Snowed In For Christmas: A Fun Feel-Good Holiday Romance Novel - Kimberly Krey Page 0,21

of the spoons.

Easton, who’d been eyeing the jar, lifted his gaze to meet hers. His brow arched, and a grin pulled at one side of his lips. “Moonshine.”

“Ah,” she said with the tip of her head. “Like where they add homemade liquor or something?”

“Yep.” He dug his spoon into the jar and scooped up one of the peaches. They’d been cut in half, then cut in half again, leaving them in quarters. “Go ahead,” he urged. “We’ll cheers with our spoons.”

A laugh snuck up her throat. “Okay.” She eyed the jar warily, wondering how good a peach soaked in moonshine could actually be. She stuck her spoon in, scored a peach for herself, and lifted it from the jar’s wide rim.

A look of triumph spread over Easton’s face as he lifted his spoon toward hers. “Cheers,” he bellowed.

“Cheers,” she said through another laugh. Ivy brought it to her mouth quickly, determined to eat it without gagging. She chewed a few times, swallowed it down, and paused to assess the flavors left on her tongue. There was a strong taste that didn’t belong to a peach—that was the moonshine. But she tasted the tangy sweetness of the peach as well.

“That’s not bad,” she decided, hovering her spoon over the rim once more. She scooped up another thick slice and looked at him. “You’re eating more too, aren’t you?”

He nodded. “Definitely. But I have to warn you, my neighbor Jerry—he’s the one who makes them—goes heavy on the liquor.”

Ivy rarely ever drank, but how much damage could bottled fruit do? “Did you know that we’ve got between two to four thousand taste buds?”

“No,” Easton said.

“We do. And they’re not all just on the tongue either. Some are at the back of your throat, your esophagus, your nose…”

He grinned. “That’s awesome.”

“I’m a fun fact geek,” she warned, wondering if she should resist the urge to share what came to her mind.

“So am I. Did you know the tongue is made up of like eight muscles, all interwoven together?” he asked, proving his point. “The structure’s similar to an elephant’s trunk or even an octopus’s tentacle.”

He wasn’t kidding. “I’ve never known a guy who could spout fun facts like me.” In an odd way, it made Ivy feel…safe to be herself.

“Chantelle says I store up useless but fascinating knowledge,” Easton said. “It drives her crazy.”

“It drives my family crazy too,” Ivy assured.

They kept their eyes locked on one another, their connection deepening in the quiet space.

Until Easton spoke up. “Did you know that eyes contain the fastest—”

“Muscles in the human body?” she finished for him. “They don’t say blink of an eye for nothing.”

The two burst into laughter at once.

“I think I’ve met my match,” he said with an appraising nod.

They ate a few more peaches before Ivy spoke up again. “Wow, I’ve never met a fellow fact geek. In the time we spend together, we’re going to nearly double one another’s useless data bank. Then we’ll really drive our families crazy.”

Easton laughed out loud, the genuine sound of it making her feel at home somehow. “That calls for another cheers, I think.” He steadied his spoon while Ivy readied hers.

“I think you’re right,” she said, lifting it to clank it against his. She ate that peach, and a few more, realizing that, despite Easton’s flawless appearance, Ivy felt more at ease with him than she’d felt with a man in a very long time. A man she was attracted to, anyway.

“I’m impressed that a guy made these,” she said between bites. “I pictured some old lady in an apron.”

“Jerry’s great,” Easton said. “He’s retired, makes and delivers them every Christmas. Of course, his kids took his license from him over the summer—guess he was getting dangerous out on the roads—so I helped him deliver them this time.”

Ivy gulped down the next peach as a new and welcome warmth stirred in her heart. “That’s so sweet of you.”

Easton only shrugged. “He lives right next door. And I don’t mind helping the guy out when he needs it.” He seemed to think about that for a bit before adding, “Heck, it’s only a matter of time before I’ll need that kind of help too.”

Ivy nodded. “Guess that’s true for all of us. I dread the day we have to tell one of my parents that they shouldn’t be driving anymore.”

Easton looked away quickly, then dropped his gaze to the jar. “Yeah,” he offered. “That reminds me, I’m sorry you’ll have to miss your family party.