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We’re both riveted to the screen, and I can’t stop smiling at how many times Cassidy has quoted some of my favorite lines. This girl is an enigma. One I wholeheartedly want to figure out.
With every moment I spend with her, something shifts.
“So I have to know… which is it? Christmas or no?”
She grins before rolling her eyes. “Does it really matter? It’s a kick-ass movie. Who the hell cares if people think it is or isn’t a Christmas movie? I’ll watch it any time of the year.”
“If someone feels that strongly that it’s not a Christmas movie, I let it pass. To each their own.”
“Exactly,” she says. “I like it no matter what.”
I grin manically because that is a non-answer if I’ve ever heard one. I stand by what I said. If someone says it’s not a Christmas movie, I won’t argue with them. But I say yes.
“Okay, but really. Which one?”
Her head lolls back on a groan.
“Why do you men always have to make big deals out of things that aren’t?”
I guffaw, playing at hurt. “You men? I’m shocked you’d make such generalizations.”
“I’ve yet to meet a man who doesn’t demand you choose a side where Die Hard is concerned.”
“Everyone has an opinion, and yours can’t be that generic.”
She laughs. “I don’t personally think of it as a Christmas movie, but then again, it wasn’t something I watched around Christmas. You and me—”
She stops mid-sentence, staring off into space.
“You and me,” I press, but she swallows and waves her hand.
“We’re just different.”
It’s all she says, and it makes zero sense in the context of our conversation. She snaps her mouth shut and turns away, acting strange yet again.
“What’s next?”
Just like that, she shuts down any possibility of me prying by moving on to the next topic.
I turn on some lame drama, and I’m not at all surprised when Cassidy dozes off.
The TV plays a political show, but I don’t pay any attention. I’m lost in thought. My mind races from Cassidy’s reactions tonight, all the way to tomorrow’s game.
Typical.
My head is always yo-yoing from one thing to the next.
At some point Cassidy nestles into my side, laying her head on my shoulder, and all feels right in the world. My mind eases and eventually clears; all I can focus on is her steady breathing. This feels familiar.
Like home.
I grind my teeth, so fucking tired of thinking of the past.
Right now, I’m just going to bask in the moment with Cassidy’s warm body next to me. Because at the end of the day, this is what my life is now, and nothing can change that.
26
CASSIDY
