Almost.
“You do that on purpose,” she said quietly.
I grinned. “Do what?”
She shot me a look. “That thing where you…” She waved the garland between us. “Bump into me. Or stand too close. Or—”
“Exist?”
Her eyes narrowed, but the corners of her mouth twitched. “You know what I mean.”
“Yeah,” I said, stepping just close enough for her to tilt her chin up. “I do.”
For a heartbeat, neither of us moved.
The fire popped behind us, the smell of pine, booze, and cocoa heavy in the air. Snow drifted outside the window, thick and lazy.
I could see every detail of her face from the tiny freckle near her temple, the faint pink on her cheeks from the heat, the way her lips parted just a little like she was about to say something.
Instead, she cleared her throat and stepped sideways, looping the garland a little too aggressively over the antlers. “You really should stop doing that.”
“What, standing near you?”
“Acting like.” She stopped, flustered. “Like you’re trying to…”
“Make you blush?”
She scowled, but there was no real heat behind it. “You’re annoying.”
I leaned against the bar, folding my arms. “You keep saying that like it’s an insult.”
“It is.”
“Then why do you keep hanging around?”
Her eyes flicked toward me, quick and sharp. “Because my best friend lives here.”
“Right,” I said, pretending to think it over. “And the six times you stopped by after she moved…those were all friendly visits toher,huh?”
Color rushed into her face, and she glared at me over her shoulder. “You’re counting?”
“Only because you stopped at six. Thought you’d at least round it up to ten.”
She muttered something under her breath that I was pretty sure wasn’t festive.
I laughed. “You always did hate when I was right.”
“I don’t hate it. I just...” She set the garland down and faced me, chin up, all defiance and tension. “You and I were a mistake. A very brief, very specific lapse in judgment.”
“Six lapses, technically.”
She groaned. “Why are you like this?”
“Because you keep making it fun,” I said, taking a slow step closer. “And because watching you try to talk yourself out of whatever this is? It’s the best entertainment I’ve had in months.”
She opened her mouth to reply, but I reached past her for the box of ornaments, close enough that her perfume hit me full force.
My hand brushed her hip by accident. Probably. Maybe. Okay, not at all by accident.
