Stuck in Christmas (Holiday Magic #1)

Chapter 12

Twelve

A snowball landed right in my face. “Seriously?” I looked at Eli, the launcher of said snowball. He had no remorse.

“What? I thought I could get payback for that report you did,” he yelled from behind a random child who walked through our impromptu snowball fight.

“Big bad Marine hiding behind a child?” I shook my head. “I only told you that to come clean. You said you didn’t take it personally. That I was only doing my job.”

“Doesn’t mean I can’t get a little payback.” Eli lobbed another one at me.

I stepped to the side, and it sailed wide. Eli came out from behind his tiny human shield, and I let loose a snowball-style fastball at him. Eli, not the kid. It hit my quarry right in the neck, and I dove behind a carnival booth. “I said I was sorry!” I yelled.

No one in the Christmas Carnival seemed to be paying attention to us. It was as if they had their parts to play and couldn’t be bothered by our main character energy. They were the extras in this story. Or, if this were a role-playing game, they’d be the NPCs - non-player characters.

This wasn’t a game.

This was my personal holiday hell time loop.

And in this hell, things had gotten too quiet. I peeked around the booth, looking for Eli. He was nowhere to be seen.

Was it possible he got mad and left?

I thought by telling him about the Restaurant Report before he found out about it that he would appreciate me coming clean. That was the case until he stuck a handful of snow down the back of my jacket. Now it was on like Donkey Kong. He was going down.

I tried to think about him going down in a smexy way, but the holiday movie gods were having none of it.

Ugh.

I ventured out from behind my cover. “Eli?” No sign of him. But, my money was on the former Marine using stealth to attack me next. The hair on the back of my neck stood up, and I felt movement moments before Eli grabbed me and spun me around, holding me tight in his arms. “I’ve got you, now.”

The movement made me dizzy. I wanted him to stop and keep going all at once. I laughed.

Eli stopped but held onto me. “I love how your face lights up when you laugh.”

I pressed my hand against his cold cheek. “Do you forgive me for the report?”

“I should be thanking you for it.” Eli pressed a kiss to my forehead, then released me. “That report showed me that my ducks were not in a row. I was trying to force the opening a week sooner than it should have been. It made me slow down and do things right.”

A warmth bubbled up in my chest. “Then, you’re welcome.”

Eli pointed above our heads. “Look up.”

I glanced in the direction he pointed and gasped.

“Mistletoe,” Eli said.

“So, you’re ready to concede the snowball fight to me? The victor?” I asked breathlessly.

Eli nodded and leaned in to kiss me. I knew it would be earth-shattering and amazing. But the problem is, I’m too doggone competitive for my own good. I smashed the snowball in my hand on Eli’s head. And to add insult to injury, I booped him on the nose before taking off running.

I looked back to find him chasing me with a goofy grin, and I was not watching where I was going. I ran smack into a candy apple stand, toppling right into…

…A freaking snowbank.

“Son of a… snowball.”