8. Sunny

CHAPTER 8

Sunny

I didn't know what had come over me in the shower, but Gray’s soft touches and deep kisses set my brain on fire. The gentle way he held me was going to be the death of me for sure. If I were a smarter man, I would check Christmas Falls off my list of potential places to live and move on. Maybe to Texas.

Thankfully, I was always a little bit of an idiot, even with all the zeros in my bank account.

Gray helped me off the floor of the shower, and we rinsed off one more time, still unable to keep our lips and hands off each other. Finally, we dried off, then slowly, achingly, separated long enough to go to our respective quarters to get dressed. I layered up more appropriately this time and grabbed my earmuffs, along with the scarf—which he was never getting back. We met in the hallway, and his face brightened when he saw me.

God, that was dangerous.

He gestured at me and had apparently said something, but I was too bedazzled by his happy expression that I didn’t quite hear him. I yanked my earmuffs off my head. “What?”

He laughed. “I said that you look cute with your earmuffs on.”

“Cute? I’m not a kitten.”

“No, but that doesn’t mean I’m wrong.”

He pulled me in for a kiss. “Shit, sorry. I can’t seem to stay away from your lips.”

I shook my head, then said between pecks, “Whatever’s causing that must be catching because neither can I.”

A slightly worried look crossed his features, and I grabbed his hands, aware that we were just standing in his hallway like a couple of goobers.

“I should definitely be more afraid because you could really hurt me, but I’ve never enjoyed someone’s company as much as I’ve enjoyed yours.”

He opened his mouth to say something, then shut it again, dipping his chin. Finally, he said, “I would never intentionally hurt you. I hope you know that.”

“I believe you,” I said, pushing his hair off his forehead. “But I’m shit at pretending. And I’ll admit that I’ve scared off a suitor or two by telling them I was into them.”

“Did you stalk them?” he asked, giving me a very grave look.

“No,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I would just say something like, ‘This seems like it could lead somewhere. How do you feel about that?’ And then they would run, very far and very fast. You’d think I’d learn.”

He straightened his shoulders, lifted his chin. “Try again.”

“Sorry, what?” I asked, not quite wanting to believe what he was asking.

“Tell me how you feel. Promise I won’t run.”

“Well, that’s convenient because you’re in your own goddamn house.”

“Sunny, I’m not joking.”

I sucked in a deep breath, glancing away from his intent gaze. “I really like you. And I really don’t want to pretend that this is just a bit of fun before we part ways.”

“I hate pretending, too,” he admitted. “And I really like you, too.”

“So . . . what? We’re just gonna play open carry with our hearts right now?”

“Sounds like,” he said, adjusting my collar.

“What if I move here and it doesn’t work out?”

“I’ve dated a few guys in town, and we manage just fine.”

I furrowed my brows. “Who? Have I met them?”

“Maybe,” he answered, a smile playing on his face.

I smacked his shoulder. “Who?”

“Not saying.”

“I don’t like this game.”

His face turned serious again. “This is not a game. Not to me.”

I leaned in for a kiss, and he met me in the middle, pulling me so close I could practically feel my ribs crack.

“Me either.”

He pressed his forehead to mine. “Well, shit.”

I giggled. “It’s not that bad. We just like each other.”

“It is bad. How can I maintain my hard-won reputation as the town grump when all I wanna do right now is smile?”

I felt tiny rushing bubbles burst through my body. I’d never felt this way before. It reminded me of something my mom used to say.

“Sweetheart, focus on your goals. Focus on your dreams. Keep putting yourself out there, keep dreaming bigger. And just know this: when you meet the person you’re meant to be with, it’ll stop you dead in your tracks.”

I had never truly believed her because the relationship she had with my father was . . . ugh. It certainly didn’t exactly recommend long-term relationships. Hell, we had to push out her funeral by an extra day because he had to finalize a project.

My father would always justify that kind of shitty decision-making by saying that he had employees to take care of. As someone who owned a business, I understood making sacrifices to ensure the employees were taken care of. But this was my mom’s funeral, and he had chosen poorly.

I pretty much stopped talking to him after that.

Even so, I had to admit that my mother genuinely loved my father. That didn’t mean I didn’t want a better life for myself.

I refocused on the man in front of me. “I make you smile?”

“More in the last few days than I have this entire year.”

I kissed him and said, “I swear, if I had it in me to sleep with you one more time, I would.”

He shook his head. “I have nothing left in the tank. You’ll have to wait till tonight.”

