She will spend most of her time at the resort anyway, so it’s not that big of an inconvenience, but my plans of enjoying the quiet and reading by the fireplace seem far-fetched now.
Plus, Stella and I might be twins, but when the three of us hang out together, she and Felix usually team up against me. They’re both a lot more extroverted than I am, and deciding what to do quickly becomes two against one. It’s the only reason I’ve gone skydiving or been to a dance club. It’s not all bad. Sometimes they pull me out of my comfort zone, and I’m thankful, but other times, I end up anxious and sweaty. The dance club falls into the latter column.
I leave the suitcase in the back of the Jeep to get later, but grab two of the paper bags filled with food for the weekend. Some of it needs to go in the fridge—assuming it isn’t already full of beer.
I’m wrangling a third bag, so I can get it all in one trip, when a familiar deep voice cuts through my thoughts.
“Hold up. Let me get that.”
Teddy invades my space before I’ve had time to prepare for him. And where Teddy is concerned, I need time to prepare. His hand brushes mine as he takes the last bag from me, sending goosebumps all the way to my toes. I breathe in the scent of his soap, mixed with the winter wonderland around us, and it’s just about the most heavenly thing I’ve ever smelled.
“Thanks,” I mumble as I take him in.
Theo Radford. Star running back of the Valley University football team, my brother’s best friend, impossibly nice guy, and my secret crush.
It’s silly, really. He’s ridiculously handsome and, of course, super popular, and I’m just me. One of Felix’s little sisters. The shy one, the one people overlook.
He’s big and burly like a teddy bear, which is why everyone calls him Teddy. He’s one of the few people that never makes me feel like the “other” twin. I like that about him. I like a lot of things about him.
Including the way the long-sleeved shirt he’s wearing strains against his biceps and back. He’s six foot, two inches, and every part of him is broad and muscular.
“How are you, Holly?” Even though lots of people can tell Stella and me apart, I secretly love when it’s Teddy who calls me by name without prompting.
“Good. You?” My cold cheeks flame with warmth.
“I’m good. Nice antlers.” One side of his mouth quirks up and his dimples are on full display. I love his dimples.
When Teddy isn’t smiling, he looks tough and really intimidating. I’ve been watching him play football with Felix for the past two years and that tough and intimidating look has coincided with a lot of touchdowns. He is no-nonsense, all-out, determined, and aggressive on the field, but when he smiles, Teddy looks like the nicest guy you could ever meet. And he really is.
My hand flies to the reindeer antler headband I’d forgotten I was wearing, and I smile timidly. “Thanks. Felix didn’t say you were coming to the house for Christmas again this year.”
Teddy’s from Virginia, a long way to fly home for the holidays. Last year, he came to our house. It wasn’t the start of my crush, but spending so much time around him definitely kicked it up a notch or twenty.
“I’m not. I didn’t want to impose on your family again. Emmett invited me to his folks’ house for the break.” He nods his head to our luggage, bringing my attention to his dark blond hair. It’s thick and a little unruly, but it suits him. “The suitcase too?”
“I can get that later,” I say.
“I got it.” He reaches in and grabs it then starts for the laundry basket.
“Not that one,” I say too late. The big, white basket is filled with dirty clothes that Stella and I planned to wash once we got to Mom and Dad’s. A pair of my holiday panties with little gingerbread men and women all over them are on top, and I think I might die as Teddy quickly looks away and his cheeks go ruddy.
I take another step from the Jeep and Teddy shuts the back.
“Thank you,” I say again as we walk up toward the cabin.
“No problem.” He stops on the bottom step of the porch stairs to let me go first. “I gather you weren’t expecting us to be here.”
“Felix is nothing if not spontaneous.”
“Sorry.” He cracks a sympathetic smile as I pass by him. A dozen or more people stand on the front porch, drinking and talking.
Inside, the place is a mess. Empty beer cans litter the kitchen counter, the top of the fridge holds a row of liquor bottles, and next to the sink, shot glasses are lined up beside pizza boxes.
Teddy drops the paper bag on the counter and then hoists the suitcase up like it weighs nothing. “Where am I putting this?”
“I’m not sure.” I scan the living room. Pillows and blankets are spread out on both couches and there’s a sleeping bag on the floor.
“You two can have my room.” He tips his head and starts down the short hallway with the second bedroom, and I follow him.
“You don’t have to do that,” I say as he sets my suitcase down next to the bed. Felix will have called the master. It’s on the opposite side and has a private, attached bath.
“It’s fine.” He grabs his duffel bag.
“Where are you going to sleep?” I cannot picture him in a sleeping bag on the floor.
“I’ll mange on the couch.” He winks and it sets off a thousand butterflies in my chest. “Do you want a beer or something?
“No thanks. Not yet.”
He nods and heads back out. I linger in the bedroom for a moment to get my bearings. This trip is off to a rocky start. Are we all really going to stay here?
My fingers find the gold name necklace Stella got me as an early Christmas present. She got one for herself too. She said they were so people would stop confusing us. Our friends from high school could tell us apart, but since getting to Valley, we’ve had to go through the whole people confusing us thing again. It gets a little awkward sometimes when people get it wrong, and I have to tell them I’m not Stella.
We’re only one minute apart and identical twins with matching long, strawberry-blonde hair and brown eyes with flecks of green. Staring at her should be like looking in a mirror, but Stella has that something about her that would make her stand out, even if every person in the world looked the same. She’s fearless and fun, confident. Stella has always been into sports and social clubs, while I like to hang with a small group of friends and cheer her on from the sideline.
If we were the Wakefield twins, she’d be Jessica for sure.
I take a deep breath and force myself to stop hiding. I can do this. Everything will be fine. Felix and his friends are fun, and I’ll be sleeping under the same roof as Teddy. There are worse things.
Teddy is in the kitchen, pouring himself a drink, when I walk out to the main room. It’s open-concept, with the kitchen on one side and the dining room on the other. The living area sits in between with a TV over the fireplace. Sliding glass doors lead out from the dining room to a deck that looks out to the mountains, but the front porch is where people tend to congregate.
The TV is on and Jingle All the Way plays on mute.
“I love this one,” I say, stopping in front of the TV.
Teddy’s long legs eat up the space between us, standing beside me in three big steps. His arm brushes mine and I expect him to pull away, but he doesn’t.