie and the cabin swathed in darkness, save for the tree that twinkled with a holiday glow. Holden removed his arm from Rachel’s shoulders and reached for the remote. “Are you up for another? I hearElfis on next. Might be fun to watch my namesake in action.”
“Holden, there’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about.”
Here goes nothing, she mused, her stomach knotted like a pretzel.
“I know.” He clicked off the television and brought his leg up onto the couch to face her straight on. “I was just hoping I could distract you until you forgot what it was you originally came here for.”
“I came here for you.” Sure, she’d had something she needed to tell him, but she’d also wanted to be with him. Wanted to share this beautiful December evening. Enjoy his company and amazing food. She knew they wouldn’t have the opportunity for more nights like this very one, and she wanted to savor it for all it was worth.
She felt the full intensity of his piercing, attentive gaze. A flush bloomed on her cheeks and the fine hairs along the back of her neck tingled.
It also made her heart feel like it could split right in two.
“My boss called yesterday.”
Widened eyes and a dip of his head wordlessly encouraged her to continue.
“They’ve moved up my Mistlefaux presentation to the twentieth.”
He produced a frown. “And you’re not ready?”
“I’m not,” she admitted. “But more than not being ready for my presentation, I’m not ready for this.” She waved her hand in between them. “I’m not ready to start something with you, knowing in two days’ time, I’ll be back in San Francisco and you’ll still be here in Snowdrift.”
He didn’t say anything.
“Maybe I’m being presumptuous,” she continued, needing to fill the space his absence of a response created. “It’s not like we’re dating or that we would even start a relationship—”
“Rachel,” he cut off her sentence midway. “If you lived here, or I was there, we would absolutely start something. It’s fair to say, I think we already have.”
She knew it too, and it hadn’t just happened during this recent trip home. It had built over the course of their entire lives. Was this really where it all ended for good?
She found her courage in a large breath and said, “I just don’t think it’s possible for us to continue this when I live in—”
He cut her off a second time, but this time, it wasn’t with words. Holden’s mouth met hers in a kiss that had the twinkle lights on the tree blurring into one dazzling glow, had her heart zigzagging within her chest, had her fuzzy head spinning as she tried to process the reality of his lips suddenly upon hers.
She was kissing her lifelong rival. And yet, the only challenge she currently faced was an inner battle that pulled her in two opposing directions. In all aspects of her life, she let her head take the lead. This time, she decided to give her heart that chance.
