Mistletoe Between Friends / The Snowflake Inn

by Samantha Chase

  Taking a moment to compose his thoughts, Richard looked at his wife and smiled. “We have so much to be thankful for. You kids are such a blessing to me and your mother. We’re so proud of each of you, and it does my heart good to see you all doing so well.” He turned to the Cavanaughs. “Jack, Mary,” he began, “you’ve always been more like family to us than friends, and Angela and I are so thankful you wanted to spend Christmas with us like this. We’ve been friends for a long time, and your friendship is the greatest gift we could ever ask for.”

  With a final nod, he turned toward Cam and Lily. “We realize we all went a little overboard when you first announced you were dating, and you both were obviously uncomfortable with all of the attention. We’re trying to tone it down, but it was the greatest surprise when you announced you were a couple. We don’t want to put any pressure on you because you’re still in the early stages of your relationship, but nothing would give us more pleasure than seeing the two of you build a life together. You’ve always been the best of friends, and that is the single greatest component to a successful marriage. So we promise to do our best to stand back a little and give you space to explore your relationship—but just know,” he said with a laugh as he looked to his wife and his friends, “that we would not be opposed to some grandchildren.” Holding up his wineglass, he toasted the group and sat down.

  Dessert was being passed around, but Lily had lost her appetite. No one seemed to notice she was pushing her pie around her plate and not really participating in any conversation. Grandchildren? Heck, she was just wrapping her head around not being in a fake relationship with real sex—and everyone was already thinking about grandchildren? That signified marriage and futures and…forever. A sigh escaped before she could stop it.

  “Are you okay?” Cam whispered as he leaned toward her, his voice laced with concern.

  “Yeah, sure,” she lied, unable to meet his knowing gaze.

  Cam wanted to pursue the topic, but sitting around the dining room table with ten other people was not the place. He rejoined the conversation, which was about whether they were going to hike or ski over the next week. Cam wasn’t athletic in any way, shape, or form, so if it was up to him, he’d opt for hiking. Less chance of embarrassing himself that way.

  He wasn’t immune to the fact that Lily had gone quiet after his father’s toast, but he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do about it. They’d known from the get-go that their folks were going to start planning their future, and if he was allowed to be honest, there was nothing Cam wanted more than to plan a family with Lily. He glanced at her and saw she was still playing with the pie on her plate and figured that was a sign she wasn’t on the same page. Clearly, the thought of having kids with him wasn’t appealing.

  Now he fell silent.

  Conversation was flowing, and without looking at Lily again, Cam excused himself from the table and left the room. He didn’t expect anyone to follow, and he wasn’t disappointed. There was something he had to do and it seemed like now was as good a time as any.

  * * *

  Where the heck did Cam go?

  Lily watched as he left the room and had to wonder where he was going. True, it could just be a simple trip to the bathroom, but she was still irritated that he left her alone with the grandchildren-hungry family.

  Okay, so maybe that was an overexaggeration; no one had picked up where Richard left off, so maybe they weren’t as baby-crazy as Lily had been telling herself. Maybe she was the one who was feeling a little baby-crazy. And speaking of babies, why weren’t their sisters being harassed about procreating? Why was the comment about grandchildren directed solely at her and Cam? Seriously, each of Cam’s sisters had been married for more than three years, and Beth had been married for two. Where were the grandchildren requests to them?

  “You’re frowning, Lily,” her mother said from across the table. “Are you all right?”

  Lily looked up and saw everyone looking at her. “What? Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Just a little tired. Mountain air and all that.”

  “Hmm…” Mary said and winked at her daughter before addressing the table. “I know we have a mountain of desserts here, but I also brought all of the makings for s’mores! Who wants to join me out by the fire pit?”

  You would have thought none of them had eaten in days given the level of enthusiasm that request was met with. Before Lily knew it, they were all sitting around the fire pit roasting marshmallows.

  Except Cam.

  Lily kept looking over her shoulder for him, and she had finally put together her first gooey concoction when he reappeared. “Everything okay, Cameron?” his mother asked from across the fire.