“You’ll want to go again tonight?”

He thumbed my lapel, sucking his lips in. “One hundred percent.”

After making out for a few more minutes, we finally set up the dogs in the kennel and dragged ourselves out of the house. We headed straight to Sugar Plum Park where, thankfully, it was early enough in the day that we were able to find a decent place for Gray to park his truck.

He turned to me as he shut off the truck and removed the key. “We should be fine at this time of day, but if it gets too crowded, just let me know and we’ll leave.”

“Thanks,” I said, then leaned in to kiss him. Stopping myself halfway, I held up my hand. “Sorry. We’re in public. It’s just hard to?—”

He cut me off by finishing the kiss. “I don’t care about gossip, and I don’t care what people see.”

More of that effervescent feeling lifted my chest. “Why does it feel like this?”

“No clue. But I’m not going to ignore this.”

I appreciated that he had reassured me, multiple times now. He seemed to understand how important it was for me to feel safe—and acknowledged. We got out of the truck, and he came around the front, holding his hand out to me.

Gray was right, the park wasn’t crowded, but there were a few folks I recognized from our prior foray into town. Feeling suddenly self-conscious, I took his hand in mine, and we did a circuit of the park.

“So, who put all this together?” I said, admiring the layers of festooning, lights, and general Christmas splendor.

For the first time in a long time, I enjoyed the reminders of the season.

“Well, there’s a whole committee of volunteers. But my buddy Griff is the guy in charge of everything,” he said, gesturing at the massive Christmas tree. “There’s something like fifteen thousand lights on this thing this year, and I swear he brings it up every single time I see him. It’s almost as bad as his complaining about this year’s mystery Secret Santa.”

“That’s because the logistics of getting fifteen thousand lights to one location, then wrapping said lights around a massive Christmas tree, then going in and testing it out to ensure all the strands work was a pain in my ass,” said a handsome man—clearly Griff—who was accompanied by an even more handsome man with dark blond hair. “As for that secret Santa nonsense, I just hope it’s not a festival gimmick, since as the organizer, I really should know. Not that it stopped them last year with those Christmas mural shenanigans.”

I laughed, and Gray merely rolled his eyes, not the least bit concerned that he had been busted talking shit.

Griff’s eyes darted to our joined hands.

“I don’t think I’ve met you before.”

I took his extended hand, shaking it. “Sunny Day, and I’m looking to maybe move here.”

“Maybe?” Griff asked, intrigued.

I lifted a shoulder. “I’m in from Chicago. The city’s a little too big for my britches these days. This place seems like a better fit, size-wise.”

The other guy perked up. “Hey, I’m Logan. I’ve spent some time in Chicago. Cool-ass city, great food, but I’m with you on it being way too big. Also, the people here in Christmas Falls are pretty fucking great.”

I looked over at Gray. “I agree.”

“ Anyway ,” Gray said, his cheeks pinker than they were just a minute ago. “I’m showing this one around, hoping to get him into the Christmas spirit.”

Griff slapped his knee and laughed so hard I thought he was going to throw a rib. “ You’re showing him the spirit of Christmas? Mr. ‘I’ve never been to a Thanksgiving Day parade ever’?”

“Oh,” I asked, “is he really that bad?”

Logan gave me the cut-it gesture at his throat, but Griff thinned his lips. “It’s just plain rude, if you ask me. We work hard to put on a good show for the town every year. And all this one does is grump about it. And then, on top of all of that, he gets his own goddamn corner at Snowflake Shack, even though I’ve been managing this damned festival for God knows how long.”

Logan leaned over and whispered something into Griff’s ear. Whatever it was must have been saucy because Griff turned a bright, bright red, then glared at his beloved. “Really? You’re doing that to me now?”

“It put you in a better mood, didn’t it?”

I laughed and gave Logan a high five. “Sometimes with these grumpy ones you gotta pull them out of their funk.”

“Hey,” Gray said, nearly pouting. “I was in a good mood until this one came up,” he said, gesturing at his friend.

“It’s true,” I admitted. “I did put this one in a very good mood this morning.”

Griff laughed so hard I thought he was going to choke. “I like you.”

“I like you, too, Griff.”

“Why do I feel like y’all are going to be a dangerous combo?” Gray grumped.

“Because we’ll have way too much fun needling you,” I answered, enjoying Griff and Logan’s laughter.

