Maggie laughed. “That’s some good willpower you’ve got.”
“Mm.” Noel turned, eyes finding mine again. “With some things, anyway. Others, not so much.”
I smirked, unable to hold back the expression. Maggie glanced between us, brow furrowed. “Am I missing something?”
“Nope,” I said quickly, pushing back from the table. “Noel, we better get out there if we want to get those lights up before the church crowd arrives.”
“Okay.” He grabbed a couple of breakfast bars from the pantry and held them up. I nodded, and he tossed me one. Usually, I ate a heartier breakfast, but Noel and I had snuck down to the kitchen last night, and he’d made me the fluffiest, most delicious omelet that I’d ever had. It was filled with ham and cheese and peppers, so I barely had an appetite even now, hours later.
There were perks to sleeping with a chef.
“About that Christmas tree for the house,” Ed started.
“Oh!” Noel said. “Can I pick one out this year? It’s been so long since I’ve done it.”
Ed hesitated. “You remember how to do it?”
Noel rolled his eyes. “As if I’d ever forget. Besides,” he said casually, “Hopper can help me, right?”
“I think it sounds like a lovely idea,” Maggie said. “Don’t you, Ed? Noel so rarely gets to be here for the holidays.”
“Well, all right,” Ed said. “If you really want to do it.”
“I do,” Noel said brightly. “It’ll be fun to decorate with Mom. Just like old times.”
His parents grew misty-eyed, and hell, I damn near did, too. Noel was so good at handling them. The love between them all was so strong I eased back into the corner so that I wouldn’tintrude. It was a damn shame that Noel couldn’t be here every year.
Noel finished off his coffee and rinsed his mug. I hurried to do the same. And then we headed into the mudroom to pull on our shoes and thick coats.
Cinnamon barked from outside, either wanting in or wanting us to come out. I opened the door, and she danced in a happy circle, yipping once more.
Come play!
Noel went out the door and ruffled the fur on Cinnamon’s neck. “You’re a happy girl, aren’t you?”
He turned a grin my way, eyes bright, and it hit me right in the chest. Damn. Ilikedseeing that kind of smile on him.
“You look pretty happy yourself,” I said.
He straightened. “Aren’t you?”
I went down the steps, grabbed his arm, and pulled him around the side of the house. “I don’t know. I think I need a refresher.”
He went up on his toes, arms sliding around my neck, and met me for a sweet kiss. “Is that better?” he murmured.
“Getting there.”
I took the kiss deeper, tasting his tongue, and groaned quietly. “That’s what I wanted for breakfast.”
His eyes sparkled up at me. “Lucky for you, we’re open 24/7.”
“Very lucky for me,” I murmured, even as my asshole of a brain added,while he’s still here, anyway.
We kissed for another minute until Cinnamon broke us apart by jumping against our legs. I sighed. “We should get started on those lights.”
“Right. Especially now that I have to go cut down a Christmas tree, too,” Noel said with a rueful smile.
“Just how much of that conversation did you overhear?”
