Nick and Noel's Christmas Playlist (Mistletoe Romance #1)(4)

“Ew, no thank you. You have many fine qualities, my friend, but you did not inherit your mother’s cooking skills.”

“Man, I’ve been back for two hours and you haven’t stopped giving me shit.”

Noel laughed. “That’s what friends are for.”





Chapter 2


NOEL

The Winters family reunion was filled with warmth and laughter. Once Merry and Holly arrived, the noise level tripled and Noel almost wished it wasn’t too cold to slip outside for some peace and quiet. Although she loved Merry and Holly like they were her blood sisters, they were as bad as her friend Gabby when it came to that high-pitched girly noise they made when they got excited. It was enough to have her swallow a bottle of Tylenol like a shot.

The three siblings were very close in age, although their coloring differed. Nick was the oldest at twenty-six, born the fourth of December. Two years later on December tenth, Merry made her appearance. Then on the sixteenth of December just a year later, Holly had come into the world.

Noel used to envy Merry’s long wavy blond hair, hazel eyes, and lush bee-stung lips. More than one person in Mistletoe had compared Merry to the golden angels she resembled, and only those closest to her knew beneath the sweet exterior lay a terrible temper. Noel fingered her own coarse dark hair as she watched Holly toss back her fiery red locks, a gift passed down from her great-grandmother on her dad’s side. Like her big brother, Holly’s eyes were a deep chocolate brown, and her full figure had been the envy of her female classmates in junior high. All of the Winters children were kind, funny, and well respected throughout the town of Mistletoe, and there would no doubt be a parade in Nick’s honor the minute people realized he was back for good.

Noel stood off to the side, drinking her coffee as she watched Nick’s sisters take turns filling him in on all he’d missed.

Merry didn’t have quite as much to share, because she’d only returned to the heart of her family’s bosom before Halloween, a sudden and unexpected move. Victoria let it slip once that Merry went through a bad breakup, which didn’t shock Noel. Merry’s relationships never seemed to last. Holly griped often about Merry’s atrocious taste in men.

Holly came back after college and opened A Shop for All Seasons a few years ago. What she lacked in age, she made up for in common sense and a head for business. The girl was a marketing whiz, and as for her extracurricular activities, well, they’d all sworn not to tell her mother about her YouTube channel, Holly the Adventure Elf. It sounded crazy, but it was actually really popular. Who didn’t like watching an elf skydive?

“Are you all right?”

Noel hadn’t heard Chris come up alongside her and jumped at his question.

“Yeah, I’m good. Just letting them catch up.”

“You don’t have to hang on the outskirts. Get right in the thick of it! You’re family.” Chris pulled her in for a hug and a hefty pat on the back. “One of my girls.”

Noel kissed his whiskered cheek, even as her stomach twisted in emotion. If her parents hadn’t made a will years ago, she would have ended up in the system instead of moving in with the Winterses. They helped and held her through the bad spells in her adolescence and she would always be grateful to them. Times like this were still bittersweet though.

“I know that. Sometimes I just like to hang back and watch. I’m creepy like that.”

Chris chuckled. “Okay, kiddo.” He squeezed her face between his big warm hands. “I just don’t want you feeling left out.”

Noel didn’t tell Chris it was unavoidable. Being around the warmth of the Winters family was a blessing and a curse. Especially this time of year, when the loss of her parents weighed heaviest on her.

Instead she covered his hand on her cheeks and pushed, making a squishy face at him and talked through her fish formed lips. “Is this the face of a lonely person?”

Chris opened his mouth to respond, but Victoria tapped her spoon on the counter, interrupting them. “Breakfast is ready. Everybody, grab a plate.”

Chris released her face and gave her a gentle push toward the kitchen. “You better hurry and get yourself a plate.”

“I think your son is going to beat me to it,” Noel said with a smirk.

Nick was the first to jump up off the couch, his tall muscular frame graceful as he slid into the kitchen.

Chris huffed. “Wasn’t hungry, eh?”

Noel burst out laughing and Nick glanced up from his heaping plate, watching them suspiciously. “What are you two going on about?”

“Nothing, son.” Chris winked at her before heading to the kitchen sink to wash his hands, bumping his son gently with his shoulder as he passed.

Nick came around next to her, pausing with his brown eyes narrowed. His sandy hair was buzzed short, but Noel knew when it grew out it would have strands of gold and mahogany. In his red plaid flannel shirt and blue jeans, he looked good. Grown. Hot.

She stole a bacon strip from his plate and bit into it, ignoring his huff. “Whatchu looking at?”

“A bacon thief and co-conspirator. What were you and my dad discussing?”

“Nunya.”

Nick rolled his eyes. “So mature.” When she went for his plate again, he smacked her hand away. “Get your own, mooch!”

Noel laughed, watching Nick head into the living room, admiring the wide shoulders of his back. Yeah, all right she could admit it. Her best friend was a bona fide hottie, which unnerved her a bit. She still remembered the five-foot-seven string bean who’d left for boot camp. Two months later, she’d hardly recognized him. A late bloomer, Victoria had called him. He’d grown several inches and put on fifty pounds of muscle. He was even taller now and it didn’t mean anything that she’d noticed. Just that she had two eyes and a brain.