Page 9 of Promise Yule Be Mine (Christmas Falls: Season 2)

9

KODY

I spent most of my Monday morning trying to contact Jenna and compile the guest list, which had been a work in progress for the last few weeks but not finalized.

I was still blushing thinking of Nova's reaction to finding out we hadn't sent out our invites. What he must think of us. Of me. What kind of normal couple leaves everything to the last minute?

I wish I could tell him we weren't a real couple but I couldn't. Firstly, because we'd made a promise this would stay between us and my brother and Jett, only because they'd never actually believe Jenna and I were legit in love. Our parents had been trying to get us together since we were in high school and had rejoiced when we gave it a whirl—for, like two months—so they weren't the least bit suspicious. And the rest of the town…well, most already believed there was no such thing as close friendship between a man and a woman so they'd be none the wiser.

But the second reason I couldn't tell him…was because I didn't want to look at his face when he found out how pathetic I was. That I was the kind of person who couldn't get someone to like me for me and I had to make a deal to even have half my dreams come true.

Mom came in just as I was leaving and I stopped her before she could get into the office.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Campbell. Can I help?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You're excused." Mom dismissed me and tried to bypass me only to get the double raised eyebrow from me.

"What are you doing here, Mom?"

She groaned. "Nothing. I'm just here to check on Elaine."

"Elaine is fine. She knows her job."

"Well, it wouldn't hurt to give her a hand." She shrugged.

"I'm pretty sure Elaine would tell you the same thing I am, which is 'go home, Shelly!'"

"Oh…brother! You're so stubborn. Fine. I'll go home and sit all alone in the house with nothing to do."

I chuckled. "Uhm…what about Dad?"

"Pfft. He doesn't count."

"I'm sure he'd love to hear that." I shook my head.

"Oh he knows. We've been together long enough. We don't need to be attached at the hip. We're not young and stupid anymore. You, on the other hand, should be. Young, and stupid, and in love."

I snorted and rolled my eyes. "I am, Mom."

The lie felt bitter in my mouth but I had to embrace it. Who knew how many more times I'd have to lie like that in the future.

"Really? So are you off to frolic with your fiancée?"

"Ah no. My fiancée is stuck abroad, thank you very much," I pointed out.

"Otherwise you'd be frolicking?" It was Mom's turn to raise an eyebrow.

"You're a very nosy woman, aren't you?"

She shrugged. "I'm just invested in my son's happiness."

"Sure. That's what we call it now. Anyway, if you must know, I'm off to Jenna's to finish the invitations with Nova."

Mom pursed her lips. "Finally. About damn time."

I ignored her and with a sigh I left her to get up to her own devices. Which probably meant she'd do a shift behind the bar and then complain about her back the whole week. You couldn't reason with a workaholic.

On my way out I warned my assistant manager about Hurricane Shelly and left her to it as I made my way to Jenna's.

I knocked and Nova answered the door, dressed in a large red sweater that reached way past his thighs, and a pair of black sweatpants. His socks had a Hello Kitty pattern and I bit down a smile as I came inside.

It was so bizarre seeing him in here, as if it was his home, seeing him so relaxed, so casual. It was even more endearing.

"Did you prepare the list?" He smirked with a raised eyebrow and I nodded, licking my lips.

It was like being told off by a teacher, only he was far far cuter than Mrs. Altman ever was.

"Good b…" he started but stopped and winced.

Was he about to call me a good boy? And why did my heart skip a beat at the realization?

"Good. Good. Now come on through. I've set up everything so we can get started straight away."

He showed me through to the living room where the coffee table had been cleared of all decor and clutter and transformed into a craft table with paper, ribbons, twine, flowers, scissors and glue.

"Wow," I marveled. "You've been busy."

"Just doing my job," he answered and dropped like dead weight onto the couch. "I had to get a cab to Peoria to load up on supplies and find everything we need."

I sucked in a breath to stop myself from calling him amazing, and smiled.

"I went all the way to the store and got us wine!" I raised the bag in front of me.

Nova smirked and narrowed his eyes, taking the bag from me and taking it to the kitchen where he looked for glasses and a corkscrew.

"Here," I said, taking pity on him and showing him the "everything" drawer.

