“It’s definitely not. Where were you wanting to go?”
“Thomson Tree Farm. Or, if that won’t work, the Feed n’ Seed in Silver Creek. But…”
“Let me guess,” Noah says. “You want to pick one out at the tree farm?”
“Is it Christmas if I don’t get to pick out the tree?” I ask.
His expression shifts, another almost smile that sets off a tiny explosion of fireworks in my belly.
“We could get up to Thomson’s in the truck,” he says, “but not everyone has four-wheel drive, and it’s a pretty steep climb between here and there. I’m guessing they’re closed if only to keep people from trying to make the drive.”
My shoulders drop. “The Feed ’N Seed then?”
“They’re probably open. They almost always are.” Noah hesitates, his eyes looking over my shoulder and past the house. “But we might have another option.” He pulls out his phone. “Let me just ask Liv if she minds.”
I like the way he calls his cousin Liv. Like they’re friends too, not just family. It was only ever me and Alec growing up, which was totally fine. He and I have always had a great relationship. But I love the idea of a big family like this. Of cousins you know well enough to randomly text and have it be no big deal.
“Wait,” I say, suddenly realizing something. “If you have three brothers and no sisters—does that make Olivia the only girl? In the whole extended family?”
Noah nods. “Yeah. Tough gig, right?”
“There are no other cousins?”
“Not on the Hawthorne side,” Noah says. “I think she has some on her mom’s side, but it’s just my dad and Ray on the Hawthorne side. Eight boys and Olivia.”
“Where does she fit in the lineup? Age wise?”
“She’s the youngest in her family,” Noah says. “And she’s younger than me, but she’s older than the rest of my brothers. Flint and I are the same age.”
My skin prickles with awareness at the mention of the movie star. Noah says it so casually, but it’s not lost on me that if my tiny Christmas crush on Noah were to turn into something real and I actually started dating him, I would probably meet Flint Hawthorne.
I’ve never been particularly obsessed with the actor. It’s just weird to hear him mentioned and know Noah actually knows him. That he grew up with him.
“Megan,” Noah says, cutting through my thoughts, and I swing my gaze to him.
He’s wearing an amused expression that makes heat climb up the back of my neck and gives me the distinct impression that wasn’t the first time he’s said my name.
“What?” I say, feigning an innocence I don’t really feel.
His mouth quirks up to the side. “You were thinking about Flint, weren’t you?”
“What? No. Of course not.”
He lifts an eyebrow. “Liar.”
I scoff. “I’m not lying. I wasn’t!”
His expression doesn’t break.
“Okay, fine. Iwas.But I was only thinking about how weird it must be to have someone that famous in the family.”
Noah pockets his phone. “Probably no different than it is for you to have a brother who played pro hockey. He’s just your brother, right? He has fans, people obsessed with him. But he’s still just Alec to you.”
My brother isn’t even in the same stratosphere as Flint Hawthorne. The man won an Oscar last year. But I understand what Noah is saying.
“Are you ever going to tell me how you met my brother?” I ask. I have no idea where I suddenly get the courage to ask. Maybe it’s because Noah seems like he’s teasing me. And if he’s comfortable enough to do that, then I’m comfortable enough to tease him back.
“Are you changing the subject so you don’t have to admit you have a crush on my cousin?”
