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I gasped, pressing my hand to my chest. “I was not a bully. I only punched people who punched me first.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Didn’t you get in a fight with Thomas Bray in our junior year?”
I sipped my wine slowly. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
I knew exactly what he was talking about.
“Yeah, you did. He was arguing with…” He stopped, then snapped his finger. “Ellie Dorset. Didn’t he shove her to the ground?”
“Oh, my God. Okay, look.” I put down the glass and held up my hands. “He’d been on her case for a while, and I’d warned him that if I ever saw him touch her again, I’d break his nose.”
Nicholas’s throat bobbed, and he hid his mouth behind his hand, but his stupid blue eyes twinkled.
“He nudged her foot with his, so I socked him in the face.”
“Did you break his nose?” His words were tinged with laughter.
“In two places.”
Whatever restraint he’d had, he swiftly let go of. Laughter erupted from him, making his shoulders shake, and I had to look away so I didn’t laugh, too.
Also, I really liked his laugh.
It was deep and rumbly and spine-tinglingly good. He had the kind of laugh you heard in your dreams and woke up smiling because of—the sort that made your heart beat double-time for no apparent reason.
Like mine was doing right now.
Ahem.
It could cut that out.
I was not falling back into the Nicholas White trap, thank you very much.
We could be friends. Temporary co-workers. Have-a-drink-after-Santa-duty buddies.
But that was it.
All of it.
I picked up my glass of wine and peered over at him as I raised it to my lips. He caught my eye and smiled before he swigged from his bottle, and I dragged my gaze away.
Yep.
That. Was. It.
CHAPTER TEN
As much as I hated it, there was something beautiful about freshly fallen snow in the morning. Especially as the sun came up, before everyone else was awake and tire marks turned it to slush and boots muddied the paths with footprints.
I blew into my coffee cup and looked out of my window. The sun was just creeping up behind the trees that had spent the night swaying precariously in the wind from the snowstorm that had blown in. Even the evergreen conifers were looking a little worse for wear, especially the ones that were now weighed down with an additional two feet of snow.
The thickness of the new blanket covered every single imperfection from the day before, and as the sun glinted off it and bathed it in a swathe of deep, rich reds and oranges, I took a deep breath and closed my eyes before slowly letting it back out.
I wasn’t a morning person—not usually. I much preferred to stay bundled up under the covers until there was no other option but to get out of bed to pee or eat. Unfortunately for me, the wind hadn’t agreed with my idea of sleeping all night, so I’d decided to get up early, make coffee, and watch the sun rise.
All things considered, it wasn’t the worst idea I’d had in a long time.
I tugged the collar of my fluffy robe tighter around my neck and sipped from my cup. I really needed to go into town and finish my Christmas shopping and pick up my mom’s Christmas present from Verity, but there was no way I was getting out of here in even my truck unless the roads were clear.
And I was not going to carry everything back to the farm. No way.
Hmm. I wondered if Michael was busy all day or if he could spare me an hour. The area outside the tree farm barn would be clear because this was the busiest day of the week, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he was already outside clearing the roads in the tractor.
Not much could stop a tractor.
Everything would get crazy at the grotto from the weekend which really didn’t leave me a lot of spare time. While we didn’t open until five this week, as soon as Saturday hit, we would be in the grotto from ten in the morning until eight-thirty with only a forty-five-minute break for food in the middle of the afternoon. There was no chance in hell I’d be able to get my shopping finished.
Stupid snow.
It wasn’t that pretty now.
It was a freaking inconvenience.
Ugh.
How quickly being an adult could change your mood. It was pretty remarkable, really.
As long as it didn’t start snowing again, I might stand a chance at getting out if I took my dad’s old truck. The thing had tires like a fucking tractor.
I put down my mug and reached under the blanket for my phone. I needed to check the forecast to see if I would get lucky today.
With the weather.
That’s all.
Get your mind out of the gutter.
