Page 8 of Mistletoe Kisses
Hands full, we quickly make our way inside. After kicking the snow off our boots, we make a straight shot toward the kitchen. Henry is the first to enter, announcing our return. Finding the two women inside, my steps slow to a sudden halt when I see Cassidy swiping at her face.
Her eyes are stained pink, her eyes glossy. Looking my way for only a moment, her eyes drift away just as quickly.
An unfamiliar sensation stirs in my chest. There’s this need to wrap an arm around her, to console her. I might not know what upset her, but I want to promise not to let anything make her cry again.
Sniffing, she hops off the barstool. Passing me, she pauses. “I’ll be enjoying some fresh air in case you want to fuel your bad habits.” Muttering the invite, she leaves without another word.
Before I jump at the chance to join her, I catch Delilah looking our way. She looks worried. I’m sure I could ask her what happened, but Henry easily draws her attention away to ask himself.
Giving those two some space, I head right back outside and leave the unpacking for them.
Cassidy is slapping the seat, shoving away all the new snow. Cursing under her breath, she huffs out of pure frustration when she can’t get it all off.
I don’t know what fuels me to touch her. However, the moment I make contact with her shoulder, she caves. Lookingat me again, her mouth purses. She’s holding back more tears. Fuck.
“Come here, sweetness.” Muttering the words, I draw her close. A hug shouldn’t be lethal or dangerous, but something feels right when she sides into my arms. She hugs me like she needs this as much as I do. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
Her hair smells nice, her body is warm. Each inhale makes my head spin and I’m hugging her closer. I don’t care that she’s soaking the front of my jacket. Hell, I wish her sweater wasn’t in the way so I could draw calming circles against her back to soothe her.
“I told her about Florida.” Her words tickle my throat as she buries herself closer to steal all the heat my body has to provide. “Turns out, admitting I’m a failure is much harder than I expected. Here I thought I could handle disappointing them, but it took a bit more of a toll than I expected.” She sniffs and the laugh that leaves her lips is hoarse.
Clutching her closer, she sighs against my throat. “First off, you’re not a failure, so don’t start spouting that shit.” She rumbles with a more authentic chuckle at my words. Pulling away, I take in her flushed cheeks and nose. She picked the worst place to try to calm down. It’s fucking freezing out here.
Squeezing her arms as I pull away, I lead her back over to the seat and sweep away whatever is remaining. Taking a seat, I’m still touching her. Her shoulder, her arm, I squeeze whatever she’ll let me touch. Now isn’t the time to want to have contact, but the need for it is there anyway.
“She says I can stay as long as I want.” She sniffs and wipes at her eyes. “You know how they are. If a stray cat came their way, they’d rush out to buy food. They take in whatever comes their way.”
“Ain’t that the truth,” I mutter with a small shake of my head. I didn’t even have to ask, they practically dragged me into theirhome as soon as I lost my place. “They’d kidnap that cat off of someone’s porch.”
She laughs at that, her smile momentarily returning. God, I just want to swipe away the streaks freezing on her cheeks. Something tells me if I touch her face, I’m going to do something stupid. Something I can’t take back.
Instead, I keep my hands pressed against her sweater.
Her smile melts away and a sigh slips from her lips. “She’s telling him now, I’m sure of it. I didn’t think I’d have the strength to tell them both together or separately. Probably better this way.” Ruining the sleeve of her sweater to swipe at her running nose, she shivers. Glancing my way for just a moment, she chews on her lip before wiggling close enough to be pressed against me. I guess we’re both freezing.
I shouldn’t wrap an arm around her shoulder, but I do. I squeeze her arm and sigh.
“Thanks, for this. Didn’t mean to show you my ugly side there.” Another swipe of her nose later, she’s leaning against me. Her hair is tickling my chin. The same vanilla scent is haunting me with every inhale.
“We’ll consider this an IOU. You haven’t seen me drunk,” I mutter as I look out toward the falling snow. “Henry had to drag me out of the bar the last time I felt sad. Not a pretty sight at all.”
She hums in consideration. Turning to look at me, she gives me a blinding smile. Much better than her earlier expression. “So, I guess no eggnog this year?”
“Probably not a good idea,” I agree with a light chuckle.
Though, plenty of time has passed since then. The empty hole in my chest doesn’t feel as vacant. There’s something else there lurking, silent and waiting. I haven’t figured it out yet. In truth, I’m a little worried about what I’ll find.
Despite the cold air, neither of us leaves the seat to seek warmth inside. Rather, Cassidy is the first to shift and it’s only closer to my direction.
Her head weighs down my shoulder and for a moment, I feel at peace. This feelsright. Much to my horror, I don’t want this woman to move an inch. Hell, in truth, I want to pull hercloser.
She’d be much warmer if she was on my lap. All curled up in my arms. Hell, I can think of a few ways for us to warm up. The fact that I can think this way with Cassidy leaves my body stiffening.
She must realize something is up because she turns to look at me with confusion. As if realizing how close we are, her eyes widen.
“Oh!” Jerking like she’s caught herself doing something taboo, her body stiffens as quickly as mine. Her cheeks pinken with new purpose. Jumping to her feet, my side cools instantly. “Sorry about that!” She stumbles, putting a few feet between us. “Caught in the moment…or something.”
Instead of feeding more into her last statement, she gives me her back as she drifts toward the front door. “We should go inside before we freeze to death out here.” Lingering at the entrance, she looks my way. “Coming?”