Tic-Tac-Mistletoe - N.R. Walker Page 0,43

a second . . .

“Hey, Hamish,” Ren murmured in my ear. “Time for bed.”

I sat up, confused and unsure of my surroundings. “Wait, what?” I stared at the TV, which was frozen on the scene where Elle Woods was wearing her courtroom outfit. “Oh, I missed the bend and snap.” I frowned. “That’s my favourite part.”

Ren laughed and edged out from behind me on the couch. He pulled me to my feet and led me to my room. He stood there against the doorjamb, smiling goofily. “You like the bend and snap, huh?”

“Mm,” I said, still half-asleep. “Brings all the boys to my yard. Or maybe that was milkshakes. I can’t remember. Ask me tomorrow.”

Ren chuckled, slid his hand along my jaw, kissing me soft and sweet and warm and perfect. “Sleep well,” he murmured.

I meant to step into my room but I still had hold of his shirt. “To possibilities.”

Ren closed his eyes as though my words were a magic balm. He brushed his nose along mine and kissed me again, lingering and soft. “To possibilities.”

I uncurled my hand from his shirt and had to make myself take a step back because in that moment, if he followed me into my room, all our good intentions would be discarded as quick as our clothes.

“Night, Ren.”

He hesitated and my heart skipped a beat, but then he gave a nod and walked away. The butterflies in my belly sent a buzz of heat through my veins, and the possibility of what could be brewing between us made my heart do crazy things.

And do you know how hard it is to brush your teeth when you’re smiling like the village idiot?

It’s not easy. The guy in the mirror looked like a right fool. He looked decidedly happy though.

I woke up before Ren, which wasn’t surprising because of how early I fell asleep. I guess jetlag wasn’t done with me. But the sun was starting to lighten the sky, and today was the day I saw Liv. It was Christmas Eve! And I was so excited it felt like I was a kid who just woke up on Christmas Day.

I started the coffee machine and Chutney stretched in her bed by the fire. She gave a yawn as I crouched down by the fire. “Does Daddy want me to put more wood on the fire? Or let it burn out because we’re leaving today?”

Chutney stood up and gave herself a little shake, then headed to the front door.

Leaving the fire to burn out, I helped her into her shoes and put her coat on, and she wiggled by the door. “Okay, okay,” I whispered, pulling on my coat and boots, then my beanie and Ren’s gloves, which were huge, but I realised I’d need to shovel away some snow.

The morning was cold, and when I say cold, I mean freezing, biting, bone-chilling cold. “Holy shit,” I hissed, my breath coming out in huge puffs of steam.

But when the little lady needed to go, she needed to go.

So I got to shovelling. The snow was deep. Not as deep after the snowstorm but still up past my knees. And shovelling snow is hard work! But I slowly got a bit of a path made, then started on an area for Chutney to do her business.

When I’d cleared away a decent square, I leaned back on the shovel and groaned as my poor back let me know it wasn’t happy. “I don’t mean to hurry a princess up, and she’s entitled to her privacy, but it’s freezing and I should have put on proper pants. My bits are—”

“Your bits are what?”

I screamed and spun and promptly planted my arse into the bank of snow. “Oh!”

Ren laughed, all sleep rumpled and gorgeous, from the top of the stairs. He was holding two mugs of steaming goodness. “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.”

I managed to stand up, using the snow shovel as a crutch, mind you. But I was now very wet in unpleasant places. “Holy shit, that’s cold. And wet. And cold. And if my bits were cold before, they’re frozen now.”

“Come on,” Ren said, grinning. “Get by the fire.”

“I didn’t know what you wanted me to do with the fire, so I just left it,” I said as I trudged up the stairs, and as soon as I was inside, Ren handed me a cup of coffee. It was divine. “Mm, hot and sweet, just how I like my men. Thank you.”

He laughed and so