I WALKEDthrough the door of Snowy Ridge’s gift shop.
I should have gone right from the elementary school to the high school. The yearbook group was going to be meeting in less than thirty minutes. But Felix had been on my mind since Alan had spoken with me that morning.
I knocked on the office door and peered inside to see Felix standing beside the printer at his desk, collecting paper as it shot out at lightning speed.
An instant smile erupted on his face. It made my heart do a few crazy, out of sync beats before finding a rhythm that I knew matched Felix’s.
“Hey!” he said.
I walked into the room, making a beeline for Felix.
“I was hoping you’d stop by,” he started. “I got you—”
I grabbed the front of his flannel shirt, yanked him down, and kissed him hard. Felix dropped the printouts in his hands and wrapped his arms around my neck.
In that perfectly suspended moment, nothing but Felix existed in my life. Nothing except the taste of his lips. The brush of the scruff on his chin. The warmth of his big body. The simple joy he brought to my days. And the thing in my heart that was starting to feel a whole lot like love.
The printer was spitting papers onto the floor when the kiss ended and the general sounds of reality returned.
Felix took a deep breath.
I cleared my throat, let go of his shirt, and patted his chest. “How are you?”
“Really good,” he answered.
“I interrupted you.”
“You did? Oh! Right.” Felix laughed and turned around to pick up a little box from his desk. “I got this for you.”
“What?” I took the package. “You didn’t have to do that.”
Felix shrugged. “Well, I just kept thinking about your naked Christmas tree.”
I looked down and opened the box. Nestled inside some tissue paper was a glass bulb. I removed it carefully to reveal a clear ornament that had the tiniest miniatures I’d ever seen somehow stuffed inside. They made up a scene that seemed to be the front of Snowy Ridge Apple Orchard, with “Merry Christmas” painted across the top of the bulb in a flourishing script.
Felix leaned over and pointed at the contents inside. “I have a local artist who makes these—really popular this time of year. She brought some more stock in for me today, and I asked her to add an extra guy inside and paint his hair.”
I turned the bulb around to see there were in fact two figurines inside, one with brown hair and one with a shock of red. “This is us?” I looked up.
Felix looked a bit embarrassed. “I thought it was cute.”
“I love it.”
“You do?”
“Yeah.” I looked at the ornament once more. “Christmas with my favorite guy. What’s not to like?”
Felix had the most delightful smile on his face. “I’m glad.”
I tucked the bulb back into the box and put the lid on it. I gave Felix another kiss. “I didn’t come with any gift for you.”
“I only need you.”
“You better not be this sweet to other guys, because I so don’t need to be fighting off potential suitors.”
“I don’t think that’ll be a problem,” Felix answered.
“Uh-huh. You’ve no idea how desirable you are.” I glanced down at the mess of papers and crouched to collect them. “Sorry about the disruption.”
