Page 89 of Wrapped in Red

“Hey, you ate your food already!” He giggled as I pretended to eat it, only to lift it to his lips instead. “You want to do a blind date with Noel and Seth?”

I shrugged. “It might work. I mean, Noel’s a nice guy. Seth might be an okay guy.”

“Oh my God! You think Seth’s, okay?” Ezra gasped before I covered his mouth with my hand.

I laughed when he licked my palm. “He might not be that bad after he came over when I asked him to. He cares about you.”

“He’s my friend, boo. I mean, when we had our little falling out, Seth was there for me. He and Noel might fall in love, or at least, Seth might show Noel a good time. He’s a lot of fun.” He shook his head. “I didn’t mean it like that. Seth and I never had sex; I swear to you. He’s a flirt, but he’s innocent.”

I grunted. “He’s very aware that you’re mine. You already know that Noel and I never had sex. He was never into me like that. He held my hand, kissed me once, but I don’t even think he wanted to. Like, he felt he had to because we were on a date.”

“Well, Seth might be good for him then.” Ezra nodded. “He can pull him right out of that comfort zone.”

I grimaced. “That’s not why I think we should do this. I just want Noel to be happy, like us.”

“He will be. Just let Seth work his magic on him. They’ll talk, Seth will push him, and Noel will figure it out. Trust me.” Ezra grinned.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Ezra

Afew days later, Ifound myself back in North Carolina. Leo was over-the-moon excited when I told him I would be able to be there for his first official date with Andy, not to mention help him get ready. He chose jeans and one of my oversized blue sweaters, which matched his eyes perfectly. Leo already had his nails done thanks to Carson, but he insisted I do his makeup again. I might be biased, but I thought Leo looked perfect. I just hoped that Andy did, too. The last thing I wanted was for the poor kid to end up with a broken heart. I was pretty sure he was already head-over-heels for Andy.

I sat back in the chair and watched as Andy reached for Leo’s hand to help him on the ice. Okay, this might be the cutest thing I had ever seen in my life. I knew that Leo was nervous about the date, about falling and embarrassing himself in front of his crush, but it looked like Andy was trying to make sure that didn’t happen. They had the entire rink to themselves thanks to Jackson, and I was envious of them.

When I was their age, I would have loved to have my father spoil me like that. Instead, he was more than ashamed of who I was. I practically lived at CC’s house until I turned eighteen and got my own place.

I sat, sandwiched between Noel and Maverick, with Holt to his right and Matthias on Holt’s left. CC, Jackson, and Watts were out doing some Christmas shopping together. I think CC was a little nervous about me spending alone time with Holt, but I had promised him I would be on my best behavior. I was excited to be here for Leo, but I was also thrilled at the chance to make some new friends. It wasn’t something I did very easily. Plus, this would give me the chance to bring up the possibility of Noel and Seth date thing.

“This is a good thing your husband did,” I murmured to Maverick.

He grunted. “My husband is a romantic. I would have preferred they do something like a movie at our house, but this is what Andy wanted. Jax spoils him.”

“You don’t?” I asked as I watched Leo beam happily at something Andy said. That boy was already head-over-heels in love. I wondered if Noel was ready for that. I knew Maverick wasn’t.

Maverick turned to look at me. “Do I look like the type of man who would spoil his son?” He turned back to the ice when Andy started laughing.