Page 92 of Theirs for the Holidays

Sawyer shrugs. “No idea. Let’s get both.”

It’s funny to see them like this. They’re not quite back to how they were before, when we were younger and their mother was still alive, but it’s definitely an improvement over the way things have been the last week or so. All the banter is light hearted, and even when they’re making fun of each other, it’s stuff that feels brotherly, rather than mean. There are still some sharp edges to be filed down, but overall, it feels so much better.

We grab tinsel and garlands, and a package of beautiful ornaments in soft pastel colors.

“You have to have something special for the top of the tree,” Lennox says once we’re nearly done. “Let me handle it.”

He disappears down another aisle, leaving me with Rhett and Sawyer. We pass by some of the holiday outfits, and Rhett nods to the one that’s supposed to be an elf. It’s not much more than a green leotard with a fluffy tutu skirt, adorned with red bows and small bells.

“You should get it,” Rhett says with a smirk.

I snort. “In your dreams.”

Something passes over his face, and he leans in to murmur right in my ear. “My dreams about you are a lot dirtier than that, Tink.”

I shiver, from his words and from the deep timbre of his voice so close.

We meet Lennox by the register, and it turns out that he’s bought a beautiful glass star for the top of my tree. It’s stunning, made with a prism effect so that when the sunlight hits it, it throws rainbows that seem to shimmer in the light.

“Lennox,” I say, almost lost for words. “That’s so beautiful. Are you sure you want to get that for me?”

He looks at me with his calm eyes, a smile pulling at his lips. “Yes,” he says. “I’m sure. This is so you can have something beautiful to put up every year. Maybe a little incentive to keep doing your Christmas decorating when you want to.”

I feel so touched, so happy and warm that they’re taking this so seriously. I don’t even know if any of them care about Christmas themselves, or if they’re just doing this for me.

Either way, it’s one of the nicest things that anyone has ever done for me, and I can’t stop smiling.

We make one last stop at the department store in town, just to get the last few odds and ends that we need before we head back to the house.

Sawyer and Rhett split up to get things on their mental lists, and I stick with Lennox, heading down an aisle that has little trinkets that would look nice on the mantel. With the fire going, it will practically be a winter wonderland in my house.

Lennox picks up a figurine of a nutcracker, turning it over in his hands, and I watch him, chewing on my lip a little.

He seems relaxed and in a good mood, and I can’t help but think about the things he said to me last night. His words are fresh in my head, and this is the first time we’ve been alone together since then.

I hesitate for a moment and then take a breath. “Did you mean what you said last night?” I ask him.

“I said a lot of things last night. I’m sure I meant all of them, but can you be more specific?”

“You said… you made it sound like you hadn’t been with anyone else since me. Since the night we spent together.”

He’s quiet for a moment, but then he nods. I notice that there’s a light blush on his cheeks, and my eyes widen with surprise. I didn’t know he did embarrassment like that.

“I meant it,” he says. “Because it’s true.”

“Really?”

I don’t mean to sound skeptical, but… it just seems hard to believe. I guess it shouldn’t be that inconceivable, considering it took me a year to even consider moving on after the night we shared—which is right when Andrew swooped in and asked me out. But still, I’m me and Lennox isLennox. He’s handsome, strong, rich, and has this brooding, intense quality that draws people in. It seems impossible that there wouldn’t be women throwing themselves at him. Surely he had eyes for some of them. After all, our night together was a long time ago.

“You don’t believe me?” he asks, interpreting the look on my face correctly.

“It’s just… I don’t know. It seems strange that you wouldn’t have been with anyone. I know you’ve probably gotten offers. I can’t imagine any woman not wanting to sleep with you.”

“Just because someone offers, doesn’t mean I have to take them up on it,” he tells me. He gives me a look. “Is it really so hard to believe that you ruined me for any other woman?”

My eyes really go wide, and I have no idea what to say. I’ve spent years thinking he either forgot that night, or it was so mediocre that it didn’t bear talking about again. It’s strange to think that he liked it so much that it ruined him for sleeping with anyone else.

“That, and…” Lennox trails off. Before I can ask him to finish that sentence, he loses his grip on the nutcracker he’s holding, his hand spasming as the figure falls to the floor.