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He gathered Johnny into his arms and nudged Brenda to her feet. She clung to Chase’s arm with a yawn as he led them up the stairs.
I waited all of two seconds to make sure the coast was clear before I slid closer to Haley.
“Don’t even think about it,” she whispered sharply. “We’re in the living room. Anyone could walk in and see us.”
I grinned. “That’s part of the fun, baby girl.”
With a quick glance toward the doorway, I nuzzled into Haley’s neck, sucking her earlobe between my teeth. She whimpered and squirmed. I tucked my hand under her blanket, my fingers exploring the soft curves of her warm body. After a moment, I found the hem of her sweater and slipped underneath it, knuckles dragging up her torso until I reached her breast and gave it a squeeze.
“Theo,” she pleaded, her voice strained.
I considered sliding my hand between her thighs but I knew I was pushing my luck already. So I resisted the temptation and pulled back, tucking the blanket around Haley’s shoulders. The faint rainbow glow of the Christmas lights cast a colorful illumination across her face, making her eyes sparkle.
She reached out and placed her palm against my cheek. I leaned into her touch. I understood why she wanted to keep things a secret between us for a little while. Telling her family was bound to change things. And she was well aware of the pressure it would no doubt put on my friendship with Chase. But I was having a hard time keeping myself in check around Haley. I wanted to crow from the rooftops how much I loved this girl.
I had to hold out a little while longer though. Christmas was nearly here and after that, Haley and I would officially make our relationship public, whether the rest of her family liked it or not.
Chapter Nine
Haley
On Christmas morning, the cabin was a flurry of activity. After opening presents, the living room became shrouded in wrapping paper, bows, and toys. A fresh layer of snow had fallen overnight, clinging in thick layers to the pine trees and blanketing the landscape in pristine white. We hurried through breakfast, devouring crispy bacon, eggs, and warm biscuits with thick butter. Then everyone piled outside, tugging on our coats and boots as we tumbled into the snow.
I kept stealing glances at Theo, wishing more than anything that I could stand on tiptoe and kiss him. But Christmas was about family, not us. So I simply grabbed his hand with a squeeze when I passed him and smiled.
“Merry Christmas,” I said.
Theo gazed down at me and I swear my heart skipped a beat. Would I ever get used to those gray eyes staring at me so intensely? Would he always give me butterflies when he looked at me like that?
“Merry Christmas, Haley,” he replied softly with a wink.
Then Chase scooped up a snowball and hit me between the shoulder blades. Snow exploded against my back, spilling down the collar of my coat.
I shrieked with indignation and flung a handful of snow back. It didn’t take long before the entire Talbot family was engulfed in an all-out snowball fight. Vague battle lines were drawn then promptly abandoned and it was every man for himself.
I ducked behind a stand of pine trees, quickly forming a stockpile of snowballs. But when I peeked out, my arm cocked back to throw, a snowball hit me square in the face.
I don’t know who threw it but it must have been Chase or Theo because it had enough force to make me stumble and leave my ears ringing. I slipped in the snow and landed on my backside, blinking in surprise.
Stunned silence filled the air.
“Haley?” Chase’s voice. He hurried into view with Theo on his heels. “Jesus, Haley, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hit you that hard.”
“I’m fine,” I said, waving him off. But my left eye was throbbing and my vision was slightly blurry.
Theo knelt in front of me. Gingerly, he grasped my chin and tilted my head to the side.
“Looks like you’re going to have a really pretty shiner tomorrow.”
Chase groaned and let his head drop. I laughed then winced at the tenderness around my eye.
“I’ll be fine. It’s no big deal.”
Chase snorted. “I gave my sister a black eye for Christmas. That is absolutely not fine. Why didn’t you duck?”
“I see your apologies ran out very quickly,” I replied with dry amusement.
Theo clasped my hand and helped me stand.
