16. Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

Nick

T he day of the Collier’s Creek Christmas Bash had arrived.

I’d been both dreading and waiting for this day. Even though Jordan had asked me to go with him, we hadn’t talked about where we stood. And we’d entered into this fucking-as-friends arrangement no strings attached. Not only had we completed our community service, but we’d also checked everything off his list.

Which left us…in limbo. And I didn’t have the balls to ask what was going on either.

Up ahead, the Christmas Bash was in full swing. Most of the town had shown up for the event, one that trailed from inside the town hall to outside. Stall vendors lined the chilly outdoor sections while the interior was decorated for the myriad of events from the bobbing for snowmen to the great cookie-baking competition. Sue, one of the intake nurses at Collier’s Creek General, tended to win every year. She made a killer gingerbread cookie.

The lights sparkling on the trees filled me with an undeniable warmth. Jordan and I had done that together. In the past, I hadn’t seen the point in volunteering for town events, but I could understand a bit more now. The community service wasn’t a punishment but a way to make our imprints on the town. As much as I’d felt lonely after Amanda moved out, maybe I didn’t have to keep apart from everyone. I might help out for the Christmas Bash next year too—and not for mandatory community service.

The mayor bustled by, offering a wave, and I grinned back. Even Amanda and my folks were coming into town for the Christmas Bash, since it was one of the biggest in the area. Pride thrummed through my veins at my little town and what we’d accomplished. The cold air burned my cheeks, and I walked a little faster to either get out of the cold or get a warm drink to carry around.

I wove around at least a dozen familiar faces, seeking out one.

A hand settled on my shoulder, and I whipped around.

The exact person I’d been searching for stared back at me.

Jordan looked even more gorgeous than normal tonight, his dark hair tousled and a roguish glimmer in his eyes. The cold reddened his cheeks, and the grin on his face struck me hard in the sternum. For a guy without an ounce of ink on him, he broadcasted bad boy from every pore of his body, a natural cockiness and charisma I’d always fallen prey to.

“Hey,” he said, leaning forward. We both froze. Not like he’d kiss me out here in the middle of the event. Doing that would be a declaration, a claiming, and while I’d be fucking thrilled, I didn’t expect it. Not when he wasn’t even out to his family, let alone the town. “Want to go grab a drink?”

“Or head inside.” I rubbed my gloved hands together. “Just something with warmth.”

“Hot chocolate first.” He patted his side pocket. “We can doctor it up and go into the town hall afterward. ”

I glanced over to the line at the drink stand run by Cameron from CC’s. It wasn’t long. “Better jump in now,” I said, heading over to the line. Jordan trailed close behind me, and his proximity fed the hopeless daydreams running rampant. We’d gone to plenty of town festivals together, but usually, we were a part of a group.

This felt like a date, and I liked it a little too much.

We stepped into line, only to find an Ellis standing in front of us.

“Sadie, where the fuck did you come from?” Jordan asked. “I thought you had a Christmas tree business you were taking care of this year.”

Sadie wrinkled her nose. “Yeah, the field caught fire.”

“Uh, do I want to know?” I squeezed my nape. Jordan’s sister was a wild card at best. Usually, he amped up her chaos, just for the fun of it—and to annoy Coop.

“Well, the idea for a bonfire in the middle of the Christmas tree farm didn’t pan out the way I hoped.”

Oh, my lord. I swapped a glance with Jordan, trying to restrain my grin with all my might. His family was ridiculous.

“Next time, you’ve got to coat the trees in kerosene,” Jordan teased. “Make it a whole show.”

“Yeah, let’s not raze the area to the ground.” Coop swooped in out of nowhere. He’d even employed his patented gruff voice, which usually just made Jordan and Sadie get more ridiculous.

“Do you guys have some secret family call?” I asked. Where the fuck did the Ellises keep appearing from?

“Nah, there are just too many of us,” Jordan said.

“What are you two doing here?” Coop asked, glancing between us with a knowing glint in his eyes. Did he suspect something was going on with Jordan and me? Fuck, I had to stop looking at him with heart eyes .

“Enjoying the fruits of our labor,” I responded, trying to throw off his brother’s bloodhound scent.

Sadie turned around, since we’d reached the front of the line, and ordered.

“Don’t you have a boyfriend to bother?” Jordan asked Coop.

“I’m getting us drinks and meeting him back inside. It’s cold as balls out here.”

“What can I get you guys?” Cam asked. His friendly smile was almost as warm as the drinks.

“Two hot chocolates,” Jordan ordered and passed over the cash. I blinked and blinked again. Jordan didn’t normally order and buy for me, another thing that made this feel even more date-like.

“How much do I owe you?” I reached for my wallet.

He placed a hand on my arm. “Nothing. It’s on me.”

I licked my lips, not sure what the hell to make of that. “Thanks.”

