Page 56 of A Newport Christmess

I already had leggings on under my yoga pants and was wearing two sweaters, so I put on my coat and boots and shoved my gloves in my pocket. My beanie wouldn’t fit over my messy bun, so I quickly undid my hair and braided it in a massive side braid before shoving the beanie on and locking the door behind me.

Landon opened the door before I reached the lower landing. “Come on in for a second. I just need to find my gloves.”

I stepped in and shivered when the cold air touched my face and hands. “It’s freezing in here.”

“That’s why I’ve spent the day upstairs.” He smirked at me. “At least part of the reason.”

I pointed a finger at him, slightly confused by his admission. “Are you flirting?”

“After that super-intense boundaries talk, there’s no way.” He walked down the hallway toward the back room, his low chuckle trailing after him.

In his absence, I scanned the apartment. It had a decent-sized living room with a large television settled over a row of lower shelves and a similar-colored sectional to the one upstairs, though not as massive. There was a small kitchen and a hallway with four doors, two on each side. The decor was a nice, clean, nautical look with red accents among a lot of blue, white, and gray. “This is nice,” I said.

“It’s been a great rental,” he called from the back room before reemerging with his gloves in hand. “But if you see Nikki, don’t mention my lack of Christmas decorations. I need to get some up before the guys come.”

“Why didn’t you put up the Christmas tree you bought for upstairs?”

“I returned it to the lot. I didn’t want to risk you having another encounter with it.”

Why did he have to be so darn thoughtful? Maybe I should ban him from that as well. Though, with how many times he’d tousled his hair and run a hand over his beard in the last few hours, it wouldn’t matter. He seemed as serious about keeping our newly appointed boundaries as I was.

He opened the door. “Ready?”

The afternoon sun shone off the snow, making it glisten like countless crystals covered it. I squinted at the sight. “It’s crazy to think this much snow fell in one night.” I glanced back at Landon, who locked the door behind us.

“Seven inches of new snow fell on top of the inch or two we already had. It’s a decent amount.”

We started up the shoveled drive to the unplowed street, and I did my best to not conjure up the memory of Landon shoveling snow earlier. I shouldn’t have watched from the window as long as I had, not only because I had so much to do but because it hadn’t helped my resolve in keeping our rules. “The snow won’t affect Nikki’s wedding, will it?” I asked, desperate to clear the image of him shoveling from my mind.

“It shouldn’t. They’ll have the roads clear in the next day or two, and as long as we don’t get another big storm, which isn’t on the ten-day forecast, travel shouldn’t be restricted. Really, the timing of this one was pretty perfect. Had it been next weekend instead ...” Landon shook his head. “I’m not sure what Nikki and Kade would have done.”

We reached the unmarred snow that covered the road. Each step caused a satisfying crunch beneath our boots. The sky was a bright blue, and only the slightest of breezes moved through the glistening, snow-burdened trees. “I’m sorry I’ve been lame today,” I said, looking at Landon out of the corner of my eye. “I really need to get these gingerbread houses finished.”

“Don’t apologize. You have work to do. Besides, watching you has been extremely entertaining.”

“I highly doubt that with how often you nodded off in the last few hours.”

A smile slid into place. “I wasn’t the only one doing the watching, then?”

I laughed. “Your constant shifts to sleep-breathing were hard to miss. It had a Pavlovian effect on me. I nearly joined you once or twice.” My head whipped toward him. “In taking a nap. Not with you.” My quick exhale came out in a puff of white air.

“You would’ve been welcome.” Landon’s smile widened, but he continued walking. “We’ll see the bay just around this corner.”

As I tried to keep up, my legs burned at the exertion. Right after we passed the fourth or fifth house, the view opened up to the left, an expanse of water glistening nearly as brightly as the snow. It was beautiful. Breathtaking, really.

“Easton Bay,” Landon said at my side. “That right there is a popular beach in the summer.” He pointed to the shore fifty yards in front of us, where only a thin line of sand was visible between the snow and the waves that drifted lazily in and out.

I drew in a long, frigid breath of salty air, as though I could inhale the beauty of it all. “I can’t believe you live so close to this. It’s incredible.”

His gaze scanned the scene. “Sometimes I forget to pay attention, but it really is.”

I felt my pocket for my phone but sighed when I realized I’d left it behind.

Landon’s gaze slid to me. “What’s up?”

“I was going to take a picture, but I left my phone at the house since it’s dead.”

“May it rest in peace.”