Meet Me Under the Mistletoe (Holiday Romance Collection #3)

7. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

Theo

I might stare a little too long as Noelle walks out the front door of the coffee shop, drink carrier in hand. I might let my gaze follow her down the sidewalk, watch as she tilts her face up to the heavy snow as she walks away.

And then she sticks her tongue out, as if to try and catch one of those fat flakes, and the eroticism of it goes straight to my dick. I almost drop the bottle of water in my hands, my entire system shutting down and going absolutely haywire.

That. That’s what I want for Christmas. I want her, mouth open, looking up at me like she’s waiting for what I can put on that tongue—

“You’re drooling.”

Noelle disappears beyond the view of the wide windows along the front of the coffee shop and I find that I can somehow breathe slightly easier. I glare over at Beau, who’s leaning up against the back counter, ankles crossed, his muscled arms crossed over his chest. Tattoos cover his forearms, visible from the elbow down. He’s staring at me with a shit-eating grin on that stupid face.

“Fuck off.”

He tilts his head to one side, that grin widening. “This conversation feels oddly like déjà vu, doesn’t it?” He snaps his fingers as if remembering something. “Wait, say it again. I got it, now.”

I roll my eyes, heaving a heavy sigh. “Fuck off, Beau.”

“No can do, baby brother.”

I can’t help but laugh. This is exactly the conversation we had earlier this year, when Beau had gone and fallen head over heels in love with Val after their fake Valentine’s Day date. The world certainly has a way of coming back around to kick people right in the ball sack—

“Have you finally grown a pair large enough to ask her out?”

“ Dude —” I snap, glancing around the coffee shop. It doesn’t seem like anyone heard him, but fuck… “It’s not like that with us, okay? Just leave it alone. We’re friends.”

“Sure, friends that want to boink.”

The stare I send his way only makes him chuckle, shifting on his feet. I shake my head, throwing my hands up. “You don’t need to fire me, I quit—” Letting my head drop back so that I’m staring up at the black ceiling tiles above me, I mutter, “Did you really just say boink ? Good God, Val’s made you soft in your old age.”

The humor leaves Beau’s face as he levels me with a hard stare. “Good thing Val knows there’s nothing soft about me when she’s around—”

“Jesus, you horndog, that’s not even what I meant,” I mumble, turning back toward the counter. I pick up my long-forgotten coffee, taking a sip. It’s lukewarm at best. I toss it down the sink to my left and pour another cup of fresh brew. “But it’s good to hear she’s not crying anymore. You must have figured something out—”

I know the swipe of his arm is coming and I dodge it with a boom of laughter. His dark eyes are narrowed on me, his stance poised to strike. He might outweigh me in bulk and muscle by thirty pounds, but I’m taller than him by a good four inches, and a helluva lot quicker.

“You watch that mouth when you talk about my wife.” Beau’s voice is low, deep, and calm, but the undercurrent of possessive rage is there. Oof. The man has it bad.

I grin then, straightening. “You called her your wife.”

Beau straightens too, his face softening slightly as he tilts his head in thought. He scoffs, shaking his head. “I did, didn’t I?” He reaches up and scrubs one hand across the back of his neck. “I honestly haven’t thought about her any other way in months, once I decided I was going to do it… Calling her my girlfriend just feels so… unexceptional, like it doesn’t explain how fucking perfect she is for me, or how much she means to me. Fiancé doesn’t even feel like enough. I want the world to know that she belongs to me, and that I belong to her. Irrefutably.”

I clap him on the back, squeezing his shoulder. “That needs to be in your proposal, or your vows, brother. That was damn moving.”

He shoves me away, but his grin is back in place. “Do me a favor? Don’t let Noelle forget the mistletoe tonight.”

“She won’t forget the mistletoe. She’s got this.” I clap him on the back again. “She knows how important this is, man. We’ve all got your back tonight. Even if Val says no.”

I don’t manage to dodge the arm that bands around my neck this time, my laughter silenced by his forearm as he holds me in a loose chokehold. Admittedly, I probably deserve this one.