Teddy is in the kitchen, pouring himself a drink, when I walk out to the main room. It’s open-concept, with the kitchen on one side and the dining room on the other. The living area sits in between with a TV over the fireplace. Sliding glass doors lead out from the dining room to a deck that looks out to the mountains, but the front porch is where people tend to congregate.
The TV is on andJingle All the Wayplays on mute.
“I love this one,” I say, stopping in front of the TV.
Teddy’s long legs eat up the space between us, standing beside me in three big steps. His arm brushes mine and I expect him to pull away, but he doesn’t.
“Me too.”
Captions are on and we watch silently for a few minutes before he turns to me. “What’s your favorite holiday movie?”
“That is an impossible question.”
A silent laugh shakes his chest. “Top three?”
“Elf,” I start. “Christmas Vacation, andHome Alone.”
He nods along. “All great choices.”
“But then there’sThe Grinch, Bad Santa, Love Actually, A Christmas Story...there are so many good ones.”
“Die Hard,” he adds and then tilts his head to study me. “You aren’t one of those people who claim it isn’t a Christmas movie, are you?”
“Definitely not. It’ssoa Christmas movie.”
He leans into me. “I knew I liked you.”
His shoulder rests against mine and that winter-wonderland scent envelops me as he stares down at me with gray eyes. My body warms from his touch and his words. I’m suddenly unableto come up with anything to say back to him and an awkward beat passes between us while neither of us moves.
This might be the longest conversation I’ve ever had with Teddy. And the first one we’ve ever had alone like this. Sure, we’ve had one-on-one conversations before, but there were always other people around, aiding as a nice distraction in case I said something embarrassing.
Noise outside catches my attention, breaking the nice moment between us and reminding me we aren’t really alone.
Teddy takes a step away. “Ready?”
I let out a shaky breath and nod.
Felix and two more of his teammates, Emmett and Lucas, are standing next to the door outside with girls I don’t recognize.
My brother introduces me to Tricia and Anna. The girls wave around their red Solo cups. A couple of guys join us, and Felix introduces them to me as Brian and Kevin. He doesn’t specify which is which, so I just nod and smile.
“We went to high school together. They go to NAU,” Felix says, and then hangs his arm around my shoulders. “And this is one of my sisters.”
One of the guys steps forward and extends a hand. “Nice to meet you. What’s your name?”
Felix’s voice turns protective. “Hey, hey. Don’t get any ideas. My sisters are too good for any of you. This is—”
“Wait, let me guess which one.” Emmett stares at me closely, then his gaze darts over to where Stella is standing on the opposite side of the porch. “You’re Stella.”
“Yep.” Lucas nods his agreement. “Definitely Stella.”
“It’s Holly, you idiots,” Teddy says.
“Really?” Emmett’s gaze narrows.
I nod.
“How do you always get it wrong?” Felix asks with a shake of his head.