Faking Christmas(83)

I tucked a wayward lock behind my ear. Relief flooded my body as he seemed to understand exactly what I needed. Feeling more secure now, I looked up at him cheekily. “What happens if I decide I can’t stand you again? Do you still promise not to make it awkward?”

“I never said that. I said I’d make it a manageable amount of awkward.”

A laugh bubbled from my throat as he wrapped his arms tight around me, pulling me in closer and pressing a light kiss to my forehead.

“I have meetings in New York City with my editor and publisher this next week, so I won’t even be around to bother you. But I’ll be there for the first day back at school, and we’ll talk then. But as for me, you know what I want. And you know where to find me.”

I looked up at him in surprise and a little apprehension. “The first day of school? That’s…longer than a week. So, what, I’m not even going to hear from you? The whole ten days?”

He grinned, rubbing his hands together like a psychopathic maniac. “The plan’s working. You’re missing me already. And nope. I’m not going to call you.”

I placed my hands on my hips, getting annoyed. “Fine. I wouldn’t answer if you did.”

“Great. It’s important that we’re both dedicated to our space so we can think.”

“Agreed.”

Later that night, we walked back to the cabin side by side. Not touching. And it left me feeling unsettled. Like something left undone. Purposefully. I assumed it was the fact that we didn’t make out in the storage closet like I had been anticipating when he pulled me in there. But it was fine. It was a great idea. If anything, this was just proving to me how much Miles understood me. It was sweet that he would be so thoughtful to give me space. I had gone almost twenty-six years without kissing Miles Taylor. Ten more days didn’t matter one bit.

Of course, he had a strange twinkle in his eye when he looked at me. A determined spark on his face that I could only assume was similar to the look he might have when climbing a rock wall. It both terrified and thrilled me for reasons I won’t go into. I had wanted a little time. He was giving it to me. But did he have to seem so cheerful about it all? Whistling as he walked me back to the lodge? Smirking to himself when we realized we had missed the time to turn in our bingo cards? We had only one square left unchecked, but he insisted we couldn’t mark down a mistletoe kiss. And now, it was too late. Which meant I had suffered through all of the Bingo game horridness for nothing.

He walked me to my cabin door that night, and instead of inviting himself in and plopping down on my couch to watch his dumb Terminator movie, like I had assumed we would do, he shook my hand at the doorway.

Shook my hand.

“It’s been a very life-altering few days, Oliviana,” he said, releasing his grip on me and clasping both of his hands behind his back.

“It has,” I agreed, folding my arms and leaning against the doorframe. “Do you want to come in?” I tried for casual, as though I didn’t care if he came in or not. I was just being polite. It was technically his cabin, after all. But my voice caught on the last word, and it came out sounding a little too vulnerable.

For a second, he looked like he would take me up on my offer, but then he straightened, a fresh determination appearing on his face. “You know I’d love to, but I’ve got to pack for my trip.”

He grinned and took a step backward on the porch. Suddenly, a ripe annoyance flooded my insides. I had wanted some space. That didn’t mean he needed to give me all of the space. I just didn’t want to proclaim my undying devotion to a man I didn’t even like a week ago. That was all. There had been a lot of changes between us this week. Maybe a bit of reflection and going our separate ways for a few days would be a good thing. It was a very reasonable thought process. But the way he was going about it made me want to snap his overly attractive lumberjack face off.

Or kiss him.

“Wait.” My fingers clenched in a ball as I strode out from the cabin, stopping directly in front of him. His eyes widened with delighted anticipation at my approach. Maybe two could play this game. He wanted me to miss him? Fine. I would make dang well sure he’d miss me, too.

I reached out and grasped the back of his neck with both of my hands and pulled his lips down to meet my own. I could feel Miles resisting for about one second before his arms locked around me, pulling me closer and higher until my toes didn’t touch the ground. Though it was the middle of winter, instant fireworks flew between us. Knowing we wouldn’t see each other for the next ten days made this moment that much more important. Giving him everything I could, I ran my fingers gently across his jawline, feeling him kiss me under my palm. He set me down on the ground, still kissing me. One of his hands found its way to my cheek, his thumb stroking my face gently before moving to trail across my neck, getting lost in my hair.

Though I didn’t want to admit it—and I strongly suspected Miles didn’t either—we both didn’t want to end this kiss, which was why it went on for a good long while.

Finally, when the need for oxygen won out, I pulled back, air filling my lungs. Miles had a slightly dazed expression on his face for a moment before carefully hiding it away.

“I feel like you’re playing your cards a little strong here,” he mumbled, smiling at me. His arms were still wrapped comfortably around my waist.