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I reach for my cell phone, making sure it’s on silent, and glance through the guys’ posts. All of them are spread out for Christmas today. Archer is spending it with Reid. Conrad is with his family.

Archer sends me a text, and I carefully click it with one hand, my other still keeping Juniper against me while she sleeps. I try to keep my movements to a minimum, not wanting to wake her.

Archer: Cute pic. Can’t believe you ditched us for her. It’s Christmas.

Me: Juniper is my girlfriend.

Archer: What’s it been? A week?

It’s been a little over a week, but less than two. I’m glad I came with her on the airplane; she looked a bit ghastly when I was on the phone with her. I hope she’s not coming down with something.

I don’t answer Archer. If he’s giving me shit for spending it with Juniper, he can go find himself a new puck bunny to sleep with. That’s what he does.

Juniper stirs in my arms, her eyelids flashing open, and I quickly close my text message.

“Everything okay?” she asks, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She sits up, glancing around. We’re still in the same dark room as we were when she fell asleep. She almost seems a bit surprised.

“I should be asking you that,” I whisper, keeping my voice down. A few guests have left, making the commotion a little less chaotic from the other room. But it’s not entirely quiet either.

Juniper forces a smile, but she doesn’t seem as stressed or upset as she’d been earlier. “Uncle Connor really liked you.”

“Yeah?” A smile tugs at the corner of my lips. “He’s all right.”

“He’s usually a bit of an ass at family gatherings.”

“Well, he’s your uncle. Isn’t there always one in every family?”

Juniper shifts slightly, turning to face me. “He’s not actually my uncle, not by blood. Uncle Connor and Uncle Levi are brothers. But Dad served with Uncle Levi in the military. That’s how they know each other. We’ve just always called all of them uncles growing up. Most of the family around here is extended, not necessarily by blood.”

“Oh.” My eyes widen, surprised. There were a lot of people visiting today, and now trying to make even more connections is a bit overwhelming. “Well, Uncle Connor seems nice.”

“Yeah, it’s rare he’s nice. But he does apparently like hockey. Who knew?” Juniper says with a laugh and shrugs. “He’s sometimes a bit much. I think listening to you two rattle on about hockey⁠—”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize; you’ve been great. Perfect,” she whispers and glances away. “It’s just a lot. I don’t really like crowds. Even when it’s family.”

I pull her onto my lap and she raises an eye, surprised by my gesture. “Myles, what are you⁠—”

Leaning my forehead against hers, my fingers tangle in her hair. “Are you still feeling overwhelmed?” I ask.

Her brow pinches. “No, I’m … better,” she says ever so softly.

She stands, bringing me with her back into the kitchen. There are a few people whom we met earlier, but I can’t remember any of their names. My hand remains in hers, my thumb stroking the back of her wrist as I keep her within my reach.

Juniper opens the fridge and grabs a bottle of water. She offers me one and I happily oblige. She leans with her back against the counter, the sweatshirt looking sexy as hell on her.

Everything looks sexy on Juniper.

She takes a swig of water. Her cheeks are rosy, and I can’t tell if it’s from her recent little nap on the couch with me, or something else.

Trapping her between the counter and me, I lean in, closing the distance between us.

“No one is watching us, Myles. You don’t have to kiss me. My family is already convinced we’re dating,” she whispers into my ear.

But I want to kiss her.

I press a chaste kiss to her cheek, and she turns slightly, not shrugging me off but instead leaning in, letting me brush against her lips.