Elle sighed. “Not as much as I thought it would. Thanks for stopping to see me.”

“I didn’t come for you. I . . .” She shook her head. “He doesn’t have any decorations, Elle. Not a one.”

“Spence?”

“No,” Colbie said. “Santa Claus.”

Elle laughed and put her hand to her heart. “I feel so proud of your sarcasm and cynicism. Spence doesn’t have any decorations because he won’t let Trudy decorate his place.”

“Why not?”

Elle shrugged.

“Probably something stupidly male, like he thinks he doesn’t have a right to Christmas because he doesn’t have family around other than Eddie. Which is bullshit because we’re his family and he never puts anything over us ever.”

“Do you have any extra decorations?” Colbie asked. “And how can we get rid of him for a bit?”

Elle picked up her phone and checked something. “He and Caleb are out at Marin Headlands, probably drone-testing.” She called someone. “Need holiday decorations,” she said. “For Spence’s apartment. No, he’s not asking. Colbie is.” She listened for a few seconds and then laughed wryly. “I do get the irony.” She disconnected. “Willa’s bringing you some stuff. She’ll meet us at the elevator.”

“And the irony part?” Colbie asked.

“Spence has always pushed us to go with our hearts and yet he’s managed to hold back on going with his. Until now.”

Colbie shook her head. “No, you don’t understand. I’m leaving tomorrow morning. But I don’t feel right going until I know he’ll be okay, that he’ll still celebrate Christmas.”

Elle just looked at her. “What about Cinder?”

“She’s coming with me.”

“You’re taking a stray cat but leaving behind your man?”

Colbie’s heart twisted. Her man . . . “He doesn’t fit into the carrier I bought.”

Elle shook her head. “You two are both so stubborn you should have your pictures in the dictionary.”

Colbie opened her mouth and then shut it. She had no defense.

Willa did indeed meet them at the elevator and the three of them decorated Spence’s apartment. At the forty-five-minute mark, Finn called Willa and warned them that Spence and Caleb were back and heading their way.

Willa and Elle vanished, saying something about not wanting to get caught in the cross fire. Plus Keane had sexted Willa, so she was in a big hurry to get home.

Colbie stayed, quickly changing into the dress she’d worn on her and Spence’s first date because she knew how much he’d liked it.

Spence and Caleb walked in the front door less than a minute later, each carrying two drones, looking tense and unhappy.

They set their things down, Spence’s gaze never leaving Colbie, who was standing in the center of his now decorated living room, surrounded by twinkling white lights, garland, and mistletoe . . . everywhere.

She might have gone overboard.

There was also a tree in one corner with colorful balls hanging from the branches. She had no idea how Willa had gotten it here so quickly, but she hadn’t asked questions in her eternal gratitude.

Spence looked stunned. “When did Christmas throw up in here?”

Caleb, clearly taking in the tension between them, backed to the door. “I’ve gotta . . .” He jerked a thumb in the direction of the door and then vanished.

Spence met her gaze, his own completely shuttered from her for the first time since she’d met him. “Thought you were gone,” he said.

“My flight doesn’t leave until the morning.” She gave him a small smile. “And I kept thinking about how lonely it seemed in here, the only place in the entire building without holiday decorations.”

He held her gaze a moment and blew out a breath. “Look, you’re a fixer. I get that. You assume responsibility for everyone and everything around you. But I don’t need fixing, Colbie.”

“I know.”

He gestured around them. “And yet there’s stuff twinkling everywhere,” he said, still not coming toward her.

Not touching her.

His voice distant.

It broke her heart and she closed her eyes.

“Colbie.”

His voice. Low. Sexy. Perfect. Was she really going to be able to walk away? And even if she managed that, how was she going to move on and forget? The lump in her throat became so huge she couldn’t swallow. Or speak. Stupid lump.

Then she felt his hands on her shoulders. “Honey, look at me.”

She opened her eyes and found his intense and unwavering.

“This isn’t easy for me either,” he said. “I suck at goodbyes.”

She could only nod, but she did step into him and press her face into his throat.

He let out a breath and his warm arms came around her, hard. “We’ve got a problem.”

“What?”

“I want to toss both our phones out the window and then lock ourselves into my bedroom. Tell me absolutely not.”

Instead she let her lips brush softly against the hollow of his throat.

“Honey.”

“I’m trying.” But that was a big fat fib. She wasn’t trying to say no at all.

“Last chance,” he warned.

She lifted her head and met his intense gaze. “I want this. I want you, Spence, even if it’s the last time.”

“Colbie,” he said quietly, regret heavy in his voice.

She closed her eyes tight.

Apparently getting that she didn’t want to talk, he took her hand and used it to pull her slowly back into him, giving her plenty of time to change her mind.

Which wasn’t going to happen.

She kissed him and then kept at it, kissing hello and goodbye and just because, because she knew that all this was going to stop soon. When she left. She’d had trouble sleeping because she missed him already, so much.

He seemed to feel the same as her as he put everything he had into the kiss, his hands running reverently over her body. “Did you wear this dress for me?”

“No, I actually forgot how much you like it.”

He chuckled. “Liar.” He tightened his grip on her. “I’m going to miss you too.” He pulled her into his bedroom, and then she was in free fall to the bed.

He stood at the foot of the mattress looking down at her, eyes dark with nefarious intent, and something new swirled through past the sadness she was keeping at bay.

Anticipation.

Lust.

She’d felt the pull of both those things before with him, of course, but this time there was also something else.

Affection.

Deep affection.

New, terrifying, and . . . even more arousing. “Spence.” She crooked her finger at him.

He responded by climbing up her body to kiss her hard, both demanding and gaining access to her mouth. Leaning over her, his hands roughly ran the length of her body until she was caught up in a rising tide of hunger and need that didn’t give a damn about commitments or declarations of love.

When he pulled her phone from her pocket, she had to laugh.

He removed his phone from his own pocket as well, held up both for her to see, and then vanished.

He was back in twenty seconds.

“Did you throw them out the window?” she asked.

“No. Even I can’t bring them back from a five-story fall. I put them in the freezer.”

She laughed.

He didn’t. She could see the effect she was having on him and it was incredibly empowering. She started to sit up to get her hands on him, but before she could, he slid to her ankles and yanked, making her fall to her back.

She stopped laughing and maybe moaned as he crawled up her body. Holding her gaze, he slowly pulled her hands above her head, pinning her to the mattress beneath him, covering her mouth with his. This was no simple goodbye kiss but rather a “not letting you go before I make sure you never forget me” sort of kiss, and it gave her a full-body shiver of the very best kind.

“Off,” he murmured, fisting a hand in the material of her dress, pushing it up enough to reveal her black lacy panties. Then, before she could lend a hand, he’d stripped her himself. Which wasn’t to say he did this impatiently. In fact, he spent a lot of time kissing and suckling and fanning the flames over every inch he exposed.