  Cam nodded, took a seat behind Lily on the lounge chair she had pushed over, and pulled her back against his chest. He loved the way she instantly relaxed against him, and then he smiled when she offered him her first s’more. Reaching out, Cam wrapped one large hand around Lily’s wrist as she fed him the first bite. His eyes never left hers. As the sweet chocolate melted on his tongue, he nudged her to take a bite. Hesitantly, she did.

  They held one another’s gazes as they each finished their taste of the s’more, and then Cam noticed the chocolate at the corner of Lily’s mouth. Lowering her hand, he did his best to turn her toward him while he leaned in, touched his tongue to that sweet spot, and slowly licked the chocolate away. He heard her soft whimper right before claiming her mouth with his.

  Audience be damned. Lily Cavanaugh was like an addiction Cam couldn’t get enough of. He might never get enough of her, and that suited him just fine. For once, no one seemed to be paying them any attention, so he took his time teasing her lips with his tongue before she opened for him. Cam deepened the kiss, wrapping a hand around the nape of her neck and into her hair to hold her to him. He never wanted to let her go.

  A popping sound from the fire startled them both, and they reluctantly ended the kiss. They shared the remaining few bites of their treat before Lily leaned forward to make another one. Deciding to rein in the passion that was becoming so easy to ignite, Lily handed Cam a s’more to enjoy on his own. “Spoilsport,” he murmured against her ear, and she shivered with delight.

  They sat around the fire until well after midnight, when everyone began to rise and say their good nights. “Since we’re all adults,” Jack said with a smile as he stood, “there’s no need for us to be up too early. Let’s plan on brunch at eleven, and then we’ll open the rest of our presents. How does that sound?”

  Everyone was in agreement, and soon Lily and Cam were approaching the door to their room. “Where did you go earlier?” Lily asked as Cam stopped and blocked her entry.

  Cam shrugged. “I just had some last-minute Christmas wrapping to do.”

  Lily rolled her eyes. “You are such a guy,” she said with a laugh. “I could have helped you when I was wrapping all of my stuff.” Without another word, Cam opened the door to their room and Lily gasped with surprise. She turned to him with wide-eyed wonder. “You did all of this?” He nodded.

  The room was set up as their own Christmas wonderland. As Lily walked around, Cam lit some of the candles he had strategically placed around the room. Twinkly lights were also scattered around the room, a small live tree sat on top of a makeshift stand in front of the large picture window, and beneath it was a pile of presents. Cam flipped a switch, and the tree lit up with what seemed like hundreds of white lights. He watched as Lily stepped closer and looked at the decorations on the tree before turning to look at him. “How did you do all of this?”

  “I have to admit I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to do it, but I packed some ornaments in my luggage. Then when I went into town with everyone to get the big tree for the family room, I saw this little guy and knew we had to have him. I know you’re a sucker for a Charlie Brown tree.”

  Tears glistened in her green eyes. “This is just amazing. I am simply blown away th
at you put so much thought into this.” Closing the distance between them, Lily leaned in and kissed him softly, then stepped back and eyed the presents under the tree. “So…” she began, looking from the gifts to Cam and then back again. “Who are all the presents for?” Now she was back to being the Lily he had always known, the woman who would forever be a kid on Christmas. She was practically bouncing on her toes with excitement.

  “Oh, there might be something for you under the tree. But I have to ask something—and it’s on Santa’s behalf.”

  Her eyes went even wider as her smile spread. “On Santa’s behalf? That sounds pretty serious.”

  Cam nodded. “Oh, it is.” Now it was his turn to step closer. “Have you been naughty…or have you been nice?” His tone was very seductive. Lily wanted to strip them both down and forget about the presents, but the lure of the twinkly lights and the tree was just too much. “Well? Which is it, Lil?”

  “I think I have been…nicely naughty.” Her grin turned wicked as she got up on her toes and kissed him again. She smiled against his lips. “Was that the right answer?”

