Jamie Pope - Kissed By Christmas

He gave her a look and shook his head once firmly. “Go sit. I’ll bring it over. But tell me what you want to drink first.”

“I’ve got cranberry juice in there. I wish I could offer you something fancier.”

He gave her a small smile. “I don’t need anything fancy. I’ll be there soon.”

A few minutes later he had brought their food over and sat next to her on her love seat, his body completely pressed against hers. Suddenly she felt shy. Like she was in high school again, sitting next to the most handsome boy in school. “Were you popular in high school?” she asked as she took her first bite of the rice and pigeon peas.

“Yes. Why do you ask?”

“You just seem like you were. I wasn’t. I always had my nose in a book.”

“I played football. In my hometown, being on the varsity football team was a very big deal.”

“My town was so small we didn’t even have a football team. Did you love the game or did you do it just because you knew it would get you girls?”

“A little of both,” he admitted with a smile. “I didn’t love it as much as my best friend, Marcus. Or at least I thought he loved it. I was sure he was going to go pro but he turned down a few full football scholarships.”

“College is so expensive. What made him do that?”

“I’m still not sure. I thought he was crazy. It had something to do with my sister’s best friend. They had been secretly in love all through school and broke up right before we graduated.”

“So he gave up his scholarship because of that?”

Asa nodded. “He had put the game before her. I guess he was trying to prove something. He worked in public relations in DC until he gave all that up to become a teacher.”

“Did they get back together then?”

“Yes, but last year. They met again at my sister’s wedding in Costa Rica. They’re expecting their first baby.”

“Do you see him a lot?” she asked, knowing she was full of questions.

“He lives in New York now, but I don’t get to see him as much as I should. He’s got a wife and a baby on the way. His life is a lot different than it used to be. We used to catch a plane to Vegas on a whim. Now when I see him, he’s planning out how they are going to do their nursery.”

“It must be tough, having your friendship change like that.” Hallie could identify. Her best friend had had a baby a few months ago, a baby Hallie had never met, but even before that she had been seeing less and less of her friend. Marriage and family often did that.

“It’s the way things are supposed to be, though. I would be a selfish bastard if I blamed him for not hanging out with me as much. He’s happier now than I have ever seen him. Plus, I love his wife. We grew up together. They’re like my family.”

“It’s nice to have friends like that,” she said softly, missing home tremendously then.

“It is.” He picked up his glass and took a long drink before he smiled at it.

“Why are you smiling?”

“I was just thinking. Cranberry juice reminds me of Christmas.”

“Really? Why? I would think Thanksgiving. Ugh. I was just reminded that I didn’t get to have any cranberry sauce this year. Plopping that stuff out of that can is my favorite thing about the holiday.”

“My mother hates the stuff from the can and refuses to serve it, but I love it. But cranberries remind me of Christmas because my mother used to make us string them for garland every year.”

“That seems like a lot of work,” she said, but she could tell by his smile that it was a good memory.

“It was, and my sister and I hated it. But looking back, it was fun. My mother used to go crazy when we were kids. My father would take us to cut down a huge tree every year and my mother would pull out the old ornaments that she got from her grandmother and each one of them had to be placed just right. And in the front, under the star were the ornaments that my sister and I made in first grade. They didn’t go with the antique stuff, but they got a place of honor every year.”

“That’s very sweet. Does she still do that?”

“No.” He shook his head and an almost sad expression crossed his face. “She hasn’t put up a tree in years. Our house used to be decked out in lights, but after my sister and I graduated from college she stopped doing all of that. It was too much work.”

“That doesn’t mean you can’t do it again. I’m sure your mother would like it if you wanted to do it again.”

“She told me they’ve put the house up for sale and that they are moving to Florida. That’s why she stopped by yesterday, to tell me she’s retiring. There won’t be any more snowy Christmases at that house.”

“But what about this Christmas?”

“We’re going to my sister’s place.”

Hallie put her plate down on the table and wrapped her arms around his middle, feeling the need to comfort him. “Your childhood home is something you feel should always be there, isn’t it?”

“I didn’t realize I’d missed all those little traditions until I knew they weren’t going to happen anymore.”

“You can make your own traditions, you know. You’ll get married and have kids and you’ll do things for them like your parents did for you.”

“You’re right.” He draped his arm around her and rested his lips on her forehead. She closed her eyes, liking the closeness, the intimacy she had with him. She had never had this with Brent. They’d never just sat like this, their skin touching, their arms wrapped around each other, each lost in their own thoughts.

The only time Brent touched her was when he wanted to take her to bed. She barely knew Asa and yet was sitting this close to him on the couch. She felt closer to him than the man she had been planning to spend the rest of her life with. And then it dawned on her what she was doing.

She sat up quickly, retrieving her plate so that her hands would be full and not reach for him.

She barely knew him.

They were just supposed to be friends.

She wasn’t supposed to feel this kind of pull toward him.

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.