Holding the phone to my chest, I smiled so hard. Sleigh not slay—for Christmas. My fingers hovered over the keys, wanting so badly to type those three words: I love you. But I promised him I wouldn’t say them unless I was his. That rule extended to text messaging, too. I certainly felt like I belonged to him tonight, but Rory was still in the picture, wasn’t he? It wouldn’t have been fair to go against Channing’s wishes.
How do you tell someone you love them without actually saying it? Ultimately, I couldn’t put into words what I felt—especially with that limitation. So, I opted for a simple response and hoped he could read between the lines.Amber: You sleigh me, too. So much.CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR* * *AMBERHis melodic knock made me jump from my seat.
When I opened, my heart sped up a bit. He was dressed to the nines in black trousers and a fitted, sage green sweater with a collared shirt underneath. His sleeves were rolled up, displaying an expensive-looking watch I’d never seen on him.
Rory had come straight from the airport to my house. His blond hair was perfectly gelled, and he’d grown out his beard a little. His blue eyes were glowing. Honestly, he’d never looked better.
He was holding a white poinsettia plant and reached it out to me. “This is for you.”
I took it and placed it on a table. “Thank you.”
It was weird to not be greeting him with a hug or kiss, but we were both holding back for obvious reasons.
His eyes were piercing. “You look really pretty,” he said, slipping his hands slowly into his pockets.
“So do you.”
He squinted. “I look pretty? Not exactly what I was going for.”
“You know what I mean. Handsome.” Shaking my head, I said, “I’m not really thinking straight.”
The awareness of Rory’s signature Kenneth Cole Reaction cologne immediately brought me a little sense of comfort, reminding me of times when life was far simpler.
“Yeah. You’re nervous. It’s weird to see you this nervous around me. Try not to be. It’s freaking me out a little.” He placed his hand on my arm. “It’s just me, Amber.” His touch definitely didn’t go unnoticed.
“I feel like I’m on my first date with you all over again.”
“How about we not focus on all of the complicated shit for one day? The last thing I want to do is think about the past week. Just be with me. Let’s enjoy Christmas. Plus, Boris has the best booze. It’s like a geriatric bar up in there.” He flashed a crooked smile that was contagious.
Maybe living in denial was the best way to handle this evening. Rory was not about to acknowledge Channing anyway. Aside from the first night he’d discovered that Channing and I were together, he hadn’t so much as mentioned his name. I knew it was too painful for him.
“Well, I can definitely get behind good booze.” I smiled.
“Good.”
We made our way out of the condo. Rory’s car was already running when we got outside. His heated seats felt so good against my bottom.
It was completely quiet for the first five minutes of our drive.
Suddenly, Rory pressed some buttons and The Chipmunk Song came on. He knew that song always cracked me up. The Chipmunk Song: Don’t Be Late as performed by Alvin and the Chipmunks was my ultimate favorite Christmas tune.
I didn’t know if it was my stress-level as of late or what, but I just lost it and began to laugh so hard that I was practically crying. Those high-pitched voices were just the medicine I needed.
When the song finished, I wiped my eyes and turned to him. “Thank you for that.” Hiccup.
Oh, no. I’d laughed so hard, I’d given myself the hiccups.
“Hiccups are here! Christmas just got better,” Rory teased.
“I’m sorry.” I laughed.
“For what?” He glanced over at me while still trying to keep his eyes on the road. “I love your hiccups.”
Something about the way he’d said it squeezed at my chest, like he was really trying to tell me he loved me, not my hiccups.
“I downloaded the whole Chipmunks album if you want to listen to more,” he said. “We could just put it on a constant loop, get drunk, and forget the past year ever happened.”
“Wouldn’t that be something?”
That was an interesting thought. If I could erase the past year, would I? A part of me wished I could go back to the simplicity of the way things were before the break-up. But another part knew I would never trade the time I had with Channing for anything.
“So, who’s gonna be there tonight?” I asked.
“Boris, his daughter, Stephanie, her husband, Mitchell, and their daughter, Sophie.”
“Wow, okay. I wasn’t sure if it was just gonna be him and us.”
“He’s normally alone. They live in Connecticut, but they’re obviously here for Christmas. They’re spending the night at his place.”