“Uncle Nick. Mom says I can have a sleepover in your room. I’m gonna get my stuff.”
Nick groaned and dropped his head. Another knock sounded. “Can I come in?” Colt.
“Can I say no?” Nick called, not hiding his frustration.
“Why would you say that?” The sarcasm was thick but Colton ignored it.
The door opened and Colt strolled in, his gaze amused.
Maisie grinned up. “Hey. You’re lucky there were no presents out.” She looked at Nick and he could still see the haze in her eyes. “Maybe I should clean this up.”
“Since Asher’s sleeping in my room, I’ll get him to wrap Ellie’s present.” He turned to look at Colt. “Though, I’m rethinking buyingyouone.”
Maisie leaned forward and Nick inhaled the scent of fruit and something just so absolutely Maisie it made him wish he could snap his fingers and they’d have the house to themselves.
Colton’s smile widened. “That seems unnecessary. I just thought I’d accompany Asher up. Make sure he didn’t walk in on…” Colt trailed off, lips twitching. “Any surprises.”
Maisie’s cheeks pinkened as she clumsily got to her feet, endearing her even more to Nick. “Subtle, big brother-in-law.”
She went up on her tiptoes and kissed Colt’s cheek. “Now I don’t feel so bad for keeping Jake on the phone a few weeks ago when you clearly had other plans.”
Jesus. Nick did not need to know these things about anyone other than himself. And Maisie. Him and Maisie.
Colton tugged a lock of Maisie’s hair. “I knew that was intentional, brat.”
Maisie looked back over her shoulder. “I’ll grab my wrapping stuff later, Nick. Enjoy your sleepover.” She sent him a wink that went straight to his gut. Colt tucked his hands in his pockets. Cool, calm, and collected. And, if Nick was reading him right, a little concerned despite his attempts at humor.
Nick sighed, ran his hands through his hair. “You going to warn me off?”
Colton’s head reared back in surprise. “Why would I do that?”
Nick shoved his hands in his pockets. “Because I’m a hockey player, she’s basically your little sister, you’re married to her brother. I don’t exactly have the best relationship résumé.”
Colton walked closer, clapped a hand on Nick’s shoulder. “Maisie is special. She deserves someone who sees her, who gets her and makes her smile without trying to change her. You’re right, there’s lots of strings tangling this whole group together, but trust me when I say, you don’t get to choose who’s going to own your heart. Sometimes they sneak right in and grab hold before you can stop them. All you can do is take care of theirs.”
The words made Nick’s throat feel too tight. “You trust me to do that?”
Colton shook his head, dropped his hand. “I’d trust you with my life.”
Well, that was unexpected.
“Then why the hell did you use my nephew to coc—”
Colt’s loud laugh cut him off. “Though I’m definitely not sorry for it, I really was just following him up here and saw Maisie’s room was empty.” Asher came running back in with a Star Wars sleeping bag and a baby Yoda stuffy.
“Ready,” he said, heading right for the bed. “We can watch a movie now.”
“Yeah, bud, we can.” Nick shook his head, ignored his friend’s laughter, and settled in for a movie he knew he wouldn’t pay one second of attention to. Not with the world’s sexiest distraction one door away.
Chapter Sixteen
SHE WAS STILL INbed when her phone rang but she’d been awake for a while. Sitting up against the pillows, Maisie swiped the screen and accepted Lexi’s FaceTime.
“Merry Christmas Eve,” Lexi said when both of them were on the screen.
Her friend’s pretty, dark hair was pulled up in a bun that sat on her head, tendrils falling out, her face makeup-free. She’d only been with her fiancé for a few months but Maisie swore her happiness in that short period of time made her friend seem younger. Not that either of them were very old but Lexi carried a lot of emotional weight for both herself and her mom. It was taxing and there’d been more than a few times over the last few years Maisie wondered how much more her friend could take.
And then fate planted Will in Lexi’s section during her awkwardly awful stint as Seattle’s worst waitress. It gave Maisie a reckless hopethat something more could come from these few days with Nick. He’d laughed more, lowered his guard a little, despite his anxiety hovering. She’d seen a few holes in his cinderblock walls.