  She shrieked when Cam lifted her up and playfully tossed her onto the bed. “I’d say that just about sums it up,” he teased as he laid down beside her. Reaching out, he played with her hair and then stroked her cheek. “Merry Christmas, Lily,” he said softly.

  “Merry Christmas, Cameron.” They lay there studying one another for a long time. Lily rested her head in the palm of Cam’s hand. “I have to admit, I have your presents hidden under the bed.”

  He smiled lovingly at her. There was no way he would ever grow tired of looking at her. Thinking back, Cam realized he knew Lily’s face better than his own. For years he had watched her, watched over her, and being here like this with her just felt…right. His mind flashed back to the look on her face earlier in the evening when his father had mentioned grandchildren. Cam had to wonder if Lily truly felt what he did, or was she doing as she always did and just living in the moment?

  Right now, he didn’t care. She was his, and he was going to enjoy whatever she wanted to give him. “Well, I have an idea,” he finally said. “How about I draw us a bath in that massive tub while you put your presents under the tree.”

  “Ooo, a bubble bath?” Lily said as she waggled her eyebrows.

  Cam ducked his head and shook it with a laugh. “I may get my man card revoked, but yes, a bubble bath. Then we can slip into the matching green silk robes that I still can’t believe we received, and then we can open presents. What do you say?”

  Scooting up onto her knees, Lily leaned forward and kissed Cam soundly. “I like the way you think!” She bounced off the bed and began gathering her bounty from under the bed while Cam started the water in the tub and moved some of the candles into the bathroom for softer lighting.

  Lily came up behind him a few minutes later. “You’ve been holding out on me, Cameron.”

  Looking behind him, he arched a brow at her. “How’s that?”

  “All this time you’ve come off as being kind of stuffy and straitlaced, and yet underneath it all, you are quite the romantic.”

  He kissed her nose and turned so he could take her in his arms. “Well, I had to keep some mystery in our relationship,” he said lightly. “I can’t have you knowing all of my secrets.”

  Lily’s expression turned serious. “But I want to know them. These past weeks have shown me that as well as we know each other, we still have so much to learn. And to be honest? I’m really enjoying it.”

  “Me too, Lil,” he said solemnly. “Me too.”

  * * *

  Soaking in the large, jetted tub almost overflowing with bubbles, Cam found Lily’s laughter contagious. “Maybe we added too much bubble bath.”

  “You think?” he asked, but rather than being annoyed by the mess, he was feeling light and playful. They were blowing bubbles off the top when Cam finally realized they needed to shut off the jets to get the bubble factor to calm down.

  “You’re no fun,” Lily said with a pout as she leaned back against his chest and sighed. “Good thing we’re sleeping in tomorrow because I am not the least bit tired after all this.”

  “The bath was supposed to be relaxing,” he reminded her.

  “Well, that was before we had to deal with the tower of bubbles.”

  He smiled as he rested his head against hers. “Hey, Lil?” he asked softly, tentatively. “Can I ask you something?”

  “Anything.”

  “Tonight at the table, after my dad made that toast, you got really quiet. What were you thinking about?”

  Lily squirmed slightly before settling into his embrace again. “This is just such a weird position. I mean, what are we doing, Cam? This was supposed to be about dodging bad blind dates, and now we’re…we’re lovers and our parents are asking us about grandchildren.” She sighed. “I’m not used to anyone taking anything I do so seriously, and I can’t believe that they chose this to get on board with.”

  “People take you seriously,” he corrected. “It’s just hard keeping up with you sometimes.”

  “How do they know I’m not going to lose interest in you like I do with everything else? How do they know I’m not just going to walk away and leave you brokenhearted?”

  Cam was worried about the same thing. Lily could just be passing the time with him and, after New Year’s, be content to go back to the way things were. For all he knew, she was just making the best of a bad situation. His body tensed at the thought.

  “Now you’ve gotten quiet,” she said, twisting around to look at his face. “What are you thinking right now?”

