I kiss you,” he said before bending and giving her one more quick kiss, then pulling back before they sank into one another again.
“Yes, you do,” she said. Finally, she pulled back and looked at the route ahead of them. Their footprints from their walk there were almost covered. “I guess we should get going before we have to call for a ride.”
“I can do that if you’re cold,” he told her.
“Nope. Not cold at all at the moment. A good walk is just what the doctor is ordering.”
She moved away from him, and he took her hand before she started down the steps. She didn’t stop him. She liked having her arm through the crook of his elbow or her fingers twined in between his. Maybe this was becoming a relationship. And maybe the two of them didn’t need to label it. That sounded pretty dang good to her.
“I want a real date,” he said when they were halfway home. She tripped a bit, but he kept her on her feet. They walked a few more steps before she said anything.
“What do you mean?” she finally said.
“Just what I said. I want a real date where I’m picking you up and you know it’s a date.”
His voice was stubborn, as if he expected her to protest. She found she didn’t want to. She wasn’t sure why not, but maybe the fight truly was going out of her.
“Okay,” she said.
Now it was his turn for a misstep. That made her smile. She didn’t add anything, and they went a few more steps before he said more.
“Then it’s a date the day after tomorrow. This Friday.”
“Okay, this Friday.”
That was Christmas Eve Eve. She decided not to point that out. It didn’t mean anything. If it wasn’t Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, then it was just another day.
They arrived home, and she found herself highly disappointed when he didn’t give her one more kiss. Maybe he knew if he did, they’d go inside again. That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but then again, they were going on their first official date in two days. Maybe he wanted to wait until then.
She didn’t stop smiling that night.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Brooke and Sarah were grinning as Chloe shifted uncomfortably in her room. She was trying to play it cool, but they were her besties, and they were seeing right past her facade. She knew better, but she wasn’t going down without a fight—a really good fight.
“You’re going to spill your guts,” Brooke said with an evil laugh.
“I need better friends,” Chloe said with a chuckle.
“Well, you’re stuck with us, so I don’t see that happening anytime soon,” Sarah said, not affected by those words. They all knew they were a joke. Friendships didn’t get any better than theirs.
She’d learned young to be smart in her word choices with these two women. They all had. They loved each other fiercely, but that didn’t mean they weren’t going to push and push to get the information they wanted. Sometimes it was worse than getting a tooth pulled.
“You guys have been hanging around more than usual lately. But today, you storm in and demand I tell you a story. I’ve got none to tell,” Chloe said. She didn’t know what to say, anyway. It wasn’t as if she knew what exactly was happening with Brandon. It was up and down and all over the place. In short, it was a hot mess.
“All I know is Brandon’s smiling more than usual, and that’s saying a lot since he always wears a smile. But it’s different lately. He comes in and sees Finn, and he’s all gooey and romantic. You’ve put him under a spell,” Brooke said with a laugh.
“I can’t control what kind of mood Brandon’s in,” Chloe said. She knew they were going to keep pushing, so she didn’t know why she was fighting it so hard. Maybe because Brandon was their brother-in-law, and she was afraid of doing anything that might risk their friendship.
Maybe also because she’d told Brandon in no uncertain terms that nothing was going to happen between the two of them. She was failing on all counts.
Sarah looked around Chloe’s room and grinned as she rose up and started sniffing around. Chloe wanted to stop her but didn’t want to be suspicious, so she acted as if she didn’t care. Sarah found the hidden bag in her closet.
“Why do you have a Victoria’s Secret bag hidden in here with . . .” She paused as