Never Been Ready (Ready #2)(31)

It was around noon on Saturday, a week after discovering Lilith Morgan's headstone. I'd like to say that Leah had returned to normal after that night we'd shared, but there were still times when I could see the sadness in her eyes. I knew one night wouldn't heal her, but damn if I didn't want to erase it all for her. I hated seeing her in pain, and I only hoped time would heal what her parents had put her through.

"I left it unlocked for you," she answered, coming from her bedroom. She was wrapped in a towel, still wet from the shower.

"You mean to tell me that you were just taking a shower in an unlocked house?"

She shrugged. She just looked at me and f**king shrugged, like it was no big deal. She turned back around in her teeny-tiny towel, swinging that sweet ass behind her, as she retreated to her room.

Following, I exploded into a rant. "You drive me batshit crazy sometimes. We're stopping by the hardware store on our way out. You're going to get me a key, and from now on, you're going to keep that door locked. All. The. Fucking. Time."

"You're bossy today." She smirked while opening the top drawer of her dresser to retrieve a lacy pair of panties.

Coming up behind her, I pressed my body against hers, letting her feel exactly what the sight of her in that towel did to me.

"I just don't want any pervy men coming in here."

"Besides you?" she mocked.

"Exactly —hence, the key. Besides, you like me bossy," I countered.

I bent down to kiss the damp skin of her neck, and her head fell back onto my shoulders. I slipped my hands under the towel, pulling it apart, and it fell to the floor.

Keys could wait an hour...or four.

Suddenly, she turned in my arms and gave me a pointed look. "No."

She tried to look serious, but her slight grin had me laughing.

"No? Really? This again?" I faked a sigh.

"You're going to make us late."

"It's a Christmas tree farm. It's not like we have an appointment. We don't, do we?"

She laughed as she bent down to pull the panties up her legs. I had to shift in my jeans to accommodate the bulge she'd created.

"I still can't believe you've never bought a live tree," she said, shaking her head. "And no, we don't have an appointment, but if we don't hurry, they will close."

"It's the middle of the day," I half-whined, trying to pull her closer to the bed with me.

Laughing, she resisted my advances. Then, she continued to pilfer through her drawers before pulling out dark slim jeans and a tan-colored sweater.

"It will take an hour to get there, assuming traffic isn't bad," she explained.

She swatted my hand away as I tried again to make a pass at her.

Grinning at our little game, I asked, "Why are we driving an hour out of the city when there are Christmas tree lots on every street corner?"

"Because, city boy, those trees have already been cut. Going out of the city, into the country, and chopping down your own tree? That's Christmas to me."

Pulling her close to me, I tilted her chin, so I could see those crystal blue eyes. "Well then, let's go get you a Christmas tree."

~Leah~

"Oh! Turn here!" I exclaimed.

Declan took a sharp right onto the gravel road. "Are you sure?" he asked, briefly glancing my way with one raised eyebrow in disbelief.

"Yep. Positive."

"That's what you said the last four wrong turns, you know," he teased.

We had been lost out in the middle of nowhere for about thirty minutes. Siri had no idea where we were, and Google Maps seemed to be sending us in circles. The Virginia countryside was a virtual black hole to technology. I didn't have a map, and there were no signs. When we had seen the creepy scarecrow for the fourth time, we had known we were totally screwed. It would have been miserable with anyone else, but with Declan, it was just another outing. He didn't care that I'd gotten us lost. He'd just laughed every time we'd ended up at the same place where we'd started. He'd pointed out various land markings with a promise that he'd make a fire and build shelter if we never saw civilization again. My hero.

About fifteen minutes into our lost adventure, he'd asked how I'd managed to get us so turned around if I'd been to the place before. He'd assumed, based on our previous conversation, that this was a tradition for me. It wasn't.

I'd sheepishly answered, "I've never been here."

Rather than asking me to elaborate, he'd just grinned and said, "Well then, it's a first for us both."

When I'd said this was what Christmas was for me, I hadn't lied. In my head, this was exactly what Christmas should be. I'd always wanted to drive up to the mountains and cut down a tree. The years growing up when my dad had actually managed to remember it was December, we'd had a fake skinny green tree that was short, and the branches sagged when you tried to hang ornaments on it. Whenever I'd visited Clare's house, they always had a live tree, and I had known the tree was up the minute I'd walked in the door because the smell of had filled the entire house.

Ever since childhood, whenever I had seen an ad in the paper for this Christmas tree farm, I'd wanted to come here. But what lonely single girl would come to the mountains and cut down a tree all by herself? That would be kind of pathetic. I'd shrugged it off, telling myself I hadn't cared, and usually, I hadn't bothered with even putting up a tree most years. I'd always spent the holidays with Clare and her family, so decorating a tree for my home had seemed frivolous.