The Christmas Crush: A Festive Romantic Comedy Novella by Emily Lowry

Author:Emily Lowry [Lowry, Emily]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Eleventh Avenue Publishing
Published: 2020-12-02T05:00:00+00:00

12

Marley

There was only one place more magical than Main Street at Christmastime: Lake Evermore.

The small, alpine lake on the outskirts of town was turned into a winter wonderland each December. Twinkling Christmas lights in a million colors were wrapped around the trees circling the lake to create the romantic Light the Night forest walk that was popular with everybody from loved-up teenagers to octogenarians who’d been married for decades. On the lake itself, ice skaters glided around an enormous Christmas tree that had been erected at the center of the rink. At the edge of the frozen lake, tobogganers careened down the hill, laughing and squealing. On the lakeshore, a pagoda contained a firepit for cold, tired skaters seeking warmth, and Christmas carols were piped through the sound system of a food truck serving hot cocoa and marshmallows for toasting.

“I forgot how magical this place was,” Ryan said, taking in the scene.

I nodded, not taking my eyes off of him. He was dressed like old Ryan today, in a flannel shirt and jeans. He still hadn’t shaved his stubble, and his face was shining in wonder, like he was a kid on Christmas morning.

I couldn’t look away.

“What do you want to do first?” Ryan shot me a dimpled grin. “Hot chocolate? Skating? Marshmallow roasting?”

“Hot chocolate, of course.” I sounded casual, but underneath my flippant tone, every nerve in my body was buzzing.

Ryan and I were on an actual, real-life date. And I hardly knew what to do with myself. First, I’d spent over an hour getting ready this morning, which was exceptionally unlike me. Second, I’d been unable to think of a funny, sarcastic response for three different jokes Ryan had made on the car ride here. And third, I had a seriously irrational fear that I had something in my teeth — even though I’d checked them in the mirror four freaking times.

It was like my brain had fallen out of my head.

Ryan extended a gloved hand to me, and I took it. I wished we didn’t have gloves on, so I could feel his warm skin on mine. But maybe it was for the better. I didn’t want my already detached brain to roll off down the hill or something.

He looked at me, his blue eyes questioning. “Is this weird for you?”

I blushed. “A little. But in a good way.”

The smile I was rewarded with warmed me from the inside.

Once we finished our hot chocolates, we decided to take a turn at tobogganing. I used to love tobogganing as a kid — the sensation of cruising down the steep Lake Evermore hills at top speed was similar to being on a rollercoaster — but as I got older, I didn’t have the same stomach for thrills as I used to.

We pulled our toboggan up the hill and got on. Ryan sat behind me, his legs around my body. He was so close, my entire body tingled.

“Nervous?” he teased.

I turned to look at him, and my heart went haywire as his blue gaze met mine.

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