Tic-Tac-Mistletoe - N.R. Walker Page 0,34
kitchen, because they shouldn’t be good, but they are so good.”
I chuckled. “So what kind of Christmas cookies did you use to make with your dad?”
“We’d make all kinds. Chocolate chip, lemon butter, gingerbread.”
“That’s awesome. Do we need to make a trip to town or do we have all the ingredients?”
“We should have enough. I don’t have any chocolate chips, though, but we can make the peanut butter cookies, chocolate-peppermint ones, and simple sugar cookies. Or lemon ones, if you want.”
“All of them or just one? I’m not quite up to speed on Christmas cookie etiquette, to be honest. I don’t even know what a Christmas cookie is, and I’ve never baked biscuits before.”
He snorted. “Wait, what? You don’t know what a Christmas cookie is?”
“Nope. Is it just a normal cookie, but are there specifically qualifying criteria to make it to Christmas cookie?”
Ren laughed. “Well, basically it’s just a normal cookie, but they’re decorated in a Christmas theme. You don’t bake Christmas cookies in Australia?”
“Uh, no.”
He seemed genuinely surprised by this. “And you said you’d never baked biscuits before? Like biscuits and gravy?”
My lips curled as I even imagined biscuits with gravy, and then I remembered that they were something different here. “Oh no, no, there has been a grave misunderstanding. A biscuit to me is a cookie to you, and a biscuit to you is a scone to me. Although why anyone would want to have gravy with a scone is beyond me.”
“Well, we don’t eat that every day.”
“Thank God for small mercies.”
“Now I don’t mind cookies or biscuits, but a huckleberry bear claw is my favourite.”
“A what?”
He laughed. “Not a real bear claw. It’s a sweet pastry.”
“Phew.”
“Carl, at the diner across from my shop, bakes them every once and a while. I will take you there one day and you can see for yourself.”
That sounded like a possible date. “Fine. But just so you know, I brought some Vegemite with me to give to Liv. Happy to let you try it.”
Ren looked horrified, then impersonated David Rose. “‘Uh, that’s a real quick no. Thanks anyway.’”
I burst out laughing. “Did you just quote Schitt’s Creek?”
“I believe I did, yes.”
We smiled at each other for a moment and I figured it was probably best if I change the subject. “Fine. So, are we baking cookies this afternoon?”
“We are,” he replied with a soft smile. “I just better take Chutney out for a bathroom break. You can stay in here where it’s warm.”
“Want me to make you a coffee while you’re out there?”
His smile became a grin. “I’d really like that, thank you.” He helped Chutney into her coat and shoes, which was still the cutest thing ever. When he got to the door, he stopped with his hand on the door handle and turned to face me. “And, uh, if your offer to spend Christmas with you at your sister’s still stands, I’d really like that too.”
My heart did all kinds of crazy things, and I reckon my grin just about split my face. “Yeah, of course. I mean, sure. That’d be great.” God, why couldn’t I speak a full sentence? I swallowed hard and regrouped. “I’ll let her know, and Ren?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m glad you said yes.”
Chapter Eight
Ren
I thought I was ready to spend a Christmas by myself. Maybe I was. Maybe I wasn’t. When Hamish had offered for me to join him at his sister’s for Christmas, it wasn’t just the idea of being not-alone that appealed to me. It was spending more time with Hamish.
I liked him.
He was funny and kind and cute as hell. He adored Chutney, and she liked him. If he had some hidden sinister side, she wouldn’t cuddle up to him, right? But she bounced up on his lap every chance she got. And he spoke to her like she was the most precious thing in the world, and that meant so much to me. Because Chutney was the most precious thing in the world to me. She’d comforted me when my dad died, sat beside me, gave me someone to talk to when there was no one else. She’d consoled me when I cried; she listened to me as I spilled my broken heart.
I couldn’t even fathom liking a guy who didn’t love Chutney.
And I really liked him.
I was pretty sure he felt the same, if I could read him properly. I hadn’t had a great deal of experience, but I wasn’t stupid. I knew enough to know. So yeah, I was pretty sure