Page 49 of Wrapped in You
Sophie hurried downstairs to find Derek bundled up and ready to go. Cindy had already taken control of the Bluetooth speaker and was removing artwork from the walls to replace it with Christmas-themed ones.
"Be safe out there," Cindy instructed.
"Love you!" Sophie called as they hurried into the bright chill.
Sophie and Derek didn't talk until they reached the sidewalk. Sophie was surprised at how frighteningly chilly her face felt, but she couldn't complain. She'd just told him how strong she was because of her Upstate New York roots.
"It must get pretty cold in Indiana?" Sophie asked, remembering his own childhood.
"Freezing," Derek agreed. "But nothing as bad as this. Or maybe I've just forgotten."
"You don't go back there?"
"Not around the holidays," Derek said. "And I haven't been back since my mother died a couple of years ago."
Sophie furrowed her brow. "I'm sorry for your loss." So much loss.
"She was in a lot of pain," Derek said.
"But still." Sophie trailed off and shoved her hands into her pockets. She was thirty-four years old, and she suddenly felt just how impermanent everything she loved was. Fear invaded her heart.
Derek looped his arm through hers and pulled her closer as they walked. Sophie's heart pattered.
"I haven't had a new friend in a long time," Derek said finally.
Sophie raised her chin. Friends. It had to be good enough for her. "Me neither." She swallowed.
"And I haven't had a Christmas tree in three years," Derek added.
"We'll find a great one," Sophie said. "Maybe later this week, we can come back and find one for your cabin."
Derek waved his hand. "Nah."
Sophie punched him again in the shoulder. "You'll fall in love with mine," she said softly. "Just you wait."
Once in the Christmas tree farm, Sophie and Derek lost each other for a moment, wandering through aisles and aisles of pine. Christmas music sprinkled from speakers at the end of every aisle, and bright blue lights were strung from tree to tree. It was gray and cloudy overhead, and Sophie had the sensation of being tucked under a big gray blanket.
Sophie found Derek in front of a beautiful and symmetrical tree. He spread his arms out in front of it and announced, "I think this is the one."
Sophie fought the urge to touch his hand. "You have a good instinct for this."
"I'm a director," he explained. "Aesthetics are my whole game."
Sophie tried to pay for the Christmas tree herself, but Derek insisted on buying it. "Please," he said. "I gave you such a hard time when we first met. Let me make it up to you."
Sophie's heart pumped. What could she do but agree? The sixteen-year-old who sold it to them couldn't care less about the shimmering attraction between them. He yawned as he helped them tighten the tree on a little cart they could wheel back to Sophie's house.
"Normally, people have cars," the sixteen-year-old said.
Sophie blushed.
"But isn't it nice to walk around in the snow?" Derek asked kindly.
"Whatever," the teenager said.
Sophie and Derek had a good laugh about him as they walked back to Sophie's. They talked briefly about how they'd been asteenagers. Sophie left out the part that she'd met Jeremy back then; that she'd fallen head over heels in a way that still made her weak at the knees. Derek talked about how moody he'd been; how he'd been so sure he'd leave Indiana for California "any day."
"You were right," Sophie offered.