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That resonated with Cordi, and she found herself slowly warming to him once again. She thought back to the carefree banter they had shared that night, and had to admit that it would have undoubtedly gone a lot differently had she known that Russ was the guy she had been there to meet.
She looked down to her feet, and when she looked back up at him, he could see the warmth that had returned to her eyes. He took her hands in his and moved in closer so that only inches were left between them.
“Can we start over?” he said, barely above a whisper, as he looked at her expectantly.
She nodded her consent. “I think I would like that,” she said.
When they rejoined the party, another Tim Halperin song filled the room, Under That Christmas Spell. Russ and Cordi were hand in hand, and Marta squealed in delight as she watched them approach.
“I knew you two would work it out,” Marta bragged as she snuggled up to Jake who stood beside her.
“I guess we owe you a thanks for introducing us,” Russ said to Marta, before smiling back at Cordi. Cordi’s heart warmed even more.
Marta gasped as though she had just gotten a grand idea. “Oh! Come over here by the fireplace. I want to show you something,” she said, and darted off for the others to follow.
Once they got to where she wanted them, a mischievous grin spread across her face.
“Marta, what is it?” Cordi asked, suspicious of what her friend was up to.
Marta didn’t speak, but her eyes trailed up to the ceiling. They all followed her gaze and realized she had them standing beneath mistletoe that had been hanging from an exposed wooden rafter.
Russ and Cordi chuckled, but Russ looked down at her, a question in his eyes. Cordi nodded, excited at the thought of their first kiss, and Russ decided to go for it.
He brushed a thumb across her cheek as his mouth drew closer to hers, and her eyes closed in anticipation. Then their lips pressed gently together, and she could taste the sweet cocoa on him as he moved in and pulled her closer to him.
It was over all too soon, and when Cordi opened her eyes again, she couldn’t wait until the next one.
Mistletoe and fire glow, she thought, as the fire warmed them from the hearth, her growing feelings for Russ warmed her from within, and Barbara Mandrell sang to them what began their first of many Christmases together.
It Must Have Been the Mistletoe.
The End
