“Ask me,” he says, searching my face. “I know you have questions.” I look down as heat burns its way up my neck and fills my cheeks. Xander chuckles, lifting my chin. “Don’t feel embarrassed. I’m an open book.”
“Could I have a disease now?” It’s an awful question, maybe even misplaced, but it’s the first one that leaps to mind.
“Quite the contrary,” he says in a confident voice. “I get tested every fourteen days, and so does everyone I work with. There are sleazy companies, but I worked for Dale House. They’re the highest end porn production anywhere in the world.”
“But what if someone contracted a disease at a bar one night and passed it along between tests?” I rebut, not bothering with propriety.
“Look, I imagine your impression of the profession probably isn’t a good one, but I promise, we take our sexual health very seriously. I can’t rule it out one-hundred percent,” he says, and my heart sinks. “But that could happen to anyone who’s sexually active, including girlfriends who get cheated on.” He looks at me with sympathy in his blue eyes, and my sunken heart slams into my throat.
“Ouch,” I whisper, pained at the stark reminder.
He brushes my jaw. “I didn’t say that to hurt you, but it is something you should consider.”
I search his face. It’s open and honest, serious. It’s not hard to believe him. “I’ll get tested as soon as I get home.”
“Smart girl.” He winks.
“When was your last test?”
“I got the all clear just before I left for here.” His expression is harder than I’m accustomed to seeing.
I lift my hand and brush his cheek. “What happened?”
His eyes snap to mine, and for a moment, they’re full of hurt, but he pushes it away so fast I’m unsure if it was ever there. “Nothing,” he says too harshly to be believed. “Thirteen was always my number.”
His jaw is rigid, and without thought, I lean in and press my lips to his. It’s a slow, long peck, meant to offer comfort. I smile as I pull away. “I don’t believe you, but that’s okay … for now.”
Relief fills his pretty blues. “Thank you.”
CHAPTER NINE
I’m nestled in a large wingback chair near the fireplace, Pride and Prejudice opened to one of my favorite scenes. My stomach is full from lunch, my hair is still damp from a shower, and I’m warm and cozy in my flannel PJs, enjoying the silence. Xander is out doing whatever a man might in three feet of snow.
Sometime later, his boots thump against the porch, and I perk up, curious what he’s been up to. Every day, he goes out to the woodshed and brings in a few armfuls, but he’s already done that this morning, so I was surprised when he donned his heavy coat and disappeared into the winter wonderland again after lunch.
The door flies open, and he steps through, a wide smile pushing against his reddened cheeks. “Come,” he says, waving me over. My brows lift, but I set my book aside and stand. He’s like a kid with his excitement. “Hurry. You’re gonna love this.”
I approach slowly, unsure what to expect, and when I see what he has, my jaw drops. And then I smile as wide as he is. “Are you serious?” I ask, turning to face him. “Is this for us?”
“Yep,” he replies, smirking cockily.
“Oh, my God.” I throw my arms around him without another thought. “This is so awesome!” I pull back, smiling like crazy. “Do we have decorations?”
“Pretty sure there’s a box or two up in the attic.”
I squeal and throw my arms around him again. “Thank you,” I say, my voice cracking. I’m not sure why this small gesture means so much, but it does. It’s stabbed me straight in the heart. I feel it all the way to my bones.
“Wow,” Xander says, pulling back from my death grip. “If I’d known a tree was enough to make you cling to me like that, I’d have gotten you one yesterday.”
I swat him on the chest, still smiling. “Is there a stand? Can we set it up?”
His chuckle is light and carefree. “Absolutely.”
Xander drags the tree inside, and then we go hunting for a box marked Christmas. He has to climb through a hole in the ceiling inside the closet, but the goods he’s able to pass down include a box of lights, another with ornaments, and a stand.
I make hot cocoa while he works to make it free-standing. A few curse words reach my ears in the kitchen as he does so, but he gets it done. It’s a beautiful dark green and stands about a foot taller than me. My spirits soar as we spend the next little while adorning it with lights and ornaments.
“You haven’t stopped smiling since you set eyes on it,” he says, nudging me with his shoulder as we stand back to admire our work. “It’s a good look.”
“I don’t know.” I shake my head, entranced by the twinkling lights. “With everything that’s happened, I’d forgotten all about Christmas. Thank you for reminding me.” I look at him for a brief second before dropping my eyes, my cheeks heating. “Thank you for being here for me, helping me mask the pain so I can enjoy the day.”
“I’ll be your masking partner anytime,” he says with a wink.
I sigh and look back to the tree, my heart full of unexpected warmth. I thought when I arrived in the dead of night to a cabin in the woods that was slowly being snowed in that I’d be alone with my misery. I could take all the time a week would give to get my act together before going back and facing reality.
That’s not what happened.
Xander drops his hand and takes mine, lacing our fingers without saying a word. My smile, one that hasn’t gone very far in the past couple hours, creeps back onto my lips. I guess what they say is true.
The only way to get over one guy is to get under another.
CHAPTER TEN
“Look,” Xander says, lifting a fuzzy red stocking from the box. “It’s mine.” He reaches down and comes back out with another. “And here’s Annabelle’s. Maybe we can change it to Ivy somehow?” His brows pucker as he scans the room.
I suspect he’s looking for something to magically rearrange the glitter. I snort as I shake my head. “Stop.” I look in the box and see two more inside. “These must belong to your parents.”
He looks over, bobbing his head. “Looks like.”
“I think we should hang them,” I say, walking over to the mantle and holding the one that says Chadwick in place. “It’ll add to the atmosphere in here.”
“Works for me.” He shrugs. “Let me go check in the shed and see if there’s a hammer and nails.”
He bundles up and heads out into the newly falling snow, the other two stockings tucked inside his jacket. I smile as I take in the room, inhaling the fresh green scent. The tree is twinkling off to the left side of the hearth. Garland lines the mantle, a string of lights adorns each window frame, and several holiday throws have been draped along the furniture. It isn’t much, but with the addition of stockings hanging from the heavy wooden beam that anchors the fireplace, this place will scream Christmas.