“Good choice. This one’s got excellent needle retention, and the trunk’s nice and straight… er, mostly, anyway. It’ll last you through New Year’s, easy.”
He and Asher work together to load the tree onto my car, Mr. McGuire providing the expertise while Asher provides the muscle. I watch them secure it with bungee cords, making sure it’s not going to slide off into traffic on the way home.
When they’re done, Asher pulls his wallet from his back pocket before I can even ask Mr. McGuire about the price. “What do I owe you?”
“That’ll be forty-five dollars.”
As Asher is paying, the other half of the duo who owns the Christmas tree farm, Mrs. McGuire, appears at my elbow. She’s a petite woman with gray streaks at her temples and deep wrinkle lines in her forehead, probably due to the fact that her eyebrows are almost always a little raised.
“Kat, dear! How lovely to see you home for the holidays.” She sweeps me into a hug. My parents have known the McGuires for years, and she’s known me since I was practically a baby. “I heard through the grapevine that you were in town. How are you doing, sweetie? It’s been such a long time.”
“I’m doing well, Mrs. McGuire. Thanks for asking.”
“I’m sure you are. And I have to say, you look wonderful. Just radiant.” She presses her palms to my cheeks, making my lips purse a little with the force of her enthusiasm. “It’s so good to have you back in town, if only for a little while! Now tell me, have you heard the news about Daniel?”
My stomach drops, even though I should have been expecting this. Of course she knows about Daniel. I’m sure the whole town does. “Um, I… “
“He’s with Maya Lewis now,” she says before I can answer. “Did you ever meet Maya? She works at the bank. Lovely girl. Anyway, I heard through the grapevine that they’re engaged now. Can you believe it? I’m sure it’ll be a big, fancy wedding. Maya’s family has money, you know, and Daniel’s not doing too bad for himself either.”
I feel my face getting hotter with embarrassment, knowing that Asher can probably hear every word of this conversation.
“That’s… that’s great for them,” I mutter.
“I have to say, I always thought it would beyouwalking down the aisle with Daniel,” Mrs. McGuire continues, apparently oblivious to my discomfort. “You two were together for so long, and he always seemed so devoted. But I suppose things don’t always work out the way we expect them to, do they?”
I start to reply, trying to figure out how to extract myself from this conversation gracefully, but before I can get a word out, Asher appears at my side. He wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me close against him, nuzzling his face into my neck in a way that sends shivers down my spine.
“Let’s get home and decorate this tree, bright eyes,” he murmurs, his voice just loud enough for Mrs. McGuire to hear while pretending the words are just for me. “I can’t wait to unwrap you underneath it.”
Her eyes go wide, and her mouth actually falls open slightly. Asher looks over at her as if he’s just noticed she’s there, his expression shifting to mild embarrassment.
“Oh, sorry about that,” he says with a sheepish grin that somehow manages to be both charming and slightly wicked. “I’m Asher Vaughn, by the way. Nice to meet you, Mrs…?”
“McGuire,” she murmurs, still staring at him like he’s some kind of exotic species she’s never encountered before. “It’s very nice to meet you too.”
We make our escape after that, climbing into my car while Mrs. McGuire stands there with her jaw slightly slack. As soon as we’re out of earshot, I burst into laughter.
“If not everyone in town knew we were together before, they definitely will now,” I tell him, still giggling. “Mrs. McGuire makes it her business to know everything that happens inMaplewood, and to make sure everyone else knows it too. That little performance will be all over town by dinnertime.”
Asher shrugs, looking pleased with himself. “Good. Isn’t that the point of all this?”
“You’re right, but still.” I grin despite myself. “Thank you for that. Perfect timing, and exactly the right level of… boyfriend vibes to get her attention.”
I try not to think too hard about the way his breath felt against my neck when he whispered in my ear, or how good he smelled when he was that close to me. The warmth of his body pressed against mine, or the casual possessiveness in the way he held me.
“You looked like you needed rescuing,” he says simply.
“I did. Mrs. McGuire means well, but she has zero filter when it comes to personal questions.”
Back at the cabin, Asher insists on handling the heavy lifting while I direct operations. We wrestle the tree through the front door and into the living room, where he helps me get it set up in the metal stand that Sam keeps in her storage closet.
“You don’t have to help with the actual decorating,” I tell him as I start pulling boxes of ornaments out of the closet, along with strings of lights and garland. “I know this probably isn’t your thing, and I don’t want you to feel obligated.”
“I’m invested now,” he says, brushing off his hands. “Besides, I haven’t decorated a tree since I moved out of my childhood home.”
There’s something in his voice when he says it, a note of sadness or regret that makes my heart hurt a little. “Was that after your dad left?”
His expression shutters slightly, and he nods. “Yeah. After that, it was just me and my mom, and she kind of lost interest in a lot of the traditions we used to do as a family.”
