Page 5 of Christmas Agreement (Majestic Falls: Christmas Spice #3)

Katie

I’d almost teared up when Rugar had mentioned going pro with Kyle.

If Rugar had asked, I’d hoped I could have passed it off as sadness around losing my brother.

But really, it was more that Rugar would be leaving.

His family had moved away. Once he left Majestic Falls, he had no reason to return.

My brother, on the other hand, would always come back.

I have no intention of leaving you behind…

What did that mean? What did any of this mean? With breakfast this morning, our two fake dates had just turned into a third, and if he was serious about coming back to decorate on Monday, a fourth. My head was spinning.

Rugar had insisted I needed a real tree, so after breakfast we’d driven to the lot on Henderson Mill Road that was run by a local tree farm.

The line had been super long, though, so I’d begged him to just let me use the artificial tree I already owned.

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to spend more time with him, but I was sure he had better things to do than stand in a long queue, waiting to get an unnecessary pine.

He’d dropped me off at my apartment, promising to return Monday night with pizza and tinsel.

For a moment, we hesitated, and I swore he’d inched forward, bending closer, as if he were going to kiss me, but then he’d straightened suddenly.

I gave him a soft smile before fleeing into the solitude of my apartment.

I spent the rest of Saturday afternoon cleaning, not wanting Rugar to come over on Monday and find a stray sock in the couch or something equally embarrassing. I wasn’t a slob, but I lived there, and with full-time classes and a part time job, the apartment occasionally fell to pieces.

When everything was wiped down, vacuumed and fluffed, I stared around, pretty proud of myself. My home looked great, and I’d made plenty of room for the tree in the corner by the window.

I opened the door, ready to go down to our small storage locker in the basement, and shrieked in surprise as a fist stopped just shy of my forehead.

“Hey!” Rugar said brightly, pulling his hand back quickly. “I was just about to knock.”

“Or knock me out,” I countered, clutching my heart and gasping. “What are you doing here? You’re two days early.”

“Well, I was out driving and noticed there wasn’t a line at the tree lot. So…” He took a few steps into the hallway then came back, lugging a massive fir tree with him.

“You bought me a tree?” I asked, stunned at his thoughtfulness. “I would have been fine with my fake one, Rugar.”

“Nah,” he argued. I stepped aside to let him into the apartment. Stunned, I watched him wrestle the pine inside, his effort sending a few needles flying onto the clean floor.

“Every girl,” he panted, “needs…some holiday cheer…and a sweet smelling pine…in her place.”

He dragged the thing closer. It was way too big for the available space, but after I pointed, he lugged it to the corner. He leaned it against the wall and looked around.

“Where’s your tree stand?”

“I don’t have one,” I said, the duh clear in my tone. “Because I have a fake tree. I also don’t have enough ornaments to fill one side of this thing.” I stared up at the tip that brushed the ceiling. “What on earth possessed you to get one this size?”

“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “I’m impulsive, I guess. I thought you’d like it.”

“I love it,” I assured him. “It’s gorgeous. It’s just a lot.”

“Well, so am I.” He beamed at me. “Come on. Let’s go get supplies.”

“I thought we were doing this on Monday?” I ventured as I slid on my coat and grabbed my purse.

“I couldn’t wait,” he insisted. “I wanted to see you tonight. We’ll still do pizza on Monday, though. And we can even watch one of those Hallmark movies you were talking about. All in the glow of your big ass Christmas tree.”

It was kind of hard to argue with a plan as solid as that. So even though I was confused as to why he was suddenly so eager to spend time with me, I wasn’t about to turn down the opportunity.

When we got to Knack’s Hardware , the best place in Majestic Falls to get decorations, Rugar went into full-on kid in a candy store mode. If it twinkled, shimmered or made noise, it went into the cart.

I couldn’t hold back my grin at how much fun he was having, and I was thrilled to get to experience it with him.

“Is Christmas this big of a deal for your family?” I asked him as he rifled through racks of novelty ornaments. Though he’d been a fixture at our house for years, he was my brother’s friend so I’d never been to the James’ house during the holidays.

“Yeah,” he admitted. “My mom is nuts for it. She always does theme rooms and a vintage train that belonged to my great-great-grandfather runs around the base of one of the trees. My sister and I kind of caught her enthusiasm for it.”

“Well, I appreciate you sharing with me this year,” I said. “Aren’t you going home for the holiday—I mean, to where they live now?”

He shook his head. “No. They went on a holiday cruise with my aunts and uncles. They won’t be back until after my classes start again. So I’m Christmasing alone this year.”

