My December Darling: A Holiday Novella

Making a deal with Catalina to not build the set without her is a no-brainer. Since I bought the Galactic Command Base because of her, of course I’d rather spend the time building it together, but I’m not about to admit that.

Together, we spend the next thirty minutes sipping coquito and working while Gaby and Aiden hang out with us. Eventually, the couple disappears into his room, leaving me alone with Catalina. I expect her to get skittish once she’s alone with me, but she seems to not care about their absence and carries on with building.

We spend the next hour passing pieces back and forth, and I repeatedly ask her for the manual despite not really needing it, strictly because I enjoy the graze of her fingers against my skin far too much. A man like me could get addicted to a touch like hers. That much has become clear after tonight, along with my inability to stop myself from every opportunity to touch her.

Eventually, our movements start to lag, and I reluctantly call it a night once I catch Catalina stifling her yawn.

“Do you need me to take you home?” I ask when she stands and stretches her legs.

She cringes. “Gabriela offered, but…” Her gaze swings to Aiden’s shut door. No obvious sounds come from the room, so most likely they both just fell asleep.

“I don’t mind driving you.”

Her brows knit together. “Um, that’s all right. I can call for a ride. There’s no need to go out of your way to take me home.”

“It’s the least I can do after you saved Aiden earlier from making a huge mistake.”

Her cheeks turn a light pink. “It’s fine, really. I can just call for someone on the app and save you the trouble.”

Rather than push her on the subject, I motion toward her phone. “If you insist.” I sit back against the couch and bite back a smile.

Her eyes narrow at my mouth. “Thank you, though. That’s…sweet of you.” She trips over the words.

“Do you want me to get you another drink while you wait?”

“A drink?” Her brows pinch together. “The car will be here in… Forty minutes?” The pitch of her voice rises. “Seriously? And since when are rides this expensive?”

“Since all the rich people started moving here.” I swallow the last swig of coquito before placing the cup on the coffee table.

“This is ridiculous.” Catalina pockets her phone with a scowl.

“My offer still stands.”

She takes a deep breath. “All right. Thanks.”

With a grin, I head to the front door and pluck my keys off the hook while Catalina cancels her ride and grabs her purse. When she turns to the door, I’m already holding her coat out. I expect her to take it from me, but she pleasantly surprises me by turning around and inserting her arms into both holes instead.

My fingers graze her neck as I pull her hair free from underneath the coat, earning a sharp inhale from her that makes my smile widen.

She might pretend to be unaffected by my presence, but her reactions tell a different story. One with an alternative ending where she doesn’t resist me at every single turn, but rather, she accepts that there is something…special between us. Something worth exploring, even if it scares her.

She spins on her heel to face me. Something pulls me toward her, and before she knows what I’m doing, I reach down and help button her coat.

She stands there, still as a statue, while I make my way down the row of buttons, taking my sweet time while her chest rises with each ragged breath.

“All good?”

“Yup.”

“You sure?”

“Yes.” Catalina doesn’t look me in the eyes until I open the door and motion for her to exit before me.

“Thank you,” she says in a soft voice that can hardly be heard over the sound of me zipping my jacket.

“You’re welcome.” I lock the door behind us and lead her to my SUV. It’s a used model I purchased last year after my crappy car gave out on me, and one I’m grateful for given Michigan’s winter weather. My last one didn’t have blind spot sensors or seat warmers, so I appreciate the upgrades.

When I get in the car, I immediately turn on the seat warmers for both of us and arrange our heater settings, making sure Catalina’s vents are open and facing her.

She looks at me with a curious expression that has me asking, “What?”

“My dad always does that for my mom,” she says it with a hint of apprehension, as if the confession might cost her something.

I’ve seen Aiden and his dad do the same thing countless times for the women sitting beside them, so I never thought much of it until Catalina mentioned it.

She yawns as I pull out of the parking spot. My car might have a back-up camera, but that doesn’t stop me from placing my hand on the back of Catalina’s head rest and turning to look back. My fingers graze the nape of her neck in the process, earning a slight inhale from her and a little zap of electricity along the tips of my fingers.

Teasing Catalina might be my favorite kind of punishment yet, knowing I’m only tempting myself in the process.

The drive to her parents’ house isn’t a long one, so I decide to make the most of it since she has been in such a giving mood tonight.

“Have you made any progress on your maid of honor speech?”

She turns in her seat, stealing my attention away from the road for a second before I get a grip on myself and the steering wheel.

“Why are you asking?”

“Because I’m curious how long you plan on putting it off.”

She stares at me for a few blinks before speaking. “I’m not usually a procrastinator, but…” Her voice drifts off.

“What?”

“I’m not exactly good at sharing my feelings.”

“Really? I would’ve never noticed.”

