Page 49 of Holly Jolly July

and lose myself in watching the effect I have on her. Her eyes flutter closed and her chin tilts up, exposing her pretty throat.

Her mouth parts, a quiet, satisfied sigh escaping her lips.

I take greater care than I ever have, my fingertips savouring every centimetre of her skin, relishing how intimate this simple

act is, how each stroke of my skin against hers sends a rush of tingles up my arm and down my spine.

I brush my thumb over her plump bottom lip, and she opens her eyes once more to look at me, meeting me with a hopeful smile,

which I can’t help but return while my heart pounds in my throat. The rest of the studio fades into a din of abstract noise

and sound like we’re underwater and it’s the two of us in a bubble... and the only way to breathe is by kissing her.

I bend ever so slightly toward her, and her eyes widen a fraction in surprise, in fear... then shift to a dare.

I lean a millimetre closer, watching her expression, how her eyes dance, beckoning me, until—

“Hey, you two,” Yueyi interrupts, clipboard in hand.

We both startle, Ellie sitting up straighter and me taking a step back.

“Hey, Yueyi!” Ellie chirps, clearing her throat. “Hope you’re having a holly jolly July morning!”

“You’re on set in ten, we need to get going.” Yueyi ignores Ellie’s sentiment entirely, walking away in a hurry, and my hackles

prickle in response.

“Would it kill her to have a little Christmas spirit?” I mutter, moving quickly through the next steps of her makeup and hair process.

Ellie shrugs, closing her eyes so I can paint her lids. “It’s all good. I’m used to it. Nobody seems to appreciate Christmas

as much as I do, but hey, I’m happy to provide everyone with their required daily dose of Christmas spirit.”

My heart warms at how easily she brushes things off, but aches a bit, too, that she’s alone in her attempt to bring year-round

joy to people; no one does the same for her.

After I release Ellie to the costume department, I get to work on the lineup of extras required for the scene, but my mind

is elsewhere, gnawing on an idea that’s beginning to form.

After I’m finished working on everyone and cleaning my area, I join Jimmie and the others behind the scenes with the film

crew. In between watching Ellie go from her bubbly, chipper self to serious barista in the blink of an eye and back again,

I open Google Maps and step outside to make a few calls. It doesn’t take long before I find what I’m looking for and get everything

set up. Even though I’m a terrible actress, I manage to keep my excitement under wraps so I don’t distract Ellie during our

brief interactions between takes to adjust her makeup and hair. As entertaining as it is to see Ellie on set, I’m too excited

about my plan and the day passes slowly.

When we wrap and make our way back upstairs, I’m practically giddy and trying my best to hide it, but Ellie picks up on my

energy immediately.

“What’s going on?” She smiles curiously as she wipes off the drab makeup.

I swivel the chair around until we meet each other’s gaze through the mirror. “Oh. Nothing. Just have to do your makeup one

more time.”

“Ooh, twice in one day?” She bites her bottom lip and raises her eyebrows suggestively.

I swallow a laugh. “I may or may not have an adventure for us.”

“An adventure!” She squeezes the makeup wipe in her clenched fists and squeals, unable to contain her excitement. I fucking melt. It’s now my own personal mission to get that reaction out of her every single day.

After dolling Ellie up so that her beautiful features pop, we steal away off the set and into my car. We navigate out of the

city, across the highway, and up a mountainside.

“Is this where you murder me?” Ellie asks coyly, the wind tousling her blond waves from her open window.

I raise an eyebrow. “Maybe.”

She slaps her knee. “I knew it. This whole thing has been a ruse to get me alone in the forest.”

“Well, I couldn’t do it at the cabin. Too much evidence.”

Ellie giggles, then reaches over the seats and gives my leg a squeeze. I try not to get too distracted by her touch. Paired

with the late-afternoon sun glinting off her golden hair, highlighting the hazel flecks in her deep brown eyes, she’s fucking

stunning.

We park at the top of a mountain and get out of the car, walking along the crushed gravel road toward an outcropping of coniferous

trees gradually increasing in size.

I bite my lip and watch Ellie, waiting for her reaction.

Her adorable brow furrows and she pauses midstep. Then she points and twists toward me. “Is this...?”

I nod. “Yep.”

She hesitates, a smile spreading on her face. “Why are we at a Christmas tree farm?”

“You said you wouldn’t settle for anything less than a real tree for Christmas. So, I thought, why don’t we get one?”

“But you hate Christmas!” she blurts.

“I do. I did. But I want you to have the full Christmas experience, since I know it means so much to you. We have all the

decorations anyway, and I never really decorated one before, so—”

Ellie slams into me, her lips ravaging mine in a hungry kiss.

I wrap my arms around her and pull her close as I tilt my head for a better angle, matching her intensity.

Ellie’s hands hold the sides of my face, then one runs up the back of my neck and grips my hair at my scalp, making me moan into her mouth.

I let my hand wander down to her ass and give it a squeeze, and—

Someone clears their throat.

We stop, dazed and blinking at the sound.

A kindly old white man with white hair is standing a few yards away with a chainsaw in his hands, trying his very best to

be polite and not gawk at us as we make out in his tree field.

I move to step away, but Ellie grabs me by the hand to keep me close. I try not to let the butterflies in my stomach explode

out of my chest.

“You two here for a Christmas tree? In July?” He’s a good sport despite how ridiculous my request is.

“Yes, sir!” Ellie squeezes my hand so tightly I’m worried my knuckles will pop.

“Okay. You have a size in mind?” He starts walking, and we follow him.

“Just a small one,” I say. “We don’t have much room.”

He nods, leading us to the right. We walk hand in hand, the scent of pine wafting through the air tickling my throat, continuing

past the tall trees to the smaller saplings.

The gentleman gestures toward them and we wander through the neat rows to find our new friend. Ellie’s eye catches on one

almost immediately, and I don’t have to be a Christmas expert for this thing to give me Charlie Brown vibes.

“That one!”

“You sure?” the old man asks, scratching his white hair.

Ellie nods. “It’s perfect.”

He shrugs, then asks us to step back and cover our ears while he revs his chainsaw, taking one quick slice to cut it down.

He easily carries it back to the car, strapping it to the top with a bit of twine.

“How much do I owe you? Do you take cards?” I ask, pulling my wallet from my purse in the back seat.

He lifts a hand, declining my offer. “It’s all good. I was going to have to thin that scraggly little guy out, anyway. I’m glad he gets to have his Christmas, even though it’s July.”

Ellie grabs him in a quick, surprising hug. He chuckles, patting her back awkwardly. Once she releases him, she skips to the

passenger seat, buckling in, and I join her up front. She’s so fucking radiant, shining like she’s made of a hundred stars,

and when she smiles at me in that heartbreaking way, my heart squeezes so tightly it takes my breath away.

And that’s when I know for sure.

I love her.