Trapped For Christmas

Chapter 18....

Logan

Chill the fuck out Logan. You're acting like a weirdo. You're gonna scare Olivia off. Stop it.

Yeah that little pep talk only last two seconds. Glancing over at Olivia my stomach clenched. God she had no idea what she was doing to me. No clue how adorable she looked in her leggings and oversized sweater, her blonde hair in a messy ponytail a few pieces falling out around her face.

Olivia really has grown into herself. Somehow she's managed to get even more beautiful than I last saw her three years ago. She wasn't 17 anymore. Working at the bakery the last two weeks has opened my eyes to that. Gone was the shy teenager who blushed constantly, and in her place was a strong independent woman. It would be so much easier to pretend she was still a kid but it was getting harder and harder to do.

Thinking back to what happened on the freeway with the snow, it took everything I had not to pull her into my side. To reassure myself that she was okay. The look on her face would forever be seared into my mind. She looked so scared. It was right then I vowed to never let her feel like that again. Not while I was around.

I couldn't even begin to think about what happened at that bar a few days before. When I saw that guy all over her at first I told myself to let it go. Olivia can do whatever she wants with whoever she wants. It's not my place to do anything. But the moment I noticed she wasn't enjoying it I acted before thinking.

I should have done more to that pig but Olivia was standing there shaking. The last thing she needed was to see me beat the shit out of a guy. The wave of protectiveness I felt towards her was unlike anything I've ever felt before.

It had taken everything in me not to demand that she come and spend the night at my place. I didn't want her to be alone but the last thing she needed was me hovering. I let her go home but that didn't mean I did. I camped out in front of her apartment all night. I just needed to make sure she was okay. I ended up falling asleep and missed her leaving to the bakery which was why I was late.

"Oh there's a gift shop." Olivia's voice filtered through my thoughts.

"Want to go and look around?" Not like we didn't have time. We were going to be stuck here until tomorrow morning, maybe afternoon if the roads aren't cleared. With Christmas only a few days away I'm not confident they will be cleared fast.

The smile Olivia sent me almost made my knees buckle. That smile did more to me than she'll ever know. Never know how much I've been thinking about that damn smile the last two weeks. How every time I step into the bakery I look forward to seeing her.

I've tried to keep my hands to myself but my body had a mind of its own. Whenever she was around I felt like I had to be touching her. So I placed my hand on her lower back as we walked into the gift shop.

I kept my eyes on her as she moved around looking at everything. She looked beyond adorable as she grabbed things and looked them over. Her eyes lit up at the sight of a stuffed panda near the back. She was looking at the thing like she couldn't live without it.

"Are you going to get it?"

Olivia looked at it for another second before shaking her head.

"It's okay. Don't have room in my suitcase anyways." She acted like she wasn't secretly wanting it but her lingering eyes gave her away. When she turned away to look at something else I gave the stuffed panda another look.

"So tell me," Olivia said once I reached her side again. "did you ever have a thing?"

"A thing?" My lips twitched at her wording. "I'm pretty sure I have a thing."