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6. Josie

6

josie

T eam Rowdy Reindeers are killing the Christmas List competition.

In the last week, we’ve marked off the Wrapping Paper Runway and the Cookie Crawl, which was Lucy’s favorite so far. To be fair, getting to spend the day making cookies, then eating them all at the end was a selling point for us too. We just finished with this afternoon’s list task, deemed “Reindeer Games,” with each contestant responsible for hosting a fundraising booth to benefit Strawberry Hollow at the town festival. Wyatt had the brilliant idea for us to make “Reindeer Food,” which we sold out of almost immediately, putting us in first place and freeing us up to partake in the rest of the festival.

As much as it makes me nervous to admit… I’m enjoying spending time with both Lucy and Wyatt. I haven’t had so much fun or laughed so hard in a really long time. And the scary part is how easily I could get used to this.

I know that my heart is teetering on a dangerously high ledge, the imminent threat of plummeting back into Wyatt’s arms becoming more real by the second.

“Jos?” Wyatt’s low timbre breaks through my thoughts, and I lift my gaze to where he’s walking beside me with Lucy perched on his wide shoulders.

“Yes?”

“Luce wants to go ice-skating before we leave. Wanna come with us?” he asks.

I should probably say no to give myself some distance. I could easily find an excuse of needing to work on the stuff for school tomorrow, but the truth is I absolutely want to go with them.

So I nod, giving Lucy a wink when she squeals excitedly, her tiny hands fisting in Wyatt’s already disheveled hair.

“Jeez, I’m going to be bald if you don’t stop pulling my hair like that, bug.” He groans as he reaches up to tickle her side playfully.

I lift the still-warm cup of hot chocolate to my lips and take a slow, savoring sip.

After Lucy catches her breath, she says with a serious expression, “Well, that’s okay, Daddy. Grams says you’ll be bald like Papa one day anyway.”

The liquid in my mouth nearly comes spewing out when a look of sheer horror crosses Wyatt’s face, and he stops outside the busy ice rink, lifting her from his shoulders and setting her onto her feet in front of him. “How about we just go skate and not talk about me losing my hair?”

She gives him a cheeky grin and pats the top of his unruly hair. “Suuuuure, Daddy.”

Then she’s prancing off toward the skate rental line, leaving Wyatt with his mouth agape. He stands to full height and drags a hand over his sharp jaw. “That girl.”

“Oh, she is an angel.”

“Yeah, one that’s gonna make me skip getting grays and go straight to full-on bald.” His words are a grumble, yet the corner of his full lips curve up.

He knows that she’s got him wrapped around her little finger.

My shoulder brushes against his firm arm as we walk toward the rental line side by side, my gaze pinned on Lucy as she talks with another little girl her age while waiting for her turn.

“You look beautiful today, Josie. I like your sweater,” Wyatt murmurs, his sudden admission taking me by surprise.

After the heated, nearly electric-charged moment at the snowman task, I thought we might talk about this… feeling between us. But he hasn’t mentioned anything, focusing only on the tasks and Lucy, giving me that disarmingly handsome smile, constantly making my stomach feel as if there are flurries of lazy snowflakes falling in the pit of it.

I can feel the warmth of his gaze sliding over me as I clear my throat, pasting on a smile. “Uh… thank you. I just threw something festive on for school this morning.” I say, glancing down at my Santa sweater.

“Well, you fit in perfectly here, then.” He chuckles, gesturing around us.

Downtown has been transformed into a whimsical winter wonderland of sorts that only a place as magical as Strawberry Hollow could achieve. The scent of roasted chestnuts and sweet hot cocoa permeates through the air, the town Christmas tree standing tall and proud in the middle of Town Square. The boards of the ice skating rink are decorated with silvery strands of tinsel and garland, antique golden bells, and strings of warm white lights that cast a glow.

Every lantern that lines the sidewalk is tied with deep red, crushed velvet ribbons, and all of the businesses have transformed their storefronts with lights, wreaths, and garlands.

It looks like something out of a storybook, and standing with Wyatt Owens, my heart racing at his proximity… it feels like one.

“Josie Pearce, is that you?”

Turning, I see Wyatt’s grams standing a few feet away, bundled up in a thick coat with a red-and-green plaid scarf around her neck. Her gaze flicks between Wyatt and me, a broad smile settling on her lips.

It’s been forever since I’ve seen her, mostly because I’ve been actively avoiding anything to do with Wyatt until he showed up in my classroom.

I stiffen slightly. “Mrs. Owens, yes… hi!”

Wyatt chuckles beside me. “Grams, what are you doing here?”

