He raised an eyebrow at my dramatics, bursting with one of his laughs. “You don’t sound very excited.”
“That’s because I’m not.” I hugged my coat to my chest without putting it on yet. “This was supposed to be a rest-and-recover day after being sick, not wrap four hundred presents, then go smile for two hours at another guy who talks about how he’s totally different from other guys.”
Josh smirked and held out a hand. “Here. Arms.”
“What?”
“Come on. If I’m sending you into the dating war zone, the least I can do is make sure you’re properly bundled.”
Despite the eye roll I gave him, I let him take my coat and slid my arms into it. His hands were warm, his touch careful and grounding in a way that made my skin buzz beneath the fabric. He tugged the coat gently up around my shoulders, and then, without hesitation, he reached forward and pulled the zipper up for me.
His fingers brushed against my neck lightly as he adjusted the collar, shouldn’t have made my heart flutter. But it did. Dammit.
“There,” he said softly, like it wasn’t a big deal. Like my pulse hadn’t just picked up.
I managed to speak around the growing weight in my chest. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. Even if I still think you shouldn’t go.”
I looked up at him, our breath mingling in the small space between us. “What would I do instead? Stay in and watch a movie with you and eat leftover cookies?”
He didn’t miss a beat. “Yes. You could also come with me. My friend invited me over to a small get-together. Just movies and stuff tonight. But they are probably better company than whatever weirdo you’ve got lined up.”
Yeah. That sounded infinitely better than whatever awkward two-drink minimum was waiting for me across town.
But I’d already committed. And I didn’t trust myself to know if staying in with Josh would be easier or harder.
“I promised Gina,” I said finally.
“Forget about my sister.”
“Don’t be rude.”
He huffed.
“And the guy seems normal. At least so far.”
There was an unreadable shift in his expression. “Well … if it goes bad, you know where to find me. I’ll save you a snickerdoodle.”
That earned him a small laugh from me. “Deal.”
As we stepped out into the icy air, I found myself walking slower than usual, dragging my boots through a thin dusting of snow on the sidewalk, as if the date wouldn’t happen if I just didn’t move fast enough.
Josh walked beside me quietly, close enough that our arms brushed once or twice.
It was nothing.
eighteen
The message cameten minutes before I planned to leave.
Need to cancel. Rain check if u wanna?
I stared at the message from what was supposed to be Date Seven for a full thirty seconds before my jaw ticked.If I wanna?
I huffed, thumbing out the most neutral, inoffensive response I could manage.
Maybe another time. Have a happy holiday!
