Page 37 of You Make It Feel like Christmas
“Yeah. She was probably worried about me. Maybe you should put a shirt on,” Maisie said, her eyes tracking over his muscled chest in an effort to commit it to memory before he had to cover it up.
“Don’t want her seeing what’s yours?” The tease in his voice was clear but holy hell it sent shock waves through Maisie’s system and her eyes locked on his.
She reached out, pressed her hand flat against his heated skin, heartbeats heavy along every inch of her body. “Are you trying to make me ignore my friend and take you back to bed?”
Nick chuckled, leaned down for a kiss. “Is that an option?”
Lexi knocked. Maisie leaned away, pointed to the bedroom.
“Shirt.”
“You’re wearing mine,” he said, reaching for it and making her laugh.
“You have more. I’ll go let her in.”
“Yes, dear,” he said, amusement lacing his tone and making her laugh.
On the way to the door, she considered a few options for handling what came next. She remembered meeting Will the first time and winced at how forward she’d been. Turn around was fair play and there was a good chance her friend was going to execute some payback.
Pulling the door open, Maisie didn’t give Lexi a chance to speak. “I have company.”
Lexi, who’d taken a step in, pulled up short, a pretty gift bag with bright tissue paper in her arms. “Company, like?”
Maisie bit her lip.
Lexi’s eyes widened. “Like a hotter-than-hell hockey player who was supposed to be a one-night stand who you’re falling head over ass for?”
Maisie scowled. “That is not the expression.”
“Wow. Girls do tell each other everything,” Nick said from behind them.
Seeing her friend’s gaze widen even more as a toothy grin spread across her face, Maisie turned to see Nick leaning, arms crossed, on the wall in her tiny hallway. He wore yet another Guardians shirt. It might be all he owned.
“We absolutely do,” Lexi said, kicking the door shut behind her.
“What’s that?” Maisie tried to peek inside but Lexi was holding the bag up too high, plus she was several inches shorter than her friend. “We said presents tomorrow.”
Lexi looked at Nick, then at Maisie and pursed her lips. Her thinking face.
“What?”
Leaning in a little, Lexi told her, “It’s your men-suck-so-do-parents-Christmas-can-bite-it care package.”
Nick burst out laughing.
Lexi’s head popped up. She shoved the bag at Maisie and walked around her, arm out. “I’m Lexi Danby. You must be Nick.”
Sighing, seeing no way out of this, and not entirely sure she wanted one, Maisie watched them shake hands.
She followed them into the living room and while Lexi took the oversize chair, Nick sat beside Maisie on the couch.
Like right beside. No room for misunderstandings.
Literally. There was only a layer of jogging fleece separating them because he wore athletic shorts.
“I’ve never been privy to this sort of thing,” Nick said, trying to peek beneath the tissue paper.
Maisie swatted his hand. “Hey. This is sacred. If you hadn’t shown up, whatever is in here would have been responsible for me picking myself up off the couch and carrying on with my life.”
Lexi snort laughed but Nick gave Maisie a cheesy grin and kissed her cheek. “Wow. You really like me.”
“Enough that she didn’t say one word about you until this week,” Lexi said, somewhat aggressively, while removing her gorgeous waist-length dark-gray wool jacket.
“That jacket is stunning,” Maisie said, hoping Lexi didn’t say anything more.
A soft smile fluttered over her friend’s face. “A present from Will’s sisters.”
Maisie angled her body toward Nick. “Lexi and Will met in September. It’s a very long, fun story that I will withhold for now to make sure that my bestie behaves herself.
I’ll just say it ends with them being engaged.
Will’s family owns Grand Babies, which is like a Seattle institution for families.
Now, Lexi’s new family buys her swanky gifts which will likely make my present look boring. ”
“Don’t say that,” Lexi said. “I love you. You know that. I’m just still finding it hard to believe I have a fiancé, soon-to-be sisters-in-law, and a whole big family. And I remember you not behaving at all when you met Will.”
