A Little Christmas Romance Read Online Free PDF Page B

I’d like to be warm and dry. Come on. I’ll see if I have a slutty elf costume in my closet.” A wry smile appears and he looks down at me and wiggles his fingers. Why does he have the ability to shock me over and over again? I sit there with my jaw springing up and down and let out a huff of air, mainly because I don’t know if he’s joking or not. “Suck it up Brooke.”
    “Wow.” I put my hand in his and he yanks me up. As he pulls, I say, “Is that what you say to all the girls?”

CHAPTER 10
     
    The words do something to him. The smile slips off his face and his grip tightens on my hand as he pulls too hard. I slam into his chest and blink, surprised by his action. His arms clamp around my waist for half a second before he releases me. Those beautiful eyes meet mine and my stomach sinks. He’s mad.
    “Who do you think I am? You keep saying stuff like that, like you have me all figured out, but you don’t. You’re the one who walked away from me after your mom died. You’re the one who never looked twice at me. Is that the reason? Do you think so little of me? Do you really think that I’d be so calloused that I’d throw you away?” He’s in my face, saying things that I don’t want to hear. Tension lines his arms and shoulders like he wants to strangle something, but he doesn’t. Chris just stands there, close enough to kiss, and madder than I’ve ever seen him.
    Is it possible that I misjudged him? My voice quivers when it comes out, so much so that I don’t sound like me. “No, don’t try to flip this around. You’re a player. You’ve always wanted—”
    “I’ve always wanted what, Brooke? Be very careful , because the next thing you say could land your ass outside in the snow.” His hands ball at his sides and he looks away, like he can’t stand the sight of me.
    Why is he offended? How can he act like this? “I don’t understand.”
    “That’s the smartest thing you’ve said all night.” He sighs and runs his hands through his hair after he walks away. Chris grabs a couple of towels from a small closet and tosses them at me. “You can use the shower first.”
    The towels smack into me and I keep them from tumbling to the floor. Clutching them to my chest, I walk past him to the little bathroom. Why does he have to do that? Everything was fine, right up until then, and I’m not going to feel bad for saying it. It’s the image he put out there. Why is it my fault for believing him? Screw that. He can go have PMS by himself. I clean up and wrap myself in a towel. The room is steamy from all the hot water and the thought of hiding in there forever sounds really appealing.
    I don’t understand him. How can he be offended? And I have looked twice at him. I have thought about him , and wished for way more than any sane girl would possibly hope for, because he’s Chris. The idea of dealing with another loss right now is too much and that’s what will happen. I’m not stupid and I don’t want to hear that Last Christmas song next year and feel like an idiot. Because that would be the biggest mistake I could make—telling him that I care about him, that I always have. Caving in and letting him kiss me would be so nice, but so far from sane that I can’t comprehend the outcome.
    I swipe my hand ac ross the mirror, but it fogs again almost instantly. This isn’t the way I wanted to spend tonight, resisting attraction until we’re both crazy. I should leave, but the snow has only gotten worse since we got here.
    There’s a knock and I hear his voice. “I have sweats for you.”
    I open the door a crack and he shoves them through. “Thank you.”
    “No problem.”
    He hands me a pair of gray sweats and leaves me to change. I hold them to my face and inhale deeply knowing that they smell like him. I stand there like that way too long, wishing for things that I shouldn’t want. When I leave the bathroom, Chris slips into the shower, and I head over to the couch. He’s already