  His gaze was serious as he met hers. “Are you?”

  “Am I what?”

  “Going to lose interest in me and just walk away at the end of the month?”

  “Isn’t that what you wanted?” she asked hesitantly, not sure if she was ready for the answer.

  Cam wasn’t ready for this. He wasn’t ready for them to talk about the end when the present was so gloriously fine. Without a word, he turned her around so she was straddling his lap. Water flowed over the edge of the tub, and Lily gasped at the intimate contact. “I want you,” he said roughly, right before his mouth descended to devour hers. Water continued to slosh over the edge of the tub, but neither seemed to care.

  * * *

  “I’m not going to lie to you—I feel utterly ridiculous. What were they thinking?”

  Lily couldn’t help but giggle. The hunter-green silk boxers Cam was walking around in were completely out of character for him, and with every step he took, she could see and feel his discomfort. “I think you look cute,” she tried to say with a straight face but failed.

  “Keep laughing, and you’ll have to wait until tomorrow to open your presents.”

  “It is tomorrow,” she reminded him.

  “Well, then after brunch. How do you like that?” Hands on his hips, he faced Lily, who was sitting on the bed in the super-short, green silk slip nightie she had gotten. The color matched her eyes perfectly, and with her hair beautifully mussed up, she made a very erotic picture. If it were up to him, he’d forgo opening presents and spend his time unwrapping Lily from her silky garments.

  “Okay, okay…no need to get all cranky,” she was saying, holding up her hands in surrender. “You know I don’t want to wait until after brunch. I’ll go crazy before then.” Scooting off the bed, Lily walked over to their tiny tree, picked up a stack of presents, and carried them back to the bed. She watched as Cam arched a brow at the pile.

  “We’re opening all of our gifts tonight? You don’t want to do that with the family tomorrow?”

  She shook her head. “I like that it’s just the two of us. Do you mind?” There was no sarcasm, only concern.

  In response, Cam gathered the rest of the gifts from under the tree and brought them to the bed. Once he wa
s comfortable, or as comfortable as he was going to get in the ridiculous boxers, he handed Lily his first gift.

  Her eyes lit up at the generic-sized box. “What is it? What is it? What is it?” she said as she tore at the paper. Lifting the lid and moving the tissue paper aside, she stared at the contents and smiled. “One Hundred Careers for Creative People Looking to Change the World,” she read aloud and then looked up at him and smiled. “I cannot even believe someone actually wrote a book about this.”

  “It just screamed Lily to me,” he said, relieved when she laughed with him. “I figured I’d start with something light first.”

  Lily’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “First? That sounds promising.” She looked at the pile in front of him, which had several more boxes, and her mind raced at what could possibly be in the rest. “Okay, my turn.” Looking through her stack, she chose a box and handed it to him.

  Cam opened the box and smiled. “Ah, how did I miss getting one of these for myself?” he asked as he held the T-shirt up in front of him.

  “See? It’s an ‘I heart New York’ shirt, but the heart is in the shape of Mickey Mouse! How cool is that?” She was bouncing on the bed with excitement. “Do you like it?”

  “Absolutely. Thank you.” Leaning forward, he kissed her on the cheek and then picked another box from his pile and handed it to her. He laughed at how fast she tore through the wrapping. “You know, it took me a really long time to wrap this stuff. Maybe you can slow down and admire my handiwork for more than a tenth of a second.”

  “What fun would that be?” she asked as she took the top off the box and gasped. “Oh, Cam,” she said with a dreamy sigh. Inside the box was a snow globe she had admired when they were in New York. It was a miniature of Times Square. “I love it.” Her eyes shone bright with tears. “Every time I look at it, I’m going to remember our time there.” Before she gave in and cried, Lily reached for the next box and handed it to Cam.

  He smiled as he opened a hardcover copy of the latest bestseller by his favorite author. “Thank you for not mocking my refusal to switch over completely to an e-reader. As much as I see their appeal, there is still nothing like holding a book in your hands.”