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“Sounds kind of boring, if you ask me.”
“I didn’t,” she shot back. “Besides, I can find excitement elsewhere with less mess and frustration. I also spend most of the holidays with my family, and as you know, they always go all out.”
Yeah. He did. Christmas at the McCades was always a big freaking deal. Then again, so was every other occasion or event. From birthdays to holidays to graduations. Even the day he and Holly announced their engagement had morphed into quite a celebration.
Doubt much celebrating occurred when Holly gave back your ring.
Definitely time to move forward. “You know the twins aren’t going to settle for an artificial tree, right?”
“Yeah. I do.”
“We can make it an adventure for them.”
“I’m not traipsing through the woods with you and two seven-year-olds in search of the perfect Christmas tree. Especially when there’s an eighty percent chance of snow in the forecast.”
“Afraid you might get cold, and with Emme and Wren in tow, that I won’t be able to warm you up like I used to?” He’d probably live to regret it, but Chace couldn’t help poking at her.
“Awkward,” Holly warned him.
“You did say it was our new normal,” he reminded her.
“In the grand scheme of things? Yes. But not as a free pass to make things worse than they already are.”
“You honestly believe I’m making things awkward on purpose?”
Holly folded her arms across her chest. “You honestly expect me to believe you aren’t?” she tossed his words back at him.
Touché.
But just because she knew the truth didn’t mean Chace planned to stop.
Oh, hell no. If anything, her awareness only served to make the non-challenge all the sweeter.
Starting now.
Chace pushed himself away from the counter and crossed to where she stood, stopping when mere inches separated the toes of their boots.
“What are you doing?” she asked, her eyes wide.
“What I’ve wanted to do all damned day,” he answered before cupping her face between his palms and locking his eyes with hers.
“I’d rather you didn’t,” she replied, her gaze never wavering.
Chace brushed the pad of his thumb across the plumpness of her bottom lip. “Why not?”
“What’s the point?” she countered. “It won’t change anything.”
Maybe not, he conceded, but only to himself.
Still.
“It might.”
Holly shook her head. “We both know better than that, Chace.”
He lowered his head nearer to hers. “Do we?”
Before his lips could touch hers, Holly flattened the palm of her hand against his chest, halting any further advancement on his part. “Yes,” she answered as she backed up enough to escape his hold on her. “Well, at least I do.”