“Oh, you know, I was going a bit stir-crazy at home with your papa, so I just thought I would get out of the house. I remembered the festival was today, so I just walked and shopped for a bit.” She lifts the small bags in her hands. “Thought I would look for you guys and maybe take Lucy to see Santa? Give you two a bit to catch up… alone?”

Wyatt’s gaze finds mine, a silent question passing between us, and I shrug.

I’m not sure that’s the best idea, but I know that Lucy will probably be excited to go see Santa.

Although, that’s her dad’s call.

“Uh, sure, yeah, that would be great, Grams. Thank you.”

She nods, her eyes twinkling as she glances between the two of us and then shoots me a wink before ambling off to Lucy.

We stand there together, watching as she tells Lucy she’s taking her to see Santa. Obviously, she’s over the moon, jumping on her tiptoes.

What five-year-old wouldn’t be?

Now that we’re completely alone, the air feels thicker, and my pulse seems to be racing faster, as if my body is suddenly aware that it’s just the two of us.

“So…” I say, letting my words trail off.

Wyatt shakes his head, his unruly hair nearly falling across his forehead. “So…”

We walk down the sidewalk, my gaze moving up to the string of lights stretched above our heads through the town square. “Um… it’s getting kind of late. I should probably head home.” The excuse sounds weak, even as I say it.

I have nothing else I need to be doing, but being completely alone with Wyatt without Lucy as a buffer for the tension between us… it scares me.

“Or you could stay. And we could go ice-skating, get more hot chocolate, snow tube? Whatever you want,” he says as he comes to a halt on the sidewalk, stepping closer until I feel the front of his boots touch mine. “Stay, Josie. I don’t want you to leave.”

His admission makes my heart sing, and although it’s my job to protect it from getting hurt again, I find myself agreeing.

“Okay, I’ll stay.”

A small, shadowy look of surprise passes over his face. “Yeah?”

I nod as I draw my bottom lip into my mouth, ignoring the heat in my cheeks from his stare. “Yeah. I actually haven’t been ice-skating in forever. Sounds like fun. And… I’ll never pass up more of Edna’s famous hot chocolate.”

“Damn, Josie,” Wyatt murmurs as he lifts a palm to his chest and rests it over his heart. “And here I was thinking you were staying just because you wanted to spend time with me .”

“Maybe it’s both.”

His grin widens. “That’s all I wanted to hear.”

God, he’s such a shameless flirt. Just as much now as he was back then.

Instead of responding, I roll my eyes, biting back the smile that I can’t seem to pull from my lips. I almost forgot how easy it was to be around Wyatt, to laugh and flirt and to not have to think about guarding my heart.

Once we get to the skate rental booth, Wyatt tells the teenage attendant our skate sizes and then grabs them from her, giving her a smile that makes her eyes widen.

Clearly, I’m not the only one affected by how attractive he is. As if that wasn’t enough, he’s also charming and attentive, and all of it together is a lethal combination.

“You remember my shoe size?” I laugh as I take the worn skates from him and sit down on the bench to remove my boots.

His broad shoulder dips. “I told you I remember everything about you, Jos. I wasn’t lying.”

My God, how on earth am I supposed to be affected by things like that when he says them? His sweet words unleash a flurry of wings in the pit of my stomach that makes my heart feel as if it’s creeping up my chest into my throat.

A jarring reminder that even though time has passed, part of him is still the boy I once fell in love with.

I don’t even know how to respond, so I just clear my throat, dropping my gaze down to the laces as my fingers fumble to get them tightened.

Partially because my gloves are thick and partially because I’m shaking slightly from a culmination of nerves and butterflies.

Wyatt moves to his knees at my feet, gently removing the laces from my trembling fingers. “Let me.”

I swallow thickly while I nod.

His long fingers work quickly, getting my skate laced up in a matter of seconds, and then he’s peering up at me with a lazy grin. “Do you remember the time we went skating down by Strawberry Falls with Jackson and Jude?” Rising to his feet, he offers me a hand, then pulls me to my feet when I slide my palm into his. “That day we played hockey and I took a puck to the face?”

“Oh God. Yes. I’m pretty sure I almost passed out from all of the blood.” I shiver slightly at the memory. Although it’s not entirely a pleasant memory, it’s still one of my favorites. It was the first time he told me he loved me. Even though he was slightly out of it from the pain medicine, it still was the first time we both admitted that we were in love.

“You were the best nurse.” Wyatt winks as we step out onto the slippery ice.

I almost lose my balance, the blade of my skate catching a rut in the ice, but Wyatt’s arm flies out, wrapping around my waist to steady me. I can feel the heaviness of his palm curving along my hip, and it makes me shiver.

