Page 38 of Christmas By The Book

“Do you think you might be taking a few more risks soon?” I remarked, as I slid my hand to her face again. Damn, she was so beautiful, the glow of the snow outside lighting her soft features. I would never get tired of looking into her eyes like this, having her gaze back at me like she couldn’t think of anywhere in the world she would rather have been.

“Hmmm,” she murmured, as she reached up to push a hand through my hair. “I guess I could be tempted to.”

“Glad to hear it,” I whispered back, and, finally, I sank my mouth into hers for the first time.

That first kiss felt like it lit up every nerve-ending in my body, my whole system responding to the feel of being this close to her. I felt her smiling into the kiss, the two of us finally coming together the way I had longed for since the moment I had laid eyes on her. We were two parts of a whole coming together, two parts of the same end reaching out for one another at last.

I pulled back, and brushed my nose against hers. I could hear her breath hitching in her throat, and she moved a little closer to me, tangling her legs around mine beneath the blanket. As she gazed up at me, with those sweet, soft eyes, I couldn’t resist going in for another kiss—and I knew this one would be far from our last.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Seth

WHEN I CAME TO THE next morning, Jorja was still resting her head on my shoulder, beneath the blanket, her hand on my chest and her breath rising and falling slowly as she slept.

I stared down at her for a moment, unable to keep the smile off of my face. We had spent our first night together. And, yes, it might have been a little unconventional in the grand scheme of things, but I felt as though we had finally been able to open up to each other the way we had needed to all along. I wouldn’t have changed a thing about it.

Well, maybe apart from the cold. The heaters had an automatic function where they turned off after being on for a couple of hours, and the store was far chillier than it had been when we had gone to sleep. Sensing my wakefulness, Jorja lifted her head and looked around blearily.

“Oh, I almost forgot where we were,” she groaned, as she sat up and rubbed her face. “Wow, it’s so cold in here.”

“I know,” I agreed. “But it’s Christmas. It’s got to be cold so it can be cozy, right?”

“Oh, right!” she exclaimed, clasping her hands together, her face lighting up with excitement. “You know, I almost forgot. With everything that happened.”

I pulled her in close, and planted a kiss against her cheek.

“Merry Christmas,” I murmured to her.

“Merry Christmas,” she whispered back, biting her lip as she gazed at me. And then, she pulled away, and glanced to the state of the weather outside.

“It looks like it’s stopped snowing,” she remarked. “Do you think we should risk heading back to my place? To check on Mia?”

“Yeah, she’s probably ready to eat the tree by now.” I chuckled. Jorja had told me how demanding her cat was when it came to food, and it was Christmas, after all. I was pretty sure Mia deserved a Christmas feast as much as any human did.

“Oh, she’s going to be so mad when I get back.” She laughed. “She hates having to wait for breakfast.”

“Then we should probably get going,” I suggested. “You ready?”

“As I’ll ever be,” she replied on a sigh. “I know it’s going to be crazy out there.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever been somewhere that’s had a white Christmas before,” I remarked, as I got to my feet and stretched.

She turned to me, confusion on her face. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, I’ve never lived anywhere that’s gotten a lot of snow,” I admitted. “I always thought it would be fun, but I just... never got around to it.”

“Then we have to make this the most Christmassy Christmas ever,” she told me, making her way over to me and wrapping her arms around me. She seemed so much more comfortable with me now, now that she knew I wasn’t going anywhere. I was so glad it seemed to have gotten through to her, and I intended to back up my words every moment I could. I wanted to show her, not just tell her, how serious I was about all of this—about staying here, with her, while I felt like I belonged.

We trekked through the snow back toward her house. Luckily, someone had salted the sidewalks this morning, so they weren’t too drenched in ice. She skidded a few times, but the two of us were holding hands the whole way home, and I made sure to keep her steady.

When we got back, Mia was mewling loudly and pawing at the door. She let out an affronted chirrup when we opened it up, and Jorja giggled and dropped to her knees to give her a cuddle.

“Merry Christmas to you, too, little demanding lady,” she cooed to her, before she headed through to the kitchen to top up her food bowl. The tree was sparkling beneath the light pouring in through the window beside it. It looked like something out of a Christmas card.

And, in that moment, it hit me—I hadn’t gotten her anything for Christmas. Crap! Was it too late to run out to a store and pick something up? If this was going to be our first Christmas together, then I wanted to make certain I made it one to remember.

When she noticed the look on my face, she frowned.