The Hazards of Mistletoe (Hazards #4)(21)
Author: Alyssa Rose Ivy

“It’s lovely weather.”

Dalton groaned. “Did you just quote Christmas music lyrics?”

“I told you she’s obsessed with this time of year.”

“I’m not obsessed.” She gave me her pouty face.

“Not obsessed, passionate.”

“Passionate is an acceptable term.”

“Does that mean you’re going to come?”

She pursed her lips. “I don’t think I should.”

“Why not?”

“Because you only did this because you feel guilty or something. I already told you that you don’t have to worry about it. I got the hint, and I moved on.”

“The move on comment aside, we’ll talk about that later, but what if that’s not why I did it? What if I did it because I really want to go on a sleigh ride, and you’re the only one into Christmas enough to do it with me?”

“So now you’re saying you’re desperate.”

I shook my head. “You are making this way too complicated.”

“Oh, so it’s my fault?”

“No. I’m not saying that.”

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Dalton walking away. Winston followed with a wave. Savy was completely oblivious, and I tried to hide my smile. It looked like Dalton was going to help me out.

“Then what are you saying? You keep telling me how I’m wrong. How you didn’t reject me, blah blah blah. So give me answers.”

“Blah blah blah?” I moved toward her. “Are we back at that point again?”

She broke into a grin. “You remember that? Do you remember how mad my dad got when I said that to him?”

“Of course. You got grounded, cancelled on me, and I ended up sitting in my room alone. What a lame night.”

She laughed. It was her natural laugh, the one that made it impossible not to smile. “I can’t believe you remember that.”

“I remember everything about you.”

“So do I.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “I mean about you.”

“Come on a sleigh ride with me.” I spoke quietly this time.

She nodded. “It doesn’t mean I’ve forgiven you.”

“Deal. You have the right to go back to being mad at me afterward. Just give me this.”

She laughed again. “I hope they have blankets. It’s freezing tonight.”

I lightly tugged on her arm, pulling her toward me. “I’d never leave you to get cold.”

She looked away. “You’ve done it before.”

“And it’s my biggest regret.”

She turned to look at me. “I wish we never kissed.”

“Please don’t say that.”

“It’s true. If we hadn’t, none of that other stuff would have happened. We’d still be friends.”

“It would have happened eventually.”

She shook her head. “Not without the mistletoe.”

“I’ve been into you for years. It was going to happen with or without mistletoe.”

“Then why did you do it? What repulsed you so much you left?”

“I already told you I did it because I knew I didn’t deserve you.”

“But I don’t believe you. It doesn’t make sense.”

“How about you get on that sleigh with me, and I’ll make sure it makes sense.”

She shook her head and set her big blue eyes on me. “No. If we’re going on this ride, I’m going to enjoy it. No talking about that night.” A lone tear streamed down her face.

I wiped away the tear. “I swear I’m going to make it all up to you.”

“Just take me on this sleigh ride already.” She turned around. “Wait. Where’s Dalton?”

I shrugged. “He slipped off back when you were going off on me.”

“Jerk.”

“I was going to say great guy.”

She wrapped her arms tighter around her. “He has my phone.”

“I have mine.”

“Great.”

“You trust me, don’t you, Savy?”

“Do I trust you with my safety? Sure. I trust you with everything but my heart.”

My heart ached at her words. I’d change that. I’d change everything. “Then come with me.” I took her hand and got her to drop her arm from around her chest. “We’ll have fun.”

“You ready to go?” Harry, a friend of a friend, hopped down from the sleigh. He was doing me a huge favor. He was dressed up for the occasion in a long coat and a top hat. He was going for the full theatrics he usually did for the tourist gigs.

“How much is he paying you for this?” Savy asked.

Harry looked at me, and I shook my head.

“I think you’ll have to discuss that with your date.” He glanced at me and shrugged.

“Don’t worry about it.” Going into how I could call in favors from locals required going into why I was now a local. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to do that yet.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this.” She accepted my hand as she stepped into the sleigh. I followed behind her, covering us both with a blanket while I waited for Harry to get the horses ready.

“Don’t make it sound like it’s a bad thing.”

“It’s not a bad thing, just a complicated one.”

“What’s complicated about it?” I put an arm around her without thinking.

She sat forward at first before relaxing back into my arm. Nice. Maybe I was making some progress.

“Everything is complicated. I’m sharing a blanket with you. Again.”

“I know you don’t want to talk about that night, but I enjoyed being under a blanket with you then too.”

“Stop.”

“Fine.” I wasn’t going to push my luck.

Harry got us moving, and Savy leaned into my side. “It’s a beautiful night, isn’t it?”

“Very. It’s the kind of night when I remember why I love living in the mountains so much.”

The mountain and surrounding forest were lit up by holiday lights and a sky full of stars. There was something almost magical about it, especially with the company I got to enjoy.

“I can’t imagine living here. I’d miss the ocean too much.”

“You really love the ocean more than the mountains?” I ran my hand up and down her back. Even with a down jacket separating her from me, it felt so good to have contact again.

“I do. But don’t get me wrong. It’s beautiful here.”