In Love Before Christmas Read Online Free PDF Page B

her because he always did.
     
    “You are too silly.” He chuckled as he pushed her back up to stand on her own feet.
     
    “Gosh, how long has it been since we spent the night with a science fiction b-movie from the black and white film era?”
     
    “Three months,” he said so swiftly she thought he had it on file in his memory bank for quick retrieval.
     
    “That long?”
     
    “Yep.”
     
    “We used to do it at least once a week.”
     
    “I know.”
     
    “Oh,” she moaned. “I know what happened.”
     
    “Our boss decided we were too chummy and he decided to bust us up,” Matt said. She had been thinking the same thing herself. Three months ago is when her office suddenly had to move two floors up even though she liked being right next to Matt’s office. She also had the shift in her schedule, and he the shift in his, so that he started an hour earlier and she an hour later and their lunch hours no longer corresponded. She hadn’t pieced it together, but he was right; Derek had done everything possible to rip them apart in the office. They used to have lunch together every day. Now they saw each other on Sunday’s and sometimes Saturdays, but never did they have time during the workday to just hang out and have fun like they used to.
     
    “He really is a jerk.” She sighed.
     
    “He has always hated our friendship.”
     
    “Whatever…let’s forget about him. We can’t let another weeknight go without our weekly dose of bad sci-fi movies.”
     
    He laughed. “They’re so bad they’re…”
     
    “Good,” they said in unison.
     
    “Um…how about Wednesdays? Is that good for you?”
     
    “Perfect. Now that our date nights are back on…do you mind if I come by right from work without changing first? If I go home to change then we’ll start late and you’ll be too sleepy for work in the morning.” She would always go home and put on a pair of jeans and her comfy sweater or a shirt so she could snuggle up to him on the couch while they watched a movie. She wasn’t sure how she planned to do that in the pencil skirts she wore to work, but she would figure it out.
     
    “Not at all,” he said.
     
    “Such a lovely couple.” The little old lady from the café came up to them again with a big grin on her face as she looked up at them.
     
    “Oh we’re not,” Lani shook her head.
     
    “Lovely couple,” she smiled and nodded as she walked away.
     
    “Isn’t that the same old lady?” Lani watched the little old lady weave her way through the crowd of pedestrians shopping for Christmas presents.
     
    “Yeah,” Matt stared after her.   “She gets around.”
     
    Lani laughed. “She left the restaurant before us.”
     
    “True, but she’s moving kind of fast for an old lady.”
     
    Lani shook her head. “You take care of that body of yours my friend and you, too, can move as swiftly in your elder years.”
     
    He chuckled. “I take great care of my body already.”
     
    She couldn’t deny that. He was definitely a nicely shaped man. He wasn’t a bodybuilder, but the muscles he did have were solid. He was more runner than weight lifter and his shape was definitely appealing. He had hard abs and she knew that because she had seen them when she showed up early one day for their movie night and he had just gotten out the shower. He also had broad shoulders and nicely defined biceps. A woman would love to be wrapped in those arms, lying on that chest and listening to his heart beat.
     
    She mentally slapped herself. These were not thoughts she should be having about her best friend.
     
    “Are you okay, Lani?” He looked at her as if he had a sneaky suspicion that she was thinking about his body…or maybe she just felt so guilty for doing it that she was imagining that he knew.
     
    “Yeah, of course.” She shook the thoughts from her head. “Do you know that old lady? I mean, have you seen her around here before because she doesn’t look familiar and I thought