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One of her closest neighbors, however, had done the complete opposite. Taking it all in, I let out an appreciative whistle. “It’s like a damn winter wonderland. But in summer.”
“Hmm,” was all Dax said, unmoved.
I hid a smile and kept walking. As we reached a bungalow that had a huge Santa with reindeers on the roof, all lit up and flashing like crazy, I grinned. “Oh my God, Ilovethem.”
Dax narrowed his eyes at me. “Don’t get any ideas.”
“But they would look awesome on our roof.”
“I don’t care.”
Neither did I, actually, but it was fun to tease him. “Oh, come on, get with the holiday spirit. Our roof is sorely lacking décor. They would beperfectfor it.”
“Not happening, Addison.”
I huffed. “You’re such a Scrooge.”
“And you get far too hyper this time of year.”
Probably. “I fail to see how that’s a problem.” I gently bumped his arm with my shoulder. “You must have gotten excited for Christmas once upon a time.”
“Sure. But then I grew up.”
“Does this mean you don’t believe in Santa? That’s not good. If you don’t believe, he won’t come.”
The dry look Dax tossed my way almost made me cackle.
We continued meandering around the village, eventually reaching the strip of bars, restaurants, and cafés. All were packed to the brim, which was the usual case, since it wasn’t only residents who came to Oakengrove to eat and socialize.
Dax’s phone started to chime, and we both came to a halt as he fished it out of his pocket. He looked down at the screen and then cut his gaze to me. “I’ll just be a second. Wait here.” He walked away to take the call.
I figured his conversationalist was probably Rafael or someone else who Dax did not-so-legal business with. As he’d once cautioned me, Dax didn’t share anything related to that side of his life, refusing to allow it to filter down to mine.
It would have annoyed me if I thought it was a matter of trust; that he didn’t feel certain I wouldn’t leak any of what he shared with me. But that wasn’t the case at all. He simply liked to keep that sort of business separate from everything else. I could—
Laughs sounded as a bunch of guys poured out of the bar in front of which I stood. As my eyes paused on one of them, I stiffened, feeling like I’d been punched in the solar plexus. So many memories surfaced, making my chest cramp and my belly churn like stale milk.
Catching sight of me, the tall, dark-skinned male froze just the same. We stared at each other for a few seconds, saying nothing. I thought he might simply walk away without a word, but then a nostalgic smile tugged at his mouth and he took a step toward me.
“Addie,” he said with a chuckle as he swept me into a huge bear hug—hence his nickname, “Bear.”
A little numb, I weakly hugged him back, mentally scrambling to get it together.
Pulling back, he studied me, a glint of pain in the depths of his eyes. “Jesus, it’s good to see you. I was just thinking about you the other day. I haven’t seen you since—” He cut off, his smile flickering out like a sparkler gone dud.
“The funeral,” I finished in a low voice.
“The funeral.” He cleared his throat and took a small step back as he gave me a quick onceover. “You look good.”
“Thanks, so do you.” Rocking back and forth on my heels, I flapped a hand his way. “How are things going with you?”
“Great. Couldn’t be better.”
“Do you live here in Oakengrove?”
“No, we just wanted to hit one of the bars here,” he told me as he gestured at his companions, who stood at the curb waiting for him.
“Oh, right.”
