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“He’s right though,” I acknowledged, finally letting go. “I was going to show you the scotch pines, but the only thing that big would be a douglas fir.”
We walked swiftly down a long row of shorter trees, the breath from our exertion showing as little puffs of white smoke. Sloane looked just as amazing from the back as she did from the front. As a red-blooded American male, I couldn’t help but notice it.
“What did you mean by ‘first tree this year’?” I asked.
I saw her expression change. It looked like she was deciding something.
“Well I had a tree about a week ago,” she admitted. “But that one got kicked to the curb.”
“Along with an ex-boyfriend?” I theorized.
Her face lit up with a smile. “Yes!” she swore excitedly. “How’d you know?”
“It happens,” I shrugged back at her. “Believe it or not, you’re not the first.”
“Well that’s a relief,” she declared with a laugh. “It’s good to know I’m not the only psycho dragging a fully-decorated tree — stand and everything — out to the curb a few weeks before Christmas.”
Valerio laughed with her. “Wow. Ornaments, tree-stand and all?”
“Yup.”
“That’s dedication!”
“Yeah, well my fellow tenants must think I’m a lunatic,” she lamented.
“Not to mention your garbage men,” I pointed out. “Don’t forget about them.”
Valerio ducked between two thick balsam pines and pulled our customer along with him. I felt jealous I was no longer holding her hand. Like he’d stolen her away.
“You know it’s not just about length,” I said abruptly. “You also need to get something that’ll fit your space.”
Sloane whirled on me, batting her eyelashes as she looked back at me slyly. “And do you have something that’ll fit my space?” she played along.
“Pretty sure I do,” I answered. “Yeah.”
“Hmm.”
God, she was making me crazy! So cute, so funny. But best of all, so damned sure of herself. I could totally picture her dragging a fully-decorated Christmas tree to the curb, and maybe even kicking it for good measure. It just seemed like something she’d do.
The next line of trees were douglas firs, and beautiful ones at that. We’d just gotten them in yesterday. They grew taller and wider as we continued on.
“Fourteen feet… fourteen feet…” Valerio was muttering to himself.
“Honestly, have you got anything bigger?” Sloane asked casually.
Her question forced the two of us to stop walking at once. Our customer giggled.
“Seriously,” she said. “All dick jokes aside, I’m looking to go bigger and better than the tree I had with whats-his-face. Even if it’s just a little bit.”
“Ah, so you want toupstagehim,” Valerio nodded with a smile. “I get it.”
“You do?”
He spread his fingers across his chest. “Of course I do! I’m a man, aren’t I?”
“Well I guess so,” Sloane flirted back. “If I’m taking your word for it.”
Valerio went to say something else, but I’d already pulled her away from him. Ten steps later I stopped, grabbed her shoulders, and spun her in the direction of a ridiculously tall, incredibly beautiful tree.
