“You are.”
“It’s the cold.”
“It’s not even below freezing.”
“Shut up and hand me that extension cord.”
He handed it over, still chuckling. “You know, for a guy who’s supposedly done with her, you sure talk about her a lot.”
I tugged the cord too hard, accidentally yanking a whole section of lights down. “Because you keep bringing her up.”
“I only brought her up once.”
“Twice.”
“Once.”
“You started this conversation with her name.”
He shrugged. “You’re welcome.”
“For what?”
“For getting her stuck in your head again before she shows up.”
I gave him a look that probably made him wonder if it was okay to sleep tonight. “You’re a real pain, you know that?”
He grinned. “Yep. But I’m also right.”
“Keep telling yourself that.”
The last of the lights flickered on, and the front of the bar glowed with a warm, golden hue that made even my cynical self pause for a second. It looked… good. Cozy. Inviting. Like maybe Reckless River wasn’t such a bad place to be after all.
Callum clapped me on the shoulder. “Nice work, little brother.”
“Don’t call me that,” I said automatically.
“Why not? It’s cozy and festive.”
“Nothing about you sayinglittle brotheris festive.”
He grinned and went to plug in the last set of lights.
“You’ll see. The holiday spirit gets to everyone eventually. Even you.”
I snorted. “The only spirit I need comes in a bottle and costs thirty bucks.”
He laughed, heading for the door. “We’ll see how long that lasts once Melanie rolls back into town.”
I looked up at the twinkling lights, my breath freezing in the air, and muttered to myself, “God help me.”
Because no matter how many times I told myself that ship had sunk, the truth was that I still heard her voice in the back of my mind, bright and teasing, sayingYou look good in flannel, Benedict.
And the worst part?
I was still wearing the damn shirt.
By the time we’d finished hanging the last set of lights, my hands were numb, my patience was shot, and Callum was still hummingRockin’ Around the Christmas Treelike he was auditioning for a holiday commercial.
