Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 67398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
When we returned, Merry’s dad grilled us yet more food for dinner while his mother played classic rock and broke out a stack of board games. I liked his family immensely, so much that I almost forgot the question of where I was going to sleep.
“Can Mr. Bell sleep in the bunkroom with us?” Ryder asked after I’d let him and Legend win at a card game with a unicorn theme. Merry’s mother had given me a whirlwind tour of the house earlier. The bunk room was a long, narrow room on the first floor with two sets of built-in bunk beds on either side, enough to house a whole crew of surfers or a couple of rowdy grandkids.
“Nah.” Merry gave another of those easy shrugs of his. “He’s too old for bunk beds. He can share with me. Plenty of room upstairs.”
“Splendid.” Merry’s mother clapped her hands together, and I decided that perhaps I did believe in holiday miracles, especially if Merry’s room came with a door that locked.
Eleven
Teachers, another reminder that the break room is not a nap room. And that old couch is most decidedly not built for two!
MERRY
I had no idea what possessed me to say Nolan could share my old room. It had precisely one bed and a too-small loveseat, which my mother knew full well and was why she was beaming. She’d said many times since Alyssa left that she just wanted me to be happy. At least she wasn’t overtly teasing, though that would come later. I could have joined the boys in the bunk room, taken a hammock, the swing on the porch, or hell, even the bathtub or my car because sharing with Nolan was going to be torture.
Nolan, however, didn’t seem in the least put out, happily following me up the stairs after we’d said goodnight to the boys and endured more than one wink from my mother. My parents and Grandpa had ground-floor rooms. Thank goodness for small mercies. Also, Nolan’s usual enthusiasm made it hard to stay mad at my impulsiveness.
“Oh, you have your own balcony!” He looked around my room, undoubtedly noticing the single queen-sized bed but focusing on the balcony where I’d spent many a teen hour gazing at the sunset while lying in the hammock.
“And my own bathroom.” I gestured at the door to the side of the closet. “Perks of being an only kid.”
“It’s an adorable room.” He smiled at the same posters of famous surfers I’d had up since forever, most of which had originally hung in the store as ads for various surf products. My tie-dyed bedspread was ancient, but it had faded to a softness that would be hard to duplicate with something new.
“That’s one way to say my mom hasn’t redecorated the space since I was fourteen.” I chuckled, caught up in Nolan’s excitement as always. “She keeps threatening to turn it into a guest suite or yoga studio, but she never does.”
“Well, seriously, I love it.” He grinned back. “My place in New York is a total hodgepodge of vintage finds and stuff my parents discarded during redecorating flurries at their place.”
Whipping out his phone, he flipped to pictures of a cozy little studio that was nothing like I’d imagined. No designer minimalist space, no leather and chrome. A bed in the corner was made up with more throw pillows than any one person should own, but each pillow was different. No matchy-matchy anywhere in the studio.
“I like it.” My gaze darted around the room as I tried to decide at what point I should address the only-one-bed issue.
“I’m glad.” Nolan peered at me curiously. “You seem nervous. Are you regretting saying we could share your room?”
“No, it’s fine. I’m fine.” I looked down at my feet, shuffling like this was the first time I’d had another person up here.
“We don’t have to do anything,” Nolan said earnestly.
“I know,” I groaned. Nolan took a step toward the loveseat.
“I’m probably short enough for this.” He fluffed a cushion like that might magically make the loveseat longer.
“You are not.” The moon was out and a soft breeze whispered through the night. And then Nolan smiled softly, and I was a total goner. Not allowing myself time to overthink, I pulled him toward me and kissed him in one smooth move. He was as sweet as I remembered, melting into my embrace.
“That felt like something.” Hands on my sides, he pulled back to beam up at me.
“It wasn’t nothing,” I admitted.
“If you kiss me again, I won’t tell anyone.” He winked at me, all playful. There was no way I was resisting him any longer.
“You’ll be my secret Santa?” I teased, holding him close.
“You can stuff my stocking anytime.” He waggled his eyebrows at me.
“Maybe…” I sucked my lower lip in. “Maybe we could do this thing just for December.”