Page 17 of Deck the Hauls

It was getting pretty hot in here. I glanced at the flames dancing in the open hearth and tugged at my collar.

Dana cleared her throat and continued reading Austin’s lines in a monotone, rolling her eyes as Austin’s character mansplained supply and demand.

“I’m really stressed about how I’m going to keep the farm going,” I said, finally getting to my lines.

“Hey, it’ll be okay. Austin reaches out and pats Molly’s hand—oh shit, sorry! I wasn’t meant to read that bit.” Dana shuffled to the edge of the couch and reached across to pat my hand.

I pressed my lips together so I wouldn’t laugh and tried not to focus on the sensation of Dana’s slightly callused, warm hand. Okay, this was very different from running lines with Lucia.

“Sorry, I’m not doing a very good job. Let’s try that again,” Dana said. “Actually, would you mind if we acted it out a little? I know I’ll be terrible but I think it might help me to get into it.”

“Of course. We could even go back to the dining table. It’s a bit more café-like.”

Dana nodded. “Good idea.”

At the dining table, we started from the top, with the grumpy waitress asking for our order.

I bit back a smile as Dana bounced between standing to play the waitress and then sitting at the table to run Austin’s lines. Acting it out had only slightly improved her delivery. Her brow dipped as she focused on reading out the lines, and my chest fluttered. She was clearly out of her comfort zone, but she was trying so hard. It was… adorable.

We fell into a rhythm, allowing my character and imagination to take over. We were no longer in Dana’s kitchen, but in a bustling small-town café, brainstorming ways to save the Christmas tree farm. The grumpy waitress cleared our plates and Dana sat back down to be Austin again.

“Thank you so much for your help. I guess I’d better get back to the farm,” I said, pushing my chair back.

I took two steps and then, as scripted, tripped.

I lurched toward Dana, who was busy pushing her chair in rather than preparing to catch me as directed by the script. Shit!

I tried to steady myself, but I was already fully committed. Dana’s eyes widened as she turned and registered me flailing toward her. Her arms shot out and she caught me just before I head butted her stomach, her hands grasping my upper arms.

She tilted me back up so I was in a standing position. We stood, staring at each other, Dana’s warm, strong hands still holding me. Her eyes weren’t pure brown like I’d thought, but a chestnut shade, streaked with gold.

My heart hammered against my sternum. I fought the urge to lean in closer and feel the full warmth of her body pressed against mine.

I swallowed. Perhaps she had read the script after all, which specified that after Austin caught me, we were meant to look into each other’s eyes and share a moment of chemistry. I’d clearly underestimated her acting skills.

“Sorry, I got a bit carried away following the action lines,” I blurted, stepping back.

“The action lines?” Dana’s arms fell to her sides.

Just a second. Did that mean she hadn’t read that part of the script, which meant she wasn’t acting?

“Yeah. Uh, you know the bit where…where I fall into Austin’s arms and then share a moment.” I adjusted my top. Had it gotten even hotter in here? I might need to take my sweater off.

Dana cleared her throat. “Oh yes. Of course.”

“Would you mind if we ran through it again?” I asked. I had a script to learn. I couldn’t be distracted by potentially imaginary moments with Dana. “I promise I won’t fall on you this time.” As tempting as it was.

We ran through the script twice more without me falling into Dana’s arms and then called it a night.

“Thank you again for doing this. I’m feeling a lot better about the whole thing,” I said as we walked through the living room.

Dana stretched, revealing a sliver of toned stomach underneath her sweater. “No problem. Despite the shaky start, once I got into a rhythm I actually found it kind of enjoyable, although I don’t think I’ll be winning any acting awards any time soon.”

“I don’t know. I think Grumpy Waitress could be your break-out role.”

Dana chuckled. “I wouldn’t go that far, but I do think I surpassed the heights of Wise Man Number Two.”

I laughed. Dana was full of surprises.