"Following her parent's divorce, everything in Makayla Summers's life seems to fall out of place. When her happy-go-lucky father decides to move to Philadelphia, it's just the beginning of the worst. Or so she believes.
Starting afresh in a new hig...
It had been the longest night. I would never have guessed when it started that it would have taken a turn for the better. Several weeks had been spent preparing myself for a lonesome Christmas but Leo had changed it. I couldn't begin to express how grateful, how really happy I was to see him sitting on the couch across me, talking and laughing with my father. It meant even more to know that dad was completely okay with it. If at all, I knew deep down in his heart, dad felt just the same level of gratitude, if not more, to Leo for what he'd done for me.
It wasn't long after the meal that dad decided to retire to bed. He was exhausted and I didn't blame him. Before he retreated to his bedroom though, he gave me a hug wishing me another hearty Merry Christmas and he patted Leo hard on the back, telling him what a 'great young man' he is. If it were Damien who was being praised, by my dad no less, he would have puffed his chest out but all Leo did was put on a wonky smile and blush. A whole lot. Modesty was clearly his front.
"If you need anything during the night...don't hesitate to wake May up. She's always at your service."
"Dad!" He had no clue about what had almost happened so he didn't get the real reason behind why I transformed a deep shade of red upon hearing his words. All he did was let out a booming laugh, bid us goodnight and head up the stairs. I waited for his bedroom door to shut before tentatively glancing over at Leo.
"So," I started, clearing my throat. "I hope you're okay with sleeping on the couch."
Wow. Great conversation starter; reminding the guy that he would be missing out the luxury of his king-size bed for a couch that was one tenth the size of what he normally slept on. All because I had offered.
Leo shrugged. "It'll do, thanks."
"Right."
"I mean, going per your dad's orders, if I don't feel comfortable I can just sleep in your room right?"
"No."
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My immediate rejection made Leo laugh. He leaned back against the couch, raising his hands by his side when I shot a glare at him.
"It's called a joke."
"It wasn't all that funny," I muttered, crossing my arms over my chest and diverting my gaze to the fire. I saw Leo rise up from his seat and walk over to me but I still refused to look his way, knowing that if I did, it would be even harder to bring myself to focus on anything else. The fire was beautiful enough for me to look at. That's right. Flames. Red. All that jazz.
"It wasn't all that funny because..." Leo crouched down in front of me, his hands nudging my legs which I had crossed in front of me. "...you think I'm a creep right?"
"Looks like you're smarter than I thought you were."
He chuckled. Silence dawned upon us after that and, eventually, I had to look his way again. He was kneeling down in front of me, his hands resting on his knees as he was sat back on his legs. Judging by the look on his face, I knew that Leo was lost in deep thought but I also knew there was more to it than it looked like. With him, there was always more.