Gray shook his head and smacked Griff’s shoulder. “Hey, since you're here, I've got a couple of hours before I need to head out to the airport. What do you think I should show this one? I was thinking some of the games and maybe a lunch would be good for our first day.”

“Definitely get involved in the games,” Griff said, cracking up.

“Why is that funny?”

“Because you trying to do something cheerful will make everyone laugh. Also, you should go to The White Elephant because they have a killer special on Scottish beef stew today.”

“And, if Sunny here doesn't want to eat dinner alone, he can join us at Griff’s family’s house,” Logan said, grinning. “It’s way too many people, and way too much food, but we make room for everybody.”

Griff’s face softened. “That’s true. You'd be welcome with my family.”

“I have a few things to get taken care of this afternoon,” I said, thinking about the backlog of emails. “But let’s exchange phone numbers and I'll let you know.”

We did just that and said our goodbyes. Gray took my hand again and puffed out his chest.

“Why are you looking so proud of yourself?”

“It was fun watching you work your magic on those two,” he said with a smug smile. “And it didn't take you long to get a dinner invite to Griff’s mom’s house.”

“Should I not go?” I asked, worried that I’d transgressed some unsaid Christmas Falls etiquette.

“Oh, you should go—if not tonight, then at some point. They’ve got a ton of festivities planned through the season. And Griff’s mom has the best sweet potato pie this side of the Mississippi.”

“If you're very nice to me, I'll bring some home to you,” I told him.

“Then I will be very, very nice to you,” Gray rumbled, taking me over to the gaming area.

This time of day was mostly kids and a few retirees, none of which was overwhelming. The Christmas-themed games did crack me up. We played Tinsel Bunny, which was a take on Gin Rummy. Mrs. Claus’s Darts was run by a volunteer dart shark named Mrs. Whitmore, and she beat us like we’d called her pumpkin pie subpar. The final stop was Frosty’s Cornhole. The cornhole board was, frankly, much naughtier than I’d expected. One thing was for sure—I’d never be able to picture Frosty the Snowman in the same way ever again.

Even funnier, I beat my very own Mr. Frost by making cornhole jokes every time it was his turn.

Gray grumbled about the inappropriateness of the game as we walked hand-in-hand to The White Elephant, passing the bakery from the other day.

“Hey, it’s not crowded in there, do you wanna check it out?” Gray asked, opening the door for me.

I followed through, and unlike yesterday, when everything was overwhelming, today was calm and the smell of fresh bread was intense.

A redhead in a chef’s uniform spattered with flour walked over. “Hey, Gray,” he said, checking out our clasped hands.

Like Griff, this guy didn't make much of a deal of it, but the surprise was evident on his face. I'd already figured this out, but it was clear that Gray was not someone to walk around with a new man on his arm every other week. The locals, who continued to adore him, were simply surprised. And, I'm thinking, happy for him.

That was good, because being with him made me happy, too.

The guy in the floured uniform turned to me. “You were here the other day, right?”

“Yeah. Unfortunately, I’m not good with crowds.”

“They can be overwhelming this time of year,” he said with an understanding smile. “By the way, I’m Joel.”

“Hi Joel. And yes, very overwhelming.”

“Well, I'm glad you came back in.” A buzzer went off in the kitchen. “I’m about to grab the French bread out of the oven. Why don't you take a loaf on the house as a thank you for giving us another try?”

“I’ll never turn down fresh bread.”

Joel ran to the back and returned with a massive loaf of French bread already in a bag.

I accepted the crinkly wax from him and stuck my face into the top of it, inhaling all that yeasty, yumminess. Joel handed me a small plate with a pat of butter and a knife. Gray and I sat at an empty table and I ripped off hunks of bread like a predator on the Serengeti.

I spread the butter on the bread, then gave Gray his piece. Wordlessly we dove into the fresh, hot goodness, our sounds not too dissimilar from the noises we’d made in his bed, on his desk, or in his shower.

“Oh my God, I want to marry this bread.”

“We're going to The White Elephant for their Scottish beef stew,” Gray said, still chewing. “You think Kody will be offended if we bring this with us?”

Joel shook his head. “Not at all. But, if it’s too crowded over there, grab your lunch to go and come back here. We’ve got plenty of seating today.”

“Thanks. We’ll keep that in mind.”

We walked around the bakery, and I went a little crazy on the pastries. When Joel checked us out, he gave us another discount.

“Locals only,” he said, sliding the tote with all the goodies in my direction.

Gray took my hand again. “You ready for lunch?”

“Absolutely.”