And it has nothing to do with the temperature.

“Uh, thank you. I told you… it’s been a while. I’m a little rusty,” I say as we glide along the ice.

His hand drops, but he doesn’t put any distance between us, instead remaining so close that I can feel the heat of his body radiating onto me.

“I won’t let you fall,” he promises. “It’s like riding a bike. Muscle memory. It’s been… over eight years since I’ve been. Not a lot of ice-skating opportunities in California.”

“I can’t even see you as a California guy.”

His dirty-blond brow arches. “Yeah? Why not?”

“I dunno…” I trail off as we skate around the rink, crisp, cool air hitting my cheeks. “I mean, I just can’t see you sitting at a desk, working a nine-to-five, being a corporate kind of guy. I think I’ve always pictured you still on the ranch, covered in mud and sweat. Wearing boots and a hat. Not in a suit and tie.”

Actually, now that I’m picturing it, I imagine he looked absolutely incredible in a suit.

“Yeah, it never really felt right to me either. That’s why I ended up working for the petroleum company. Once I started consulting, I worked from home. No suits. Plus, it gave me freedom and flexibility, especially before Lucy was in school full-time.” Chuckling, he skates ahead of me, then turns to face me, skating backward as he holds my eyes. “It feels good to be home at the ranch. Feels right.”

It feels right to me that Wyatt’s here too. Strawberry Hollow has always felt like where he belonged.

But I’m not going to say that out loud.

Because the most vulnerable part of me knows it’s more than that. It’s not just that he belongs here; it’s that a part of my heart has always wanted him to come home to me.

I nod, attempting to focus on staying upright while skating and not how unnervingly handsome he is. “I’m… I’m glad you’re home too, Wyatt.”

Much more than I’m ready to admit.

Suddenly, a group of teenagers speeds past us, narrowly avoiding colliding with me, and it sends me pitching forward on the ice, directly into Wyatt’s hard chest with an oof .

His arm slips around my waist, holding me steady, his massive body hardly jostled from our unexpected collision.

“Shit, are you okay?”

I nod, breathing heavily. “Yeah. God, that scared the crap out of me.”

My heart is still racing in my chest as I lift my gaze to his. I’m pressed tightly against his body, my fingers tangled into the front of his shirt so tightly that I can feel the hard, sculpted muscles of his abdomen beneath the flannel. And now my heart is racing for an entirely different reason.

He’s staring down at me, an unmistakable flicker of heat flaring in his warm brown eyes.

I allow myself for the briefest moment to imagine what it would be like having this version of Wyatt fitted between my thighs, his hard body moving over me, making my back arch in pleasure as his lips drag along my heated skin.

It’s the last thing I should be thinking of, but the proximity and the scent of him surrounding me has my head swimming and my legs feeling wobbly. Like fresh citrus and cinnamon with a delicious hint of leather.

It’s intoxicating.

His arm tightens around my waist, somehow pressing me harder against him, and my pulse thrashes wildly as his gaze drops to my mouth, lingering there for a moment.

And then he’s leaning closer, so close that I can feel his breath fanning along my lips, centimeters away from me, and I’m pretty sure I’ve never wanted anything so badly as I want him.

My eyes flutter shut, and then his lips are on mine. His kiss is slow and unhurried, tentative almost, as he captures my lips, drinking down the small whimper that falls free.

That sound seems to push him over whatever edge he was teetering on because he lifts his palms to my jaw, cradling my face tenderly in his hands, and kisses me deeper, like he can’t get enough, like it would never be enough.

My fingers tighten in his shirt, and when my tongue sweeps along the seam of his lips, he makes a deep, growly noise at the back of his throat, one that makes me tremble against him.

His tongue slides between my lips and tangles with mine, without hesitation.

God, he tastes exactly the way I remember, but the way that he kisses me now is different. It’s raw and hungry. Young Wyatt’s kisses made my heart flutter. But this man’s kisses consume me wholly.

He tears his lips from mine, his chest heaving as he peers down at me through heavy, molten eyes.

Only then am I able to think slightly more clearly, my head having been dizzy with my want for him. It’s then I realize we’re surrounded by people, and the entire town probably knows that we just kissed like teenagers on the ice rink.

God, what am I doing? This is not a good idea.

I know that, and yet every time I’m around him, I just keep letting myself fall into everything that’s Wyatt.

We’re playing with fire, a dangerous game for my heart that’s already been broken by this man once before.

And I know that if I’m not careful, I’m the one who’s going to be burned.

Again.

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