“Sorry, what?” I ask.
“How do you want to decorate my tree?”
Decorate his tree. I swallow again. Any more of this, and he’s going to think I have a problem with my throat.
“Our tree,” I reply as a way to distract myself from inappropriate thoughts. “I did pay for it after all.”
“You’re right. I can pay you back, or you can claim partial ownership.”
“I think that’s fair. Claiming partial ownership, I mean.”
He locks eyes with me, and they grow darker. “Anything else you want to claim while you’re here?”
For a second, I forget how to breathe.
“The, um, the star. You said I could put it on top,” I say quickly.
“Well, if there’s anything else you want, Naomi, let me know,” he says with a wicked smile.
I nod, and he crouches down next to a box labeled ‘Christmas lights.’ “Let’s start with these. You any good at untangling things? Because these lights need it.”
I take them from him and laugh. “What happened to these?”
“I shoved them into this box one year ago.”
“If you’d put them away carefully, they wouldn’t get tangled,” I say, immediately regretting my remark.
I sound like a teacher reprimanding him. I couldn’t come across as less appealing if I tried.
But instead of looking annoyed, Thorne just grins and settles onto the floor across from me, going through the other boxes and pulling baubles out. “Fair point. But where’s the fun in that?”
“The fun is not spending an hour untangling lights?”
“An hour with you doesn’t sound so bad.”
My cheeks heat, and I focus intently on the knot in front of me. “You’re really good at that.”
“At what?”
“Saying things that make me forget how to think.”
“Good.” His voice is low. “That makes two of us.”
He moves to another box, and I take the opportunity to let out a deep breath. This man is going to be the death of me. I came here to relax and decompress from work, enjoying a quiet Christmas vacation. Not to spontaneously combust over a mountain man who looks at me like I’m the only present he wants under that tree.
At least, I think that’s what his looks mean. There’s a big possibility that this is all in my mind and he’s just being friendly.
“So, wildlife conservation officer, huh? What does that actually mean?” I ask him after a few minutes of working in silence.
“It means I get paid to hike around the mountains and make sure people aren’t doing stupid things. Monitoring wildlife populations, enforcing hunting and fishing regulations, and conducting search and rescue operations when tourists get lost. That kind of thing.”
“Sounds like you’re basically a park ranger with an attitude.”
He laughs. “Something like that. It’s a good job. I get to be outside, I work alone most of the time, and help protect the land. It’s awesome.” He looks up at me. “What about you? How’d you end up as a lawyer?”
I focus on untangling more of the lights. “The usual story. I was good at arguing and liked the idea of fighting for justice, so I went to law school. Turns out the reality is a lot of corporate litigation and eighty-hour weeks. Not to mention emotional cases that weigh on you.”
“Is that why you needed this vacation?”