She smacks my arm with a soft laugh.

“It’s not easy,” I say. “Took me far too long to write my best man speech if we’re being honest.”

“Ugh. At least you’re done! The idea of pouring my heart out…of trying to make people laugh?” she says the last word with an endearing crinkling of her nose. “Safe to say I suck at that, so yeah, I’ve been putting it off for as long as humanly possible.”

“You know, I’m not one to brag⁠—”

She scoffs.

I grin. “But I’m pretty good at both of those things.”

“Of course you are,” she mutters under her breath.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’re good at everything.”

“No. Definitely not everything, but I’m flattered you think so highly of me.” My comment earns me a soft slap to the shoulder, followed by a tinkle of laughter from the woman beside me.

Joking about my perfectionism has become a defense mechanism because I’d rather make light of a subject that causes me discomfort than give people too much insight into why I act that way in the first place.

No one is perfect, but I spent far too long agonizing over being the best in every single way to please my parents, only to realize a little too late that I was hurting myself in the process. It took me a while to accept that messing up is a normal part of life, and I’m now a recovering perfectionist.

Catalina sighs. “Well, my mom couldn’t stop raving about your speech, so I know it’s good.”

“I could help you.” The words leave my mouth in a rush. “If you want me to, that is.”

“You’d help me?”

“Sure.”

“Why?”

I raise a brow. “Because you’re running out of time.”

“I still have two weeks.”

“And how have the last sixty-three weeks been going since you found out you’d be the maid of honor?”

She makes a sour face.

“I thought as much,” I say.

“No need to gloat.”

“But it’s so cute to see you get all flustered when I do.”

She bares her teeth at me.

“Don’t tell me you’re too proud to accept any help.”

“I’m not proud. I’m…nervous.” She bites down on her bottom lip.

“About?”

“I don’t want you to judge me.”

I shake my head. “I won’t.”

“You say that now.”

“And I’ll say it every day until I’ve convinced you to let me help.”

“But I’m the one who is supposed to be writing the speech. Not you.”

“Maybe you just need someone to bounce ideas off?” I ask.

She stares at me. “And you’re that person?”

“Seeing as I wrote a speech worthy of your mother’s raving, I think so.”

“What do you want in exchange?”

“Who says I want something?”

“Everyone wants something. You’re no exception, Captain America.”

My upper lip curls. “I’m growing to resent that nickname.”

She tries to hide her smile, but I catch it in the window’s reflection.

“So, what do you want?” she asks after a few moments.

“I’m not sure you’re ready for an honest answer.” My response seems to pique her interest.

“Shouldn’t I be the one to decide that?”

My heart picks up speed. “Truth is, I just want to spend more time with you.”

“Why?” Her lips curl into a small frown.

“What do you mean why?”

“I don’t understand.”

“Then allow me to make myself clear one last time,” I say as I pull the car to a halt in front of a red light. “I’m interested in you, which means I want to spend time getting to know you.”

She tugs at a loose button on her coat. “There’s not much to know.”

“You do a good job making people think that, but I know what you’re doing.”

She bites down on the inside of her cheek. “I’m only here for two more weeks.”

“So I’ve been told.”

“This can’t go anywhere.” Her pointer finger swings between us.

“Why not?”

“Because I’m leaving after the wedding.”

That might be true, but that doesn’t mean we can’t make the most of the time she is here.

“Fine,” I answer, making her brows scrunch together.

Does she really expect me to give up so easily? If so, now I’m equal parts insulted and motivated to prove her wrong.

“Making the most of two weeks with you seems better than spending a lifetime wondering what could’ve been.”

She groans under her breath. “Someone has been watching one too many episodes of The Duke Who Seduced Me with Gabriela.”

“Well, she did tell me to take notes.”

Catalina shakes her head with a smile, and I’m so distracted by the sight that I miss the light turning green until she pokes me in the arm.

“Go.”

I press my foot against the accelerator. She mulls over my offer in silence, and I decide to keep quiet so she can come to a decision of her own.

It takes her a few minutes, but she turns to face me. “If I agree to let you help me…”

I smile.

She glares. “I said if!”

“Mm. Carry on.”

She throws her arms up. “Ugh. I’m regretting this already.”

“Regretting what?” I tease.

“Agreeing to let you help me.”

“Is that a request?”

She makes another noise of discontent, and I release a short laugh. “I’d love nothing more than to help you.”

“You’re annoyingly smug right now.”

“And you’re adorably flustered.”

She dips her head in a poor attempt to hide her burning cheeks.

I decide to put her out of her misery by saying, “You won’t regret this. I promise.”

I may have won this battle, but the war against Catalina’s walls has only begun, and I’m looking forward to the process of tearing each one down.