Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 38335 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 192(@200wpm)___ 153(@250wpm)___ 128(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 38335 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 192(@200wpm)___ 153(@250wpm)___ 128(@300wpm)
She rolls her eyes, clearly disagreeing.
“And secondly,” I press on, “you don’t know what you’re talking about.”
She doesn’t buy it for a second but lets it go with a shrug. “If you say so.”
“I do say so.” I give her a playful shove, making her laugh. “Now go grab us some drinks. I’ll get the plates.”
“On it.” She skips over to the refrigerator, pulling out a few different options.
“And next time you start a snowball fight, stick around to finish it,” I add, closing the cupboard. “That was a cheap shot.”
“Smart, not cheap,” she counters. “Besides, you’re the one who told me when facing a much bigger opponent, you have to pull out all the stops.”
I give her a pointed look. “That’s if you’re being kidnapped, Poppy. Not if you’re the one starting the fight.”
She waves away my logic. “Tomato, tomahto.”
I grunt at the response. She might be a pain in the ass, but she’s a clever pain in the ass.
The sound of the bathroom door opening ends the conversation. Hollis enters the kitchen moments later and the sight of her in my clothes brings me to a hard stop.
Fuck me.
A renewed heat surges through my veins as I take her in from head to toe. The RCMP-issued sweatpants and T-shirt swallow her slim figure, yet somehow, seem as if they were made just for her. The pink hue from the cold still kisses her cheeks, her slightly damp hair now tousled around her shoulders. I can’t help but imagine her looking exactly like this after a night in my bed.
“They’re just a little big,” she jokes, breaking the awkward silence. “Thanks again for letting me borrow them.”
I nod, deciding it’s safer because if I speak right now, I will no doubt sound like a fifteen-year-old boy who just found his first spank mag.
“Knew it,” Poppy snickers, punching me in the arm.
Hollis’ gaze flickers between us. “Knew what?”
I shoot my sister a stern look, warning her not to throw me under the bus.
Thankfully, she knows when to push and when not. “Nothing. Come on, let’s eat.” With a gentle tug, she guides Hollis into the living room, leaving our secret safe for now.
Instead of joining them, I head back outside to unload the truck so they can start decorating as soon as they finish. I also need the fresh air. I’m not someone who has a problem regulating their emotions, it’s what makes me good at my job, but for some reason, this woman changes that and it’s starting to fuck with my head.
It doesn’t take long to unload everything, so after setting up the tree, I head back out to dispose of the dead one. By the time I walk back inside Poppy and Hollis are in full decorating mode.
Christmas music blares from Hollis’ phone, the two dancing and singing to “All I Want for Christmas is You.” Poppy uses one of the long icicle decorations as a microphone, giving a full-out performance.
The sight of my sister laughing and dancing with Hollis has me realizing how important it is for her to have someone like this in her life. A female figure she can relate to, to help her through things I will never understand, no matter how hard I try.
“Take it away, Mountie Mike.” Poppy tosses me the icicle, forcing me to catch it mid-air.
“Yeah.” Hollis taunts with a smirk. “Let’s see what you got, ‘Mountie Mike’.”
My cock hardens at the taunt. If she starts using that name, I’m going to give her something to mount.
I toss the decoration aside, promoting a shared laugh between them.
There are plenty of things I will do for my sister, but belting out Christmas songs to Mariah Carey isn’t one of them.
Once they finish with their laughing fit, I offer Hollis a beer.
“I’d love one, thanks,” she accepts with a smile. “Go ahead and grab yourself some pizza too. We’ve got this for now.”
Taking the hint, I fetch our beers and settle onto the sofa with a slice of pizza, admiring the scene before me as they collaborate on reconstructing a tree they found on Pinterest.
My gaze lingers, particularly enjoying the view of Hollis bending down to retrieve items. Not even the baggy sweatpants can conceal the exquisite curve of her ass.
I get to enjoy it for only a second before I’m caught red-handed by my sister, her knowing smile taunting me.
Shit.
I quickly avert my eyes, realizing the damn kid is too observant for her own good.
Once they’re nearly done, Hollis grabs her phone to compare. “I think we need to move this section up more.”
Poppy nods her agreement. “I think you’re right.”
Hollis takes the shimmering ribbon and stretches up on her tiptoes, straining to reach her destination. She lets out a startled shriek as she loses balances, almost falling into the tree.