Page 10 of A Perfect Christmas Romance (Kringle, Texas #8)
They wandered deeper into the lot, the cacophony of families and children fading to background noise.
Liv stole a glance at Nick, noting the ways time had reshaped him.
The sharper angle of his jaw, the hint of crow’s feet at the corners of his eyes.
He’d grown up, same as her, but being here with him felt like stepping into a time warp, the years between them compressing like an accordion.
“What about this one?” Nick stopped in front of a modest fir. It wasn’t catalog-perfect. One side was a little fuller than the other, and the top had a slight lean to it, but it was green and fresh-smelling and somehow seemed just right.
Liv ran her hand over the branches, letting the needles tickle her palm. “It’s... not terrible.”
Nick’s eyes went comically wide. “Stop the presses! Liv Kearns just almost gave a compliment. Alert the media!”
Liv rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t stop a smile spreading across her face. “Hush up and help me carry it, dork.”
They maneuvered the tree toward the front of the lot.
Hanging out with him was risky, she knew.
Getting close to Nick again was like juggling tiki torches, but as she watched him sweet-talk the lot attendant and MacGyver the tree to the roof of his SUV with an elaborate system of knots, she couldn’t help but think that maybe a few singed fingers wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.
“Alright, your coniferous chariot awaits,” Nick announced, giving the ropes one final tug to test their durability.
Liv snorted and climbed into the passenger seat as Nick got behind the wheel.
“Remember that time we stayed up all night for that meteor shower?” she asked.
Nick’s face split into a grin wider than the Grand Canyon. “How could I forget? I had a crick in my neck for a week.”
“We got eaten alive by mosquitos.” Liv laughed.
“Yeah, but it was worth it, wasn’t it?” Nick’s voice softened, his eyes meeting hers with an intensity that made her feel like she was standing at the edge of a cliff. “That crazy heavenly light show.”
Liv glanced out the window. “It was a long time ago.”
Nick was quiet for a moment, and when he spoke again, his voice was careful, like he was navigating a minefield. “Liv, I know things went sideways with us, but I’ve missed you, and I want to spend time with you again. Even if it’s just as friends. I won’t ask for anything you can’t offer.”
Liv’s heart contracted. She’d spent so long trying to convince herself that she was over Nick, that their relationship was just a chapter she’d closed and shelved, but sitting here, with the scent of pine filling the car and Nick looking at her like she was the last piece of a puzzle he’d been working on for years, her carefully constructed walls flexed.
“I missed you too,” she admitted, the words feeling like waving a white flag.
Nick’s smile was soft, tinged with something that looked a lot like hope. “Think we could give the friend thing a shot? No pressure, no expectations. Just... two people decorating a tree and trying not to maim each other with ornament hooks.”
Liv studied him as he braked for a red light. She saw echoes of the boy she’d fallen for in college but also the man he’d become—a little weathered, a little wiser, but still with that spark of mischief in his eyes that first reeled her in.
“Maybe. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
“Sure, sure. One step at a time.” His eyes took on a veiled look as he locked his gaze on the road.
The drive back to Liv’s house was a mixture of catching up on the headlines of each other’s lives and comfortable lulls.
They swapped job stories and family updates but also fell back into old rhythms, finishing each other’s sentences and cracking jokes that had somehow survived years of radio silence.
As they pulled up to Liv’s building, she felt a cocktail of emotions she couldn’t quite name. This tree, this whole evening, felt like standing at a fork in the road, unsure which path led home.
“Ready to wrestle this bad boy inside?” Nick asked, already hopping out to untie their leafy captive.
Liv took a deep breath, squaring her shoulders. “Let’s do this.”
Getting the tree up to Liv’s living room was an exercise in creative problem-solving. There were pine needles everywhere, and at one point, Nick nearly tumbled down the stairs, but finally, breathless and laughing, they manhandled the tree into Liv’s living room and got it set up on a stand.
“Voila!” Nick stepped back to admire their handiwork. The tree stood in the corner, slightly crooked but undeniably festive, filling the room with the smell of Christmas.
Liv looked around, seeing her house with new eyes. The space she thought of as a homey sanctuary suddenly felt different.
Empty...lonely.
“It works,” she said, and she wasn’t just talking about the tree.
Nick’s smile was warm enough to melt permafrost. “Told you we’d find a good one.”
As they stood surrounded by the detritus of their tree-wrangling adventure, Liv felt something flutter deep inside her. The walls she’d built weren’t gone, but maybe there was room for a door. Or at least a window.
“So,” she said, turning to Nick with a smile that felt both old and new. “Want to help me decorate this thing?”
Nick’s grin could have powered a small city. “I thought you’d never ask.”