“Or with my family. It sounds like my mom and dad won’t let you be alone.”

“Since your mom is friends with mine, I wouldn’t be surprised if she knows the situation.”

I had zero doubt. Our mothers, Monica James and Kendra Johnson, were always up to something. Before Monica moved, they’d been book club and girl’s night out buddies. Plus they’d been partners on all the athletic boosters.

“Well, I hope you won’t be disappointed by a Johnson Christmas,” I said with a grimace. “At our house, though, we usually just roll out of bed around ten, open gifts, have our traditional breakfast, then go our separate ways. We have a tree but nothing super special…and certainly not themes.”

“Sounds like the perfect time to start our own traditions then,” he said. “What do you think for the tree? Classy or funny?” He held up a beautiful red and silver striped bulb in one hand, and what appeared to be a plate with a full steak dinner on it in the other.

“Definitely classy,” I said, reaching out for the bulb and placing it gently into the basket.

He nodded and went back to browsing, while I tried not to hyperventilate in the busy Christmas section of Knack’s Hardware . Our own traditions? Like…for me and him?

I knew I needed to pluck up the courage to ask him what was going on.

But part of me was afraid that nothing was going on and I was imagining things.

If he wasn’t interested, I’d scare him away if I hinted at wanting more than friendship with him.

Or worse, that he’d laugh in my face for thinking he liked me the way I liked him.

“Ugh,” I huffed.

“What’s up?” he asked, turning to look at me with his brow furrowed. “You okay?”

Oops. I hadn’t meant to make that noise out loud. I sank my teeth into my lower lip and tried desperately to think of something to be indignant about.

“Mistletoe,” I spat, shaking my head and gesturing disgustedly at the small display of the greenery beside to me—literally the first thing I saw. “I don’t think it’s fair to trap unsuspecting people, you know?”

“Sure.” For a moment, he looked at me as if I were crazy, then he shrugged and picked up a sprig, turning it in his hand. “Disgusting. You’re right.” He held it over my head, then over his. “And the shit doesn’t even work.”

He hung it back up and continued down the aisle as if that disappointment made complete sense.

Okay, seriously, what the hell was going through his head? Because mine was in a daze. Was I supposed to have kissed him just then?

I opened my mouth to just ask him what we were doing here, but he turned the corner then exclaimed so loudly I rushed find out what had happened.

“You need an inflatable snowman!” he insisted, gawking at the row of blowup lawn decorations. He located the box and snatched it up.

“I don’t have a yard,” I reminded him, taking it from him to put it back on the shelf.

“It can go in your bedroom,” he insisted, retrieving it again and trying to put it in the cart. “You can put it on a timer and tell Alexa to turn it on to wake you up in the morning.”

“So I can have a stroke when I forget about it?” I shook my head and laughed. “No way.” I picked it up and shoved it into his chest. “Put it back.”

“You’re a spoilsport,” he complained, but he set it back on the shelf.

“And you’re a child. You can have one when you’re all grown up and have your own house,” I laughed.

“Promise?”

I blinked at him. Promise? “Um, sure.”

“I’m holding you to that,” he said, his dark eyes burning into me. What the what anyway? He confused me, but that look. I felt it burn in places that shouldn’t be thinking of him, my brother’s best friend. But oh, they did.

“Are we done?” I asked.

“I guess so since you won’t let me get the snowman inflatable,” he said with a sigh. He motioned toward the cart. “This is a good start, anyway.”

“A good start?” I stared at the pile of Christmas cheer threatening to overflow the red basket. “My apartment is going to look like it got invaded by Whoville refugees.”

“With any luck,” he agreed, nodding. How was it that he was the proverbial Buddy the Elf while I was apparently The Grinch?

Unconcerned, he threaded his fingers through mine as easily as he had this morning, making it seem as if we’d been holding hands for years.

We walked up to the register to pay with Rugar occasionally swiping things from the shelves we passed and adding them to our collection.

The items filled the belt, and when the cashier gave me the total, I almost fainted.

But before I could pull out my credit card, Rugar was already producing over his.

“No!” I protested. “It’s my apartment.”

“And it was my idea,” he insisted. He tapped his card on the reader before I could stop him.

I would never win this fight. Rugar was National Lampoon’s Clark Griswold unleashed.

I’d have to make sure he didn’t climb on the roof to hang lights or electrocute himself, but I couldn’t deny I was having a lot of fun with him.

Whether we ended up good friends, boyfriend and girlfriend, or maybe even someday husband and wife, I knew I’d always be grateful for any and all time spent with him.