Cam put two hot chocolates in front of us in the blink of an eye, and we stepped out of the line—and his brother’s scrutiny.

“So what’s in the pocket?” I asked as he passed me a hot chocolate. We headed down the path toward the town hall. Lights twinkled all around us from the lit-up bushes and trees.

“Whisky,” Jordan said, a devilish grin on his lips.

I arched a brow. “Isn’t whisky what started this whole mess in the first place?”

“Mmm, I’m still not sure that was a bad idea.” Jordan slipped into the shadows behind one of the nearby trees. He dipped into his pocket and unscrewed his metal flask. “Want some?”

I shook my head, unable to hide my smile. “Yeah, I do.”

He splashed some whisky into my hot chocolate, and I took a sip. The sweetened warmth glided down my throat with the extra burn.

“Fucking perfect. ”

When I looked up, Jordan stared at me, a seriousness to his expression that made my nerves spike. Was this where he told me we needed to stop hooking up? Where he realized he wanted things to revert to how they’d been before? Shit. I wanted to bask in this evening for as long as possible, not get a bomb dropped that would obliterate all of this coziness.

“Since we have our drinks, let’s go inside.” I stepped away from him. If I kept moving, maybe he wouldn’t get the chance to have that conversation. Childish, maybe, but I’d known we were on a limited timeline from the moment we started hooking up. It wasn’t his fault I’d done something stupid like fallen in love.

A few folks gathered outside the town hall entrance, including Jed from Lucian’s Florists and Noel, another remote worker like me. Jed gave me a nod as I approached, but I just offered a quick wave and forced a grin, then slipped past them. I was eager not just for the heat but also to stave off whatever seriousness Jordan had been about to say. Truth be told, as much as I tried to logic this in my brain, I was going to be shattered when this ended.

I didn’t want it to.

I wanted Jordan to be my boyfriend. Fuck, I wanted him to move in with me, spend every damn day with me, and fuck me until I was delirious. I’d fallen hard, and the combination of trust and attraction was a potent addiction.

I made it a few paces in when a hand landed on my shoulder. Kyle, my ex, stood beside me. He was a slender guy like me, though shorter, and imperfections I hadn’t noticed while we were dating stood out now, like his extra large nose or the one tooth that protruded a bit.

“Hey, Nick, I need to talk to you,” he said .

I drew my brows together. Why the fuck now? After he’d pretty much made it impossible to go to the hardware store the last year? “Can this wait?”

“Please?”

I glanced behind me, but I must’ve lost Jordan in my desire to avoid having difficult conversations. If there was any time to get this talk with Kyle out of the way, it was now. “Fine, what do you want?”

He tilted his head toward the big tree set on the opposite side of the room. Folks were congregated nearby it, but it was off to the side, so we wouldn’t be standing in the main flow of traffic. I glanced around for Jordan again, but I didn’t spot him amid the people strolling through.

I followed Kyle to the tree, looking for any escape hatch. For once, in this godforsaken town, someone wasn’t trying to stop me to have a conversation. My folks and Amanda and Brian were supposed to be here, but I hadn’t seen them yet. I took a sip from the hot chocolate, the whisky warmth traveling down my throat. All it did was remind me of Jordan that much more.

We reached the big Christmas tree, the multicolored strands aglow, a big star at the top, and handmade decorations donated from the folks in town. I would’ve enjoyed taking more time to admire it, but Kyle seemed to be brimming with something, and the sooner we had this talk, the sooner I could find Jordan. I placed my hot chocolate on a table before focusing on Kyle.

“Look, I just wanted to say I’m sorry for being shitty about you coming to the hardware store since we broke up,” Kyle said.

I nodded absently, half paying attention. It hadn’t been that much of a hardship, more of an insult to my pride.

“I broke up with you because we were getting too serious…” He rubbed his nape. “But I’ve started to realize serious is what I want. ”

Oh no. Kyle was looking at me with hope shining in his eyes, and the pieces clicked into place. I’d seen him around town with plenty of guys, but even though I tended to be cursed when it came to relationships, I still had self-respect. Guaranteed, he’d exhausted the pool of hookups and wanted to give dating another try.

Which would’ve been a hell no, even if I wasn’t thoroughly smitten with Jordan.

“Hey, Kyle—” How could I shut him down in a way that wouldn’t blow up in my face?

“What’s going on?” Jordan appeared beside us as if he’d been here the whole time.

Kyle put a hand up. “Give us a second, man. We’re trying to have a conversation.”

Irritation percolated through me, and I shook my head. “I’m not getting back together with you, Kyle.”

“Nick can’t,” Jordan said. His eyes turned stormy with an intensity that drew me in every single time. “He’s with me.”

Before I could process the statement, Jordan Ellis closed the space between us.

Then he kissed me on the lips, right in front of the entire town.