Christmas Sugar (Insta-Spark)

It was fucking awesome.

Seth started chuckling, and Noelle’s eyes widened. “Dywan!” she whispered. “You thaided da baddest word of dem all!”

I stared at them both, realizing I’d uttered that thought out loud. Alex walked out of the kitchen, eyeing us all, and I knew she would not be pleased with me swearing in front of Noelle—especially, the baddest word of them all. Nerves I didn’t even know I had anymore made my palms sweat. I leaned forward, lowering my voice. “Don’t tell Alex,” I pleaded. I looked at Seth. “You owe me.”

“We won’t say anything, right, Noelle?”

She grinned. “Secwet.”

She and Seth shared a fist bump.

Somehow, I knew they now owned my ass and would use that information to their advantage at some point.

So, I kept eating my waffle.

It was fucking awesome, after all.

The view from the bar was not as scenic as the one from my room, but it was still pleasant. Huge, full pine trees surrounded the inn. I wanted to explore more of the grounds and see the ocean. I could imagine its beauty in the winter winds.

Seth and Noelle left for their day—a large yellow bus picked up Seth, and a few minutes later, I watched Alex bundle Noelle into the back seat of another minivan, waving at her as the van left. I noticed several more trucks, some SUVs, and vans in the parking lot, but no cars.

“Doesn’t anyone drive cars here?” I muttered to myself. “Just regular, normal-sized cars?”

Behind me, Alex chuckled. “You need to get out more, Dylan.”

I had to laugh. “I suppose.”

“Do you want anything else? Can I get you something?”

I turned my back to the window. “No, thank you. I was thinking I’d go for a walk before meeting with Mr. Walsh, but since I doubt my shoes would provide much protection, I guess I’ll go to my room and get ready.”

“Wait here,” she commanded, and for some reason, I did exactly what she said—again.

When she reemerged, she had a pair of boots in her hand. “A guest left these and never came back for them. Seth hasn’t quite grown into them yet, so you can use them. They’re fairly large so they should fit.”

I couldn’t contain my smirk. “Checking out the size of my feet, Alex?”

Her cheeks darkened and her green eyes flashed at me. They were an incredible color and reminded me of the pines that grew around the inn.

“I noticed them last night when you stomped your wet shoes on my freshly washed floor,” she reprimanded me, pulling back the boots. “You were making a lot of noise . . . and mess!”

Instantly, my ire was piqued. There was something about the woman that drove me crazy. She could wind me up faster than even Amy—but in a very different way.

“My feet were frozen! They wouldn’t have been so cold if the minivan you had that child pick me up in had a better heater.”

“Seth is not a child. The minivan is perfectly acceptable.”

“Maybe here on the East Coast.”

“Well, a grown man such as you should know to bring boots when he travels to the East Coast in December! Or did your assistant neglect to mention the weather to you?”

My God, this woman was infuriating.

“She never mentioned it,” I retaliated. “So, I forgot them.”

“She doesn’t pack for you?” She mocked me with her question and a raise of her eyebrows.

“No, I’m quite capable of packing myself,” I informed her haughtily.