Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 22390 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 112(@200wpm)___ 90(@250wpm)___ 75(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22390 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 112(@200wpm)___ 90(@250wpm)___ 75(@300wpm)
She stands on her tiptoes and presses her lips against mine. It’s a gentle, tentative touch but it’s just enough to short circuit every part of my brain. I cup her head in my hands, instinctively deepening the kiss. Ten years of pent-up longing are going into this kiss. Ten years of aching and loneliness and hoping each Christmas it would be the year she’d fall for me.
She’s the one that finally breaks the kiss. She steps away from me, and her pupils are blown wide. Her lips are swollen, and her nipples pebbled in that little dress. She looks like she’s one second away from being fucked. The thought has me growling deep in my throat.
“We can’t…I’m sorry, West.” Then she turns on her heel and sprints for the door like hunting dogs are after her. My whole body is electrified, and I can’t stop grinning. Cassie likes me.
Now, I just have to put my cards on the table and convince her to give me a chance.
3
CASSIE
The next morning, I’m back to working in my shop again. OK, that’s a lie. I’m pretending to work in my shop. Secretly, I’m thinking about that kiss with West and how amazing it was.
“Where does this box go?” Micah asks, nudging a cardboard box filled with toys. He’s always willing to help me out. Especially during this time of year when he knows I’m often overwhelmed and behind on my projects.
Snowball hisses when he steps too near her. He instantly moves around her, having gotten her little claws in his leg one too many times.
“That one is filled with toys to donate. Put it in the back of your truck,” I answer, adding more red paint to the colorful block set I’m painting.
“Or add it to the sleigh,” West says as he comes in. My heart flutters at the sight of him in that black plaid shirt and his tight blue jeans. He pulls off his Stetson, his gaze nearly melting me on the spot.
“You’re going into town?” Micah asks as he hefts up the box with ease. At least, that’s one good thing about living with my brothers and West nearby. There’s no shortage of strong guys around.
“Mom asked me and Cassie to do a sleigh run for her,” he answers. His tone is casual, but I hear the slight hitch in his voice. It’s the only tell that he just lied to his best friend.
Micah doesn’t notice though and he just carries the box outside, whistling under his breath as he goes. It’s some old Frank Sinatra song that our dad loves. Just like that, my brother’s warning from all those years ago comes back to me. Don’t do this. If you like him, they’ll make us leave. We always have to leave.
Even from a young age, I knew I was the problem. Families loved Micah. I was the unadoptable one, the reason we had to leave. Until we found the Kringles and suddenly, we had a home.
Micah never made me feel bad about having to leave but I could see the disappointment in his gaze every time. The way the light in his soul would dim a little more with each failed placement and my anxiety would become a little worse.
As we grew, they offered to separate us, and I knew what every social worker was telling my brother. They were telling him that he was good. He could have a family if he’d just let go of his little sister. He always refused. Even when we did get separated for a little while, he’d find his way back to me. Micah is my rock, and I can’t hurt him.
Snowball approaches West with a welcoming meow, rubbing along his legs. Even I can’t get the cat to greet me with anything other than a hiss.
“Mom didn’t ask me to help,” I tell West with my hands on my hips. I don’t know why I call him out, but I do. Probably because we’ve always irritated each other, always gotten under the other’s skin.
He picks her up and cuddles her close to his chest, like they’ve been best friends for years. My cat likes my crush too.
“Come with me anyway.” He holds out one gloved hand, his cheeks ruddy from the winter weather. “Everyone will assume a couple of friends are spending time together.”
Is it that easy to dismiss? I’m afraid my feelings for West show, that everyone knows. That scares me more than anything because the truth is, I don’t want to have to leave any more than Micah does.
“We’ve never been friends,” I answer.
He doesn’t flinch. We both know we aren’t friends. We’re just two people thrown together in a weird set of circumstances that mean we grew up together. “Never too late to start being friendly.”
Oh, the way he says the word friendly. The last thing I’m thinking about is friendship. I’m thinking about hearing his voice rumble in my ear as he calls me his good girl. I’m thinking about how it’d feel to be naked in front of a fire with only his body against mine, about the look in his eyes right before I sprinted away last night. My whole universe shifted after that kiss. It’s the only thing on my brain since the moment it happened.