All Madison wants for Christmas is the same person who once wanted her. Free from the shackles of her broken heart, she's finally ready to give love another shot. But is Madi too late to win back the man of her dreams?
SEQUEL to The Heartbreak Hypot...
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I should have said no.
I should have gone upstairs to change.
I should have grabbed a second blanket from the linen closet or a thicker coat from my room.
I definitely should not have given into Madison's little experiment.
Don't get me wrong. Of course I wanted to. Every part of me practically burst at the idea of being melded together under that thin material. Of being her source of heat, of her being mine. But that's where it should have ended—at an idea. I shouldn't have been delusional enough to let us go through with it. Because sitting next to her like that was fire, alright.
In fact, it was hellish. It was a taste of something sweet while having the whole thing withheld. It was a promise that couldn't be kept, fiction that would never materialize. It was torture, it was cruel, and I was stupid.
But, god, did it feel good to be a fool.
My arm was laced around her, draping her in a gentle embrace. It was an offer I'd extended almost without thinking, one I'd hoped would offset my nerves with a bold kind of confidence. As if what we were doing was completely normal—like it was no big deal or something we did everyday. It was also an offer that she'd instantly accepted, nestling into my side and laying her head on my shoulder before I could think twice about what the hell I'd just done.
Why was it that I suddenly couldn't remember how to sit comfortably? Like I had an ornate porcelain plate resting on my arm?
"Do you want more?"
I couldn't turn to look at her as her breath hit my neck. I couldn't do anything but stare straight ahead at my laptop, though my mind wasn't processing Home Alone anymore. "More?"
"Cocoa," she clarified sweetly, raising her empty mug.
God, she was so sweet. Even when I was so hot.
I lifted my Santa cup—still untouched. I was too warm to drink it.
"I'm fine."
Instantly, I wished I'd swallowed those words. That I'd said yes. Maybe it would've given me five seconds out from under her spell.
But I didn't want out. Not really.
Truth be told, I couldn't really have said no to her experiment. And not just because ... well, hell, I wasn't that strong. It was the way she'd packaged it, too. Just two people utilizing science to stay warm. Just two friends doing something that two friends should have no problem doing. How could I argue with that? How could I expect her not to wonder why if I did?
No. I had to go along with it. I had to downplay what a terribly bad idea it really was, pretend the memory of that night wasn't going to imprint on the walls of my mind. Pretending was the only way to keep her close, to keep her gaze open and unassuming when it met mine.
