Page 59 of Not Another Christmas Movie

“Whoa!” Annie said, jumping back. “You snuck up on me there … you kind of blend in with all the trees.” Annie said, studying Chris in his green jacket and green hat, and standing taller than ever.

“We have thirty-five different tree variants in this lot, you know?” Chris beamed.

“I definitely did not know that,” Annie said honestly.

“The balsam fir is the most popular, of course, and it’s notably fragrant,” Chris said, his voice sounding extra deep and full, the low register resonating in her ear. Whoa, hold on, I don’t have time to be hypnotized by a tree monologue, Annie thought, desperate to signal to Nick as Bailey’s happy squeal cut through the square.

“This is the one! Oh, it’s perfect. But it needs to be chopped down!” Bailey cooed from her place among the pines.

“Why can’t she pick one of the ones that’s already been cut down?” Annie asked, gesturing to all of the cut trees around them being sold for the very purpose of making them easier to buy and transport home.

Chris grabbed a nearby ax that again seemed to appear out of nowhere, and his chest seemed to broaden before Annie’s eyes. She wondered how on earth the buttons keeping his shirt together weren’t popping off one by one from the pressure.

“Wow,” Annie whispered, unable to stop herself from appreciating the lumberjack now sharing her space. Nick let out a sound half groan and half sigh, his eyes ready to roll, as Chris posed with the ax. Annie swore she heard Nick mutter “spruce-bag” in a tone suspiciously similar to a less festive way to say a word that wouldn’t be allowed here.

Chris walked briskly and tossed his jacket into the snow, rolling the already form-fitting flannel shirt up his forearms. His muscles bulged with each movement. Annie couldn’t help but notice Bailey, too, had a look of dazed gratitude, but she also looked about ready to swoon, which Annie would have understood. Chris’s display was both completely wholesome and somehow totally erotic. But he wasn’t the man she wanted. She had to tell Nick how she was feeling; she couldn’t wait another moment.

“Nick,” Annie began, her throat tightened with nervous energy. No, she coached herself, it’s the same feeling as excitement. Annie stared into Nick’s eyes, and he wore the slightest knowing smirk, sparking her need to continue.

Then a bell chimed in the distance. Crystal clear and somehow unnerving, wiping any trace of a smile from Nick’s face.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

“What was that?” Annie frowned, watching Nick swallow, his eyes flickering from her into the distance. “Did someone try and swear?”

“Annie, I have to tell you something,” Nick said.

“Me too!” Annie beamed. “Nick, I—”

“It was me, I made the wish that got us here,” Nick confided in a rush.

“What do you mean?” Annie asked, her stomach dropping.

“That night, after you gave me the cookie, things got a little hazy—” Nick started.

“Do not blame an innocent cookie,” Annie warned him.

“The guy with the bell, the one who may or may not be Felix, came back,” Nick went on. “He said he was drawn back by the chair and asked if it was a trap to capture Santa.” Nick ran his hands through his hair, clearly trying to make sense of the memory. “And then he asked what the girl next door and I wanted for Christmas this year,” Nick said tentatively.

“What?” Annie asked, shaking her head in confusion.

“I didn’t want us to spend Christmas alone,” Nick said.

Annie narrowed her eyes at Nick, burning them into him. He raked a hand through his hair and cleared his throat, obviously knowing he had to continue or her glare might actually kill him.

“He asked me if that’s what we’d wish for. I thought, wouldn’t it be nice if we could have a Christmas like they do in the movies—”

“We?” Annie’s voice crackled with tension.

“A holiday where we didn’t have to be alone … He rang the bell. It was so loud,” Nick shook his head, the sound seeming to bounce back into his brain. “When I looked up, he was gone, and a light from your house was beaming out the window, the TV was on—”

“You wished us here?” Annie blinked, the world tilting.

“I didn’t know—” Nick winced.

“I thought we were on the same team. This whole time I thought this was happening to us, not because of you!” Annie erupted. “Why didn’t you tell me from the beginning? You kept it from me, and now we’re no closer to getting out!”

Then, as if to punctuate the moment, the tree Chris had been chopping made a loud cracking sound before leaning over, freeing itself from the ground. Annie’s body went into fight or flight, unable to process Nick’s words or their subtext.