UNDER THE WRONG MISTLETOE

CHAPTER 3

My heart was thudding hard from how close he stood and the scent of his cologne wrapping around me.

“Um, I…” I swallowed. “Someone might see us.”

“What does that matter?” His voice dropped. “It’s not like we’re having s*x or something.”

Oh my God. Did he just say that?

“It’s not about that,” I hissed. “You’re supposed to be in there with Betty—”

He placed one hand on the sink behind me, effectively trapping me between his arm and the counter. “I looked for the girl I saved to come back and thank me,” he said, eyes scanning my face, “but instead I found out how ungrateful she is.”

“I’m not ungrateful, okay? I just didn’t think you’d still remember me.” I looked at him, then quickly at the door to make sure no one was there.

Calhoun glanced at the door too, then back at me. “What are you so scared of, Maddie?”

He was enjoying this. Enjoying watching me squirm. He had nothing to lose… but I did.

“Fine,” I muttered, “what do you want? A thank you?”

He smirked. “I want more than a thank you. You owe me more than that.”

“You do know you’re supposed to be married to my sister…”

“f**k that,” he cut in sharply. “That’s bullshit.”

I clutched my chest dramatically. “Ouch. That hurts.”

“Drop the act.” He stepped even closer. “Steven snitched on you and—”

“Steven?” My heart skipped. Steven, Calhoun’s best friend. Years ago, I had begged him to help me find out if Calhoun liked me too. God, what was I thinking?

I cleared my throat and looked away. “Whatever you heard, you heard wrong. I haven’t even talked to Steven in forever.”

Calhoun raised a brow. “You don’t even know what I wanted to say yet. Which means… you actually told Steven something.”

“We’ve stayed here too long.” I tried to push the conversation away. “I’ll go first—”

“I’m leaving for Canada tomorrow,” he said suddenly. “Every time I come here, you’re never around. So I figured I should tell you… this might be the last time we see each other. Until next Christmas.”

I froze. My mouth moved before my brain caught up.

“Do you love Betty?” I blurted.

He looked shocked for a second. I cursed myself.

“You don’t have to,” I rushed. “I mean.. I’m sorry, I just—”

“No,” he said calmly. “We’re just meeting for the first time—”

I didn’t let him finish.

I kissed him.

I didn’t know where the courage came from…maybe because he was leaving tomorrow, maybe because this might be my one and only chance. But I grabbed it.

His hands slid to my waist instantly, pulling me closer. He kissed me back, slow at first, then deeper…taking control completely. He slipped his tongue into my mouth, exploring me like he had all the time in the world. My fingers tangled in his hair as I melted into him.

“Hm… hmm…” I moaned softly when his fingers gripped my waist tighter. Too tight. I knew those marks would stay.

His scent filled my head… god, he smelled good. Too good.

And then—

“Maddie?” Jeremy’s voice echoed from behind the door.

My heart jumped out of my chest. I pushed against Calhoun, but he didn’t move. I had to step back myself.

“You in there?” Jeremy called.

“No!” I said quickly, eyes darting to Calhoun who was already smirking. “Yeah—anything?”

“Any-anything?” Jeremy repeated. “You’ve been gone for ages.”

I straightened my dress and my hair, which was a mess. “I’ll be out in a sec. I just had a… um… runny stomach.”

Calhoun chuckled under his breath. Heat crawled up my cheeks. I wanted to sink into the floor.

Jeremy tried the door, but it was locked. “Hurry up. Everyone thought you fell in. And their ‘perfect’ in-law is AWOL.”

“I’ll be there. Just go,” I said until his footsteps faded.

I turned to Calhoun, cheeks burning. “I… I have to go.”

“You should’ve thought of that before kissing me,” he said, fixing his suit. “But I’ll take that as your way of saying thank you.”

Then he left.

The door closed behind him, and reality punched me hard.

What was I thinking? Kissing my sister’s fiancé. Part of me regretted it—but another part… was glad I did.

Does that make me a terrible sister?

I stared at my reflection in the mirror. “Is this what I want? To hurt my sister because of my selfish feelings?” I whispered. “God, why did he have to be betrothed to Beth…”

I sighed, ran my fingers through my hair one last time, and opened the door.

But the moment I stepped into the hallway, Jeremy appeared out of nowhere. His expression was unreadable — furious, confused, betrayed. My heart pounded painfully.

He must have seen Calhoun walk out.

“Start explaining, Maddie,” he said. His voice shook with anger. “Or I’m telling Beth.”