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“You’re only a year older than I am,” Holly pointed out.
“See what you have to look forward to in the next twelve months?”
“Ha ha.”
“All jokes aside, I truly believe you and Chace deserve to give yourselves and each other a second chance.”
A shiver of anticipation mingled with a healthy dose of trepidation skittered down Holly’s spine, settling deep in her belly. “You’re right,” she finally agreed. “But if things go sideways again, you better have plenty of mint chocolate chip ice cream in your freezer.”
“Based upon the non-existence of my own love life, I consider it a staple,” she replied. “But I don’t think you’ll need it this time.”
“From your lips to God’s ears.”
17
What should have taken ten minutes to read one book and get the girls tucked into bed stretched into a good twenty. And that was after they spent at least five picking out the longest book they could find on the shelf.
He wasn’t surprised. Not after observing Emme and Wren in action the last three days. They were always thinking. Or plotting how to manipulate the situation to their advantage. But he couldn’t blame them when their ingenuity impressed the hell out of him, making him quite proud.
Chace did feel sorry for his sister and brother-in-law, though, particularly when the girls entered their middle and high school years, and the need to beef up their security system would likely quadruple. To err on the side of caution, he should also suggest Lyss and Sean invest in some high-end tracking devices, since there was no doubt in Chace’s mind Emme and Wren were bound to be hell on wheels.
In some ways, they already were.
God love ‘em.
Though Chace didn’t find Holly in the family room, the sight of her school stuff still spread over the sofa cushions indicated she planned to return at some point. Instead of going in search of her, he sat down to wait.
Fortunately, he didn’t need to cool his jets for long.
“Hey,” Holly greeted as she entered the room, easing herself among the papers she’d been grading. “Did you cave in and read them more than one story?”
Chace shook his head. “No. But they did pick the book with the most pages.”
“Of course they did.”
“Clever girls.”
As she gathered her papers, Holly glanced up, a smile tugging at her lips. “Did you expect anything less?”
“No. I’d probably be disappointed if they didn’t push the envelope a little.”
Her right brow arched. “A little?”
Chace chuckled, inclining his head toward the satchel where she was stashing the folder of essays. “Did you get finished?”
Holly shook her head. “No, but I didn’t expect to.” She carried the leather bag to the parson’s bench near the door for an easy grab-and-go in the morning. She was also standing directly under the mistletoe he’d tacked on the ceiling by the door.
Not about to pass up a chance to kiss her, Chace jumped off the sofa and ate up the distance between them in three long strides so that when she turned back, he was right in front of her.
With a little shriek, Holly brought her hand to her chest. “You scared the shit out of me, Chace,” she exclaimed, her eyes narrowed.
“Sorry. But…” He pointed toward the ceiling. “Mistletoe.” He took a step toward her.
She put her hand out to stop him. “What is it with you and the mistletoe?”
He shrugged. “It’s a Christmas tradition.”
“Kit says it’s actually a parasite that survives off other trees.”
