“Like, friends who fuck?”
“Girl,no! Like friends who are friends! What iswrongwith your brain?” I defend through an uncomfortable laugh.
She rolls her eyes. “What is wrong withyours? That man is sexy as hell, and he isintoyou—”
“He is not.”
“Is so. The want is practically oozing off of him.” She makes a dripping motion with her hand. “He probably pictures you every time he comes.”
My cheeks flush. “Please stop talking.”
“Did you see the way his eyes twinkled when he saw you?” she continues, ignoring me. “Not to mention the free drinksandfood? And the wink! I’m already on my knees, mouth wide open with—”
“Rosalia!” Heat blossoms on my cheeks and ears.
It’snot that I haven’t thought about Jake in that way, it’s that I’m constantly working to force myselfnotto. I can’t think about his strong hands or what they would feel like along my skin. Around my waist. How safe I’d feel in the security of his arms. How easily he could lift me up and carry me away if he wanted. His perfect damn lips on me, on my body, just…everywhere.
I shake my head. “No, I don’t have time to be falling for boys. And definitely not ones who aren’t even available.”
Lia gives me a knowing grin.
“What?” I say, forcing my lips not to split into a smile.
“Hate to break it to ya, babe, but I think you’ve already fallen.” Her eyes move back to Jake. “And he seems pretty damn available to me.”
My eyes follow hers, landing on the kind, handsome man behind the bar. My mind filters to a few days back when Jake showed up at my place unexpectedly.Veryunexpectedly, considering I had sort of been avoiding him after our ‘just friends’ conversation left me more disappointed than it should have.
“I have a surprise for you,” he said as I opened the door. His hands were wrapped behind his back, and I tried my hardest to still my erratic heart as it beat wildly at the sight of him.
He brought his hands forward, and there between them was a small three-foot-tall real Christmas tree.
“It’s not much.” He shrugged. “But it’ll do for now.”
I pursed my lips to contain my smile, but they tilted upward, anyway. “It’s Thanksgiving,” I said with a lift of my brow.
He bent to grab the bag by his feet and pushed past me. “Exactly. Perfect timing.” He winked as he made his way in, and it was all I could do not to collapse because of my jelly legs.
He moved my coffee table under the window in the corner and placed the small tree on top. Then he stood backand assessed its placement, turning it this way and that until it was just right. The fresh smell of pine filled the small room, and I took a deep breath.
A lump caught in my throat as I stared at my very first Christmas tree. “It’s perfect,” I murmured. His eyes moved to mine, full of warmth and wonder.
“It’s not done yet,” he said with a smirk.
He set the radio to a Christmas jazz station and started unpacking the bag full of everything we would need.
We spent the next thirty minutes decorating the tabletop tree with strings of colorful lights, ornaments of various sizes, and topped it with a brightly-lit star.
When we were finished, he covered the base with a soft white blanket he said was a tree skirt. To me, it looked like freshly fallen snow.
I marveled at the finished product, my eyes stinging and my throat tight with emotion.
“Thank you,” I said, tears welling in my eyes.
His lips curved into that endearing grin. “What are friends for?”
My smile deepened, and my heart warmed in a way I had never felt before but wanted to live with forever.
He held my gaze a moment longer, then he walked to my kitchen and pulled open the junk drawer, grabbing two menus before he closed it.
