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On the way, she mulled over who might have gotten it for her. There had been no note with the gift. She didn’t live close to any other Lauras, and her neighbors on either side were more into honey and fruit than sugar candy. Though she enjoyed their company, the brown bears were health-nuts and had been trying to get her to buy into the idea of healthy eating all the time.
Like a banana could ever replace maple syrup or chocolate.
Not ten minutes later, she parked at Gerald’s and studied the home as she hadn’t the night before. In the light of day, the grand, ranch-style home looked cozy enough, a spiral of smoke curling from the chimney. He had a few acres of land that looked neat under a blanket of snow, the pines surrounding his home giving him some privacy from his next-door neighbor—one of his cousins, if she wasn’t mistaken.
The home was made of wood and brick in a mid-century modern style. To her bemusement, she noted a lit Christmas tree inside, not surprised that he’d decorated. But it was more holiday spirit she’d have to pretend to enjoy so as not to come across as a grouch.
He let her inside after the first knock and smiled as he looked her over, obviously spotting the lack of red on her body. “Welcome to my lair.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m here for the instruction, professor. A cup of coffee would be nice.” She paused, wondering if perhaps he’d left the gift to mess with her head. “Did you leave me a present?”
He frowned. “A present?”
“Yeah, this morning at my house.”
“A present? From me?”
She felt silly for asking. “Never mind.”
“What was it?”
“Forget I mentioned it.” She followed her nose to coffee. Before she could grab a cup, Gerald led her to a formal dining room with a set table and a large floral arrangement bright with red, white, and green foliage.
“Wow.” She gaped, not sure why she was so surprised that he’d have a fancy house. Though upon looking around, it wasn’t so much fancy as decorated to the nines. “Someone likes Christmas.”
He flushed. “My family ambushed me. One of my cousins is into photography and wanted to do a holiday photo shoot for some magazine. So of course she had to use my house as her backdrop.”
“So that monster Christmas tree was all her idea?”
The home was done in neutral colors with splashes of red and green everywhere. From garlands to poinsettias to the lit live tree, the house smelled like pine, cinnamon, and Christmas.
But it was the red on Gerald’s cheeks that appealed to her most.
Chapter Thirteen
Looking all around, Laura found herself charmed instead of overwhelmed. Though not really in the holiday spirit, watching Gerald fight his embarrassment over looking like he lived in the house that Santa built entertained the hell out of her.
“It’s not just my cousin. Braden is a Christmas freak,” he said of his younger brother. “He’s home from college and dying to play party planner, and Kim threw in her plea to photograph everything. My brother said he’d decorate the house if I let him have a few friends over. I figured it wouldn’t hurt. I’ve been busy lately with work. I had no idea he meant to do all…this.”
“Well, I like it.”
“You do?” He studied her. “Ty told me you’re the office grinch.”
“He has a big mouth. And why was he talking about me anyway? He—”
“Coffee?”
She paused. “Oh, yes, please.”
He fetched her a cup and watched her drink it.
Her eyes widened. “This is perfect.” The right amount of creamer and sweetener.
He looked satisfied. “Of course it is. I made it.”
“Pompous be thy name,” she muttered before taking another swallow.
He smirked. “Said by the envious and the lacking.”