"Ah, thanks."

"It's no problem. You'd be looking for hours otherwise. Jenna is…very free-spirited," I said.

"Is that supposed to mean she's messy?"

I rocked my head from side to side and he laughed.

"You don't need to tell me. You should have seen her bedroom when she was a teen. This is a vast improvement." He turned to take in her studio apartment.

"Are you forgetting I met her when she was a teen? I know," I said.

We chuckled.

I'd feel bad for bad-mouthing Jenna with her best friend if she wouldn’t have been the first to admit she was messy and didn't care for house chores.

We stayed there, standing next to each other and looking at the apartment in silence but it was charged with all sorts of electricity. Electricity and magnetism. Or something that made it impossible to pull away from him.

I took a deep breath and my arm brushed his, sending me into a spiral of heavy breaths and numb limbs.

"Uh…shall we? Get to it?" He broke the silence first, pushing himself off the kitchen counter and carrying the bottle of wine and corkscrew in one hand.

It took me a moment to grab the glasses and follow him and I made sure to sit across from him. I needed to avoid any contact with the man if I was going to keep my wits about me.

He got busy opening the bottle of wine and poured us both some before he took a deep breath and stared at the table in front of him.

"So…here's the plan. Here's what I have in mind based on your vision board." He hovered his hands over a stack of small papers. "I got the messaging printed on some high-end craft paper…"

He passed me the top piece and our fingers barely avoided contact. I swallowed the frog in my throat and looked at the paper. It was off-white and textured like fabric. There were also bits wedged in the paper and I tried to rub them to figure out what they were when Nova put his glass down and smiled.

"It's biodegradable paper with flower seeds in it. When people are done with the wedding they can plant the paper in their garden and have a beautiful souvenir from your wedding."

I goggled at him. "Really?"

The way his smile deepened as if he was super proud of my reaction sent my stomach and the butterflies that had awakened again into a tumble.

"That's…" I had to catch my breath. "That's wonderful. I didn't even know it was a thing."

Nova shrugged. "It's my job to know these kinds of things."

I nodded as he walked me through the rest of the plan.

"So we're going to tack these onto the inside of these cards," he pointed at blank kraft brown cards, "and we're going to glue some baby’s breath on the cover." He pointed at the white flowers in the middle of the table. "Then we're going to put them in these envelopes…" The envelopes in question were an olive green velvety kind that reminded me of a Christmas tree. "And we're going to wrap the envelopes in twine and ribbon." The ribbon was a deep maroon. "And finish them off with a sprig of mistletoe and holly and a little wax seal." He pointed to a bowl full of golden wax seals with a little tree embossed in the front. "Here. I made a sample for you to see. I sent a picture to Jenna for approval but haven't heard back. She must be in the air."

He handed me an envelope and a card from under the coffee table, as if he'd hidden them to surprise me. I took them in my hands.

It looked phenomenal. I couldn't quite believe he'd made them himself. They looked so elegant, and yet not too showy.

"You're super talented," I said before I could stop myself, although surely there was nothing wrong with a little compliment, right?

"Thanks. But it's really nothing to do with talent. It's all a skill that can be taught."

I shrugged. "That's because you haven't seen my arts and crafts grade."

He chuckled. "Oh come on. You're a creative person yourself."

"I run a pub."

"Exactly. And you have to make decisions all the time, whether it's on displays, food and drink presentation, events or just putting on a smile even when you feel like shit."

There was no lie detected in that statement. There had been endless times when I wasn't feeling great, or was too sad or heartbroken to work and I'd still faked a smile and carried on.

A warmth spread from my chest. It tickled my skin like a feather and I found it impossible to look away from him once again.

I bet he could make a sick man feel healthy again with a few kind words and that gorgeous expression he wore so naturally.

"Th-thanks," I managed to say.

No one had ever called me creative and it wasn't something that had ever concerned me, but coming from him? It was the best compliment I'd ever received.

"Right, let's get this show on the road, Kody."

I smiled and tried to swallow the way him calling my name felt inside. As if I'd never heard it before until he’d spoken it. As if he’d broken a curse I hadn't known ailed me.

Fuck. I'm screwed, aren't I?

I'm a complete goner for my wedding planner.

Great!