Page 64 of Eight Days of Christmas
She crossed her arms, rubbing warmth into them, her chest hurting so damn bad. “I know.”
He glanced up at her, his brown eyes studying her face. “So the question is, what do we do now?”
She remained quiet. She didn’t know the answer.
“I know things between you and Harrison are a mess right now. And I don’t want to cause more problems for you. But I’m gonna be real honest. I still care about you, Izzy. I didn’t want to. I wanted to hate you. But I don’t think that will ever be possible.”
Heart racing, Isabella’s skin tingled. She had planned for the worst, expecting Leo to tell her that he never wanted to speak to her again, or that he didn’t believe her. Or worse—that he wouldn’t forgive her. Instead, he was laying the cards on the table. Confessing that he still had feelings for her.
“I care about you, too, Leo. So much,” her voice came out soft.
He gazed at her, eyes dark and intense, and her breathing quickened. She had a strong desire pulsating through her to move closer to him.
Leo reached for her hand and, like he could read her mind, pulled her close. “It’s freezing out here, let’s go inside, bake the hell out of some cookies, and we can talk more tonight.”
Cheeks warming, she smiled. She liked the sound of that.
So sweetly, and unlike anything she expected upon seeing him again, he pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I’ve missed you.”
She slid her hands up his back and met his gaze. “I’ve missed you, too.”
Chapter Twenty
Leo
Sittingat the Whitley’s dining room table with Isabella directly across from him, Leo looked at her with fresh eyes, noticing the beautiful, confident woman she’d grown up to be. Before last night, he’d had a difficult time seeing it. But now, with the air cleared between them since her confession and the conversation with Dad, he felt the eagerness to win back her heart. He couldn’t let her go back home to that city prick. Leo was going to shoot his shot.
He just needed her to see that he was the solid choice.
Finn, Nina, Landon, Norah, and Ava sat around the table as well, while Mr. and Mrs. W. sat at the kitchen island. They each had a pile of flour, a rolled-out ball of dough, and they worked on cutting out a variety of Christmas-shaped cookies. Even though it had been several years since he and Isabella participated in this tradition, he couldn’t help but be warmed by the memories that rolled through his mind.
Now, they were making new memories.
Christmas music played in the background while Mrs. W. hummed along, and Ava chatted a mile a minute. Through the windows and back door, snow fell like confetti.
Leo reached for a snowman cookie cutter at the same time as Isabella, their fingers touching, lingering. He glanced up to find her eyes bright and glossy, her skin flushed.
“Sorry,” he was quick to say, “you can have it.”
“No, it’s fine. I can use a different one.” Pink tinted her cheeks.
He knew that blush. It was the same blush that spread over her when they kissed—or did other amorous things. It was so intoxicating, even now.
She picked up the tree cutter instead and flashed him a faint smile. To say he was shocked by her giving up so quickly would be an understatement. This was a new side of her he wasn’t familiar with. While it was placating dealing with an easy-going Isabella, he preferred his feisty girl.
A mischievous grin tugged at Leo’s lips. He snatched the tree cutter before Isabella could press it into her rolled dough.
“Hey!” she barked.
“Oh, I’m so sorry. Were you using this one?” He gave her a mock frown of confusion and held the cookie cutter just out of her reach.
She opened her mouth to speak, but then recognition took over her face.
She narrowed her eyes, and with that perfectly angled brow arching like the devil himself, she stretched her hand further, but Leo only wrenched back even more. Smirking, she hopped out of her chair and pounced, leaning across him, her body brushing against his.
A tingle shot straight through every one of his nerve endings.
Nowthiswas the Izzy he adored.
