“I am,” Axel said. “It doesn’t hurt to acknowledge it once in a while.”
Francesca rolled her eyes. “My brother needs more attention than I do.”
“Probably because you look like a boy,” Axel jabbed.
She kicked him in the shin before she headed up the stairs.
“Ouch!” Axel hopped on one foot as he held his other shin.
Yaya shrugged. “You had it coming, honey.”
I didn’t feel bad for him at all. In fact, I was trying not to laugh.
“You have the same room as last time,” Yaya said.
That’s what I was hoping for. It was right next to Francesca’s. “Thank you. I appreciate it.”
***
After dinner, we watched TV while the fire burned in the hearth. It was dark outside, but the powder of snow glistened under the moonlight. Sometimes we heard the sound of an owl. It always made Axel jump.
“The country is creepy…” Axel shivered slightly.
“If you’re a sissy,” Francesca jabbed.
“You want me to push you in the fire?” Axel warned.
“I’d like to see you try.” Francesca put down her book and gave him a challenging look.
Axel shook his head. “You’re lucky it’s Christmas.”
“And you’re lucky I’m not going to kick you again.”
Surprisingly, their banter wasn’t annoying. I didn’t have a sibling so I wasn’t sure how they behaved. I wasn’t sure how family dynamics worked at all—until they let me spend the holidays with them.
Yaya had already gone to bed, and I was waiting for Axel to hit the sack too. Francesca and I hadn’t talked about our behavior during the trip. Would she mind if I slept with her? Or was she too afraid we would get caught and people would assume the worst? I couldn’t ask her until we were alone. While I loved being up there with her, surrounded by the snow, I wished I could be myself with her. She was the closest person to me, and I missed our natural relationship. But I had to hide all of that from Axel because he would assume something more was happening between us. I didn’t want him to think I went back on my word and I was sleeping with his sister. Technically, I was. But not in the way he meant.
“I’m sick of listening to your voice.” Axel left the couch and headed to the stairs. “I’m going to sleep.”
“Good riddance.” She picked up her book again.
“You don’t have to stay down here with her.” Axel’s eyes were on me.
“I’m fine.” She was the only person I wanted to be with anyway.
“It’s your funeral.” He headed up the stairs into his bedroom.
After a few minutes of silence, I realized we were alone. “How’s the book?”
“Good.” She turned the page.
“Why are you sitting all the way over there?” I was on the sofa and she was in the armchair.
“The fire.”
I grabbed a cushion then placed it on the ground in front of the fire. Then I lay down with my hands behind my head. “You’re going to leave me all alone?”
She set the book down then crawled onto the floor next to me. We shared the pillow and listened to the fire crackle in the hearth. Our feet were near the opening, so they stayed warm despite the winter chill.
“I like it up here.”
“It’s nice, huh?”
“Yeah. I would like to have a cabin in the woods someday.”
“It would be a little spooky.”
I shook my head. “I’m a grizzly bear. Remember?”
“How could I forget?” She curled up into my side and rested her hand on my stomach.
“So, how are the sleeping arrangements going to be?”
“Meaning?” She released a quiet sigh like she was trying not to fall asleep.
“My room or yours?”
“You want to sleep together?” she asked. “Here?”
“We won’t get caught.”
“You’re sure about that?”
“I’ll go back into my room before anyone wakes up.”
“It’s pretty risky…”
I looked into her eyes and was reminded of the color of algae floating on top of the lake just a mile away from there. “I like risky.”
“If Axel caught us, he’d throw a hissy fit.”
I shrugged. “When did you start caring about his opinion?”
“When it could ruin Christmas. Yaya works really hard to make everything perfect. I don’t want to mess that up for her.”
She was right. “I hope I’m strong enough to stay in my room. You’re right next door.”
“I’ll lock it so you won’t be tempted.” She gave me a playful look.
It would take a lot more than a locked door to stop me from getting to her.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Hawke
“You want to build a snowman?” Francesca wore a thigh coat with her hood up. She wore skin-tight ski pants and thick boots. Even though she was completely covered, she still looked cute.
“A snowman?” I’d never done that before.
“Yeah.” She kneeled in the snow with thick gloves on her hands. “We need to make the bottom first. Help me.”
I squatted down beside her and watched what she was doing. I helped her ball the snow into a large mound then pack it until it felt solid. Even though it was freezing cold, I felt warm from all the work. After we made the bottom, we started on the middle section.
“You’ve never done this before?” she asked.