She ignored that and asked her friend, “How’s Gwen?” She turned to Nick. “Her mom.”
“She’s good. We did Christmas morning with just us. Will came for brunch and then we got her over to his house for dinner for a few hours.” Lexi pointed to the bag. “There’s standard care package items in there. You need to get it in the freezer.”
Nick pointed to the bag. “I would have guessed ice cream.” He looked at Lexi, shoulders straightening. “I have a younger sister. Ice cream is a must for all things that evoke any and all emotions.”
Lexi shook her head. “That’s sexist, Nick.”
He started to apologize but Maisie laughed. “But not wrong.”
She pulled the tissue out of the bag and tossed it on the floor.
Then she proceeded to empty out her care package onto the coffee table.
A pint of chocolate chip cookie dough brownie ice cream.
Warm, fuzzy socks. Two magazines, one that promised a home facial to change a person’s life.
Two bags of candies, one sour, one gummy.
A bottle of wine, two chocolate bars, a little bag of bath bombs, a box of tea, and a tiny palm-sized stuffed animal of a camera with eyes and a smile.
Maisie sniffed back tears. “This is the best. I can’t believe it’s not my Christmas present.”
“Why don’t I put the ice cream in the freezer?” Nick got up, kissed Maisie on the top of her head, and stepped over her legs.
Lexi leaned in from her spot on the chair. “Spill. Fast.”
Maisie stretched toward her. “He just showed up. He’s staying the week. I have no idea what’s going on but I’m in big trouble, Lex. Like Will and Lexi–style trouble.”
“Oh wow. Okay. Then he needs to meet Will.”
Maisie nodded. That was a solid idea. He’d met the family. Now the friends. If they wanted a chance, he needed to know Lexi and Will. Because, sometimes more than her own family, they were part of who she was.
Nick joined them again, hooked a thumb over his shoulder. “Should I go back? Did I give you two enough time?”
Lexi grinned. “Plenty of time. Sit. I have three hundred questions.”
Maisie groaned, dropped her head back on the couch, and stared at the ceiling. Nick snuggled in beside her, put his arm around her, and smiled at her in a way that told her this didn’t scare him.
He looked at Lexi. “You get three.”
Lexi nodded. “Are you going to break her heart?”
Maisie closed her eyes as Nick said, “Not intentionally.”
She opened them again to see Lexi looking uncertain about that response. “Are you married, engaged, living some sort of side life that will slap her in the face after it’s too late?”
“Seems like half a dozen questions in one but no. My life consists of hockey, working out, and when I get a chance, my sister and nephew.”
The glimmer in her friend’s eyes was enough for Maisie to tense up, knowing, the same way she did with her actual sister, Lexi was going to embarrass her somehow. “Are you aware of how very little she knows about hockey?”
“Lexi!” Maisie hid her face in her hands even as her living room was filled with the sound of Nick’s booming laughter. She resisted as much as she could when Nick pulled her hands from her face.
“Is that true?” His tone was ominous but his twitching lips gave him away.
Maisie winced. “I know what a hat trick is.”
He grinned arrogantly. “Yeah, ’cause I showed you last night.”
Lexi burst out laughing while Maisie’s skin heated enough to fry food on. She pushed at Nick’s chest, feeling his laughter against her palms.
“Aw, it’s okay, babe. I don’t mind if you don’t know anything. This way I get to teach you.”
Maisie pointed at her traitorous friend. “She doesn’t know anything about hockey either.”
Lexi grabbed the bag of scones. “Not true. My mom is obsessed with romance books. I know if you wear someone else’s jersey, he’ll go bananas.”
Nick let out a low sound of frustration. “Why the hell would she wear someone else’s jersey?”
Lexi and Maisie locked eyes and burst out laughing.
“Look at that,” Maisie said. “Your mom was right, Lex. What you read in romance novels can be true.”
Nick shook his head and grabbed a scone from the bag. So far, this was better than any audiobook romance she’d listened to. Hopefully, she could count on everything working out in the end.