When former beauty pageant queen, Ellie Wilde, hears of her grandmother's sickness, she's the first to offer to drive her to her chemotherapy. What she didn't know she was agreeing to was an obnoxiously cheerful blond boy somehow nudging his way int...
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A knock from the front door shoots Ellie up from her seat. She doesn't miss her grandma's explanation to her mother that the boy she's about to meet is, "Shockingly good-looking."
After a well-deserved eye roll, she pulls the door open to reveal Cooper, covered head to toe in black.
"I see you went all out to get into the Christmas spirit," she jokes, nodding at his choice of attire.
His lips twitch upwards as he tries to conceal a laugh. "Merry Christmas to you too."
He pauses, taking a moment to observe her own festive outfit. She feels uncomfortable under his studious gaze and crosses her arms over her chest in hopes of breaking his stare.
"Is that a dress I see?" His eyes find hers once more. "You didn't have to get all dressed up for me, El."
She scoffs. "My mom insisted I wear a dress today. It's cute that you think I'd get dressed up for you though."
His bottom lip pouts out slightly. "What a shame. And here I was feeling special."
"Come inside. It's freezing," she says, deciding it's best to just ignore his comment so they can get away from the cold December air.
He steps into the house and allows his eyes to wander around his new surroundings. She can't help but feel slightly embarrassed at the comparison of their houses. His house looks like it was pulled out of a catalog, whereas hers looks like a souvenir shop threw up on it.
"Um, my family's in the kitchen."
He looks away from the picture he was previously studying and shoots her a smile. "After you then."
She nods once before turning in the direction of the kitchen. She can feel him following after her and nervous thoughts begin to swarm in her mind. He's here. In my house. He's about to meet my family. He's about to celebrate Christmas with my family. Why is this happening? A few weeks ago I called him obnoxious and now I'm willingly inviting him to spend the holidays with my family?
She comes to an abrupt stop, not allowing Cooper enough time to stop his own body from crashing into hers. She turns around so that she's facing him, taking a step back to help create a bit of distance.
"Maybe we can just go out for dinner. Just the two of us or something. We don't have to do this whole Christmas thing with my family," she says quickly, morphing a few of her words together in her usual nervous rambling.
He frowns briefly but is quick to wipe it away. "I don't have to be here, Ellie. Really. It's okay. I can go home."
"No. That's not what I meant." She stops speaking, giving herself a brief moment to collect her thoughts. "Never mind."
He fidgets awkwardly, glancing at a picture of Ellie and her parents that's hanging on the hallway wall. Ellie's grandma's words replay in her mind as she watches the out of place boy, "A nineteen-year-old boy with cancer does not need to be spending Christmas alone in a dark house."
"Forget I said anything," she says, trying to undo her previous actions once more. "I just don't want my family to scare you away."
He laughs a little at this. "Ellie, you've seen my mom. She's the epitome of scary. She invented scary. I'm sure spending Christmas with your family will be like a day in Disneyland in comparison to spending the day with my own family."
She allows a smile to make its way onto her lips. "Disneyland may be a bit of a stretch. But all right, let's go then."
She turns to continue towards the kitchen but is stopped by the feeling of Cooper's hand catching her wrist. Turning back to him, she glances down at his hand on her wrist, a confused frown etched onto her face.
"I almost forgot," he says, dropping his hand and reaching into his jeans' pocket. "I got you a Christmas present."
Her frown deepens. "You didn't have to do that."
"Trust me. I did."
Before she has a chance to object, he pulls out a package and hands it to her. "Sorry I didn't have time to wrap it."
She glances down at the object in her hands and her eyebrows pull together in confusion. "Tattoo sleeves?"
"The closest thing I could find to skin sleeves." His lips quirk upwards as a humorous glint passes through his eyes. "For when you decide to show some skin but don't actually want to show any skin."
"I don't know if I should thank you or kick you out of my house."
"But, baby, it's cold outside."
"You should listen to your parents' advice and always bring a jacket." She looks back down at the tattoo sleeves in her hand. "Thank you for the gift. I will probably never use them, but thank you. I guess it's the thought that counts."
"Wait, I have something else," he says, stopping her from turning towards the kitchen once more. He digs around in his front pockets, but finds nothing. He then moves to his back pockets and a smile lights up his face as he seems to find what he's looking for. He holds his hand out to her and in his palm rests a mini silver crown.
"What's this?" She asks warily, taking the gift from his palm.
"Ellie," he deadpans. "It's a crown."
She rolls her eyes. "I know that. Why did you get me a crown?"
"So you can put a private pageant on for me." He winks.
She laughs, reaching for his hand before placing the crown back in it. He frowns down at the small object in his hand before looking up at her.
"I'll put a private pageant on for you the day that you decide to put a private pageant on for me."
