Total pages in book: 52
Estimated words: 49005 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 245(@200wpm)___ 196(@250wpm)___ 163(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49005 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 245(@200wpm)___ 196(@250wpm)___ 163(@300wpm)
While I’m kissing Nick, Rudy rubs my back, and eventually, he turns me his way and takes over from his brother, giving me a few tender kisses before pulling back to look into my eyes. His gorgeous green eyes are smiling, drawing me back to him.
I stroke my fingers over his thick beard and lean in for more.
Nick and Rudy are respectful, almost too much so, but maybe they just seem that way after my encounters with the Winter brothers. Not that the Winters have been disrespectful, but they’ve made no secret of what they want from me.
After a few blissful minutes, Rudy tucks me back under his arm. “Want to watch another movie?” He nods toward the TV, where Arthur Christmas automatically started after The Grinch ended, and is well underway. “I could start this over, or we could choose another.”
“I’d probably better go. I have work tomorrow, and I suppose you do, too?”
Nick nods once. “We do. Mondays are always busy, too.”
As the three of us get up, Trixie and Sammy do, too. They’d been napping on a dog bed nearby, but they look like they’re ready to go to bed for the night. I tell the dogs goodbye, and tell Nick and Rudy that I hope I get to meet Jameson next time I come over.
“No promises that he’ll come out, but we’ll have you over again very soon,” Nick says. As I walk toward the door, he stops in place. “Wait, I’ll be right back.”
When he returns less than a minute later, he hands me two big brownies, wrapped to go. Then I’m treated to two sets of goodbye kisses sweeter than the desserts I’m holding.
When I was with the Winter brothers, I felt bad about nearly forgetting about the Frosts, but now the situation is reversed. At the moment, my favorite set of brothers seems to be whoever I’m with at the time.
Chapter 12
I don’t hear from any of the men during the week, but when I arrive at the park Saturday morning, four pairs of eyes immediately fix on me from across the grassy expanse that separates the parking lot from the pavilion.
It’s a chilly day, but the way they’re all looking at me makes me feel like it’s the middle of July. Nick and Rudy look like they want to cuddle me and give me kisses, and Felix and Jasper … well, their looks suggest something we definitely would not be allowed to do in public.
All four of them start toward me, then stop and look at each other with annoyance when they realize they’re all headed in the same direction. There’s unmistakable tension in the air when I reach them, but they’re not speaking to each other.
In fact, the Frost brothers seem to be ignoring the Winter brothers, and vice versa. I’m not sure that’s a good thing, especially since we’ll be volunteering together today, but I suppose it’s better than them arguing.
Nick pivots to walk beside me. “How’s your week been, Holly?”
“It was good. A bit quiet. How about you?”
As Nick starts to answer, Felix falls in step on my other side and says, “You should have called us. We’d have taken you out for another bike ride.”
Nick grits his teeth, but keeps grinning, even though his smile is strained. “We had a busy week. Sorry we weren’t in touch. Lots of emergency cases and late hours, unfortunately.”
“Sorry to hear that.”
“You look great today, by the way, Holly,” Felix says.
“Thanks.” My neck’s going to get worn out if it keeps swiveling back and forth between the Winters and Frosts.
Jasper winks at me. “That’s my Mrs. Claus.”
“Don’t you need to go get changed?” Rudy says coldly to Felix and Jasper, who are still in their street clothes.
Jasper shoots him a dirty look, and it seems like he’s about to say something rude in return, but after glancing my way, he bites his tongue.
We’re at the pavilion at this point, and I’m grateful when Lisa comes over and gives the men something else to focus on. Even though we’re early, there’s already a small line forming, so we all hustle to get things ready.
I’ll still be taking the pictures, but the two sets of brothers are swapping spots this week, with Nick and Rudy handling the photo framing, and Jasper taking on the role of Santa. He looks uncomfortable in the costume at first, and definitely not as merry as Rudy and Nick were last week, but as the day goes on, he gets into character, and I smile every time I hear his deep voice say, “Ho, ho, ho.”
Meanwhile, Felix helps manage the line, and he takes the opportunity to whisper a lot of flirty things in my ear when no one else is nearby.
“Ever think of cheating on Santa, Mrs. Claus?” Felix waggles his dark eyebrows as he flexes a bicep. “You haven’t lived until you’ve fooled around with an elf.”