“It’s a miracle they let us exist here with them,” I said. As the ropes fell away, a sticker on the windshield caught my eye. A City of Chicago parking permit. “Ah, a city girl. Makes sense.”
She was right behind me now. “It makes sense a city girl wouldn’t know what size tree to buy?”
Exactly. But I couldn’t say that. “Your boots aren’t exactly made for snow.” Skinny heels, shiny black leather. They’d probably never touched a country road.
“Unlike your boots that kept you steady?” Her eyes sparked with delight.
I felt my cheeks flush. She had me there. “Point taken.”
I let the tree roll off the car fully to the ground.
Megan watched as I dragged the tree to the truck bed.Come on, hero vibes. Show strong.
I hoisted the tree into the truck. This thing was no joke. It would fit the event space in the grand ballroom, but thegrandin Crystal Cove’s ballroom was limited. Any bigger and this beast would dent the ceiling.
The tree now safely secured inside my truck bed, I turned back to Megan. Her nose shone as pink as her cheeks. “Do you have the address?”
She checked her phone again and told me the address. I knew the area well. A country road with garages as big the houses, to larger, newer homes with professional landscaping and long winding drives. “Roger that. I’ll follow you.”
She snort-laughed, covering her mouth with her mitten. “Sorry. You said Roger that. It’s something my dad—” She stopped. “My dad said that.” Her gaze drifted to the road silent of passing cars.
She looked back with an expression I couldn’t figure out. A mix of fatigue and maybe some shock from going off the road. Could be dreading the upcoming holiday. Or maybe that was me. Probably she felt annoyed her tree had arrowed into a bush with a cow laughing at us on the other side.
Either way, she was out of sorts. “I happen to live in Crystal Cove myself,” I told her. “If you’d like, you can follow me.”
Her shoulders eased. “That would be fantastic.”
Megan’s smile was back, and dang it if I didn’t get a burst of energy from it. “Now, let’s get this car out of the ditch.”
CHAPTER THREE
Megan
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LIFE WAS MUCH IMPROVEDnow that a nefarious conifer no longer clung to my car’s roof. Bonus, the guy coming to my aid wasn’t a serial killer. Serial killers didn’t say things likeRoger that.Nick was cute. So cute I nearly gawked at him speechless until I remembered to thank him for stopping. He even had an honest to goodness dimple when he grinned.
