Page 85 of Eight Days of Christmas
“I’m thinking, maybe a scarf,” Landon said.
“Oh, I’d love that too.” Norah smiled brightly.
“What about you, Finn?” Isabella wrapped her own scarf around her neck to fight off the biting winter air.
He waved a finger in her face. “No way am I giving you any hints. Or tips for that matter.”
Nina laughed and took a hold of his hand as they crossed the street from the parking garage toward the stores.
“Don’t you worry, I don’t need any tips. I’ve got a few tricks of my own,” Isabella sneered.
“Yeah? Like fruity scented body lotions?” Leo teased.
She tried to glare at him, but a smile broke on her lips instead. “Forget it. I’m not telling any of you my ideas. And I’m going shopping by myself just so none of you can steal any of them.” She shoved Leo with her shoulder playfully.
“Seriously? You’re gonna go by yourself? I thought we could shop together,” Norah said.
“I’ll be fine. You go with Landon. Besides, I have a few last-minute gifts I need to pick up anyway.”
“Gifts?” Norah perked up.
“You know I already got you something. I saw you snooping under the tree. You’re worse than Ava.”
“She must need to buy me a gift,” Leo said smugly.
“You wish.”
“Aw, c’mon, wouldn’t you feel bad if there was a gift under the tree from me with your name on it?” He tickled her waist, and she squirmed away, fighting off an impending giggle.
“No. Because I know you didn’t get me anything.”
“We’ll see,” he called over his shoulder as he passed her.
“Leo,” she warned, “you better not have gotten me anything.” She stopped walking. She, of course, had planned to get him something, but she didn’t want him to feel obligated to return the gesture.
He faced her, waggling his brows. “Guess you’ll have to wait and see.”
“Leo,” she called. “I’m serious.”
Suddenly he rushed at her, grabbing a handful of snow off a bench along the way. He was in her face before she could blink.
“Maybe I’ll head to Victoria’s Secret,” he whispered with an evil grin. “Or is that really a gift for me?”
He stepped back and threw the snow in his hand right at her.
She gasped, standing there, mouth agape.
Oh, he knew just how to push her buttons. Glancing at the snow, she looked back at him and narrowed her eyes. On impulse, she grabbed a handful of the cold and wet white stuff, packing it into a snowball and chucked it at him. It caught him right in the side, and he did a silly wide receiver move to dodge it, but she landed the hit regardless.
“Aw, poor Leo,” she said, puckering her lips. “Getting too old to play?”
He gave her a devious smirk. “Oh, so that’s how it is? You wanna go? Okay, let’s go.”
Leo hustled toward the snow piled to the side of the shoveled walkway and packed a snowball faster than she had, throwing it at her. It flew toward her at what had to have been record speed, hardly giving her the chance to blink.
It smacked her in the chest, nearly knocking the breath out of her. He threw another one, almost right after the first one, hitting her in the thigh. It burned on impact.
Without a second thought, she retaliated with another snowball of her own, but Leo jumped to the side just in time. When he threw his next one, she tried to duck but wasn’t successful, and it hit her directly in the head.
