That Mistletoe Moment by Cat Johnson

to drink, and we’ll figure out the backstory for you and Nathan so you’re ready. Okay?”
    â€œAll right. Talk to you soon.”
    â€œOkay. ’Bye.”
    â€œ ’Bye.” Noelle disconnected the call with her sister and tried to calm herself.
    At least they had some sort of a plan.
    Still, what if Noelle had exhausted all of her allotted texts in one night? Then she wouldn’t be able to talk to Nathan again until Nikki had time to fix it.
    Worried, she navigated to her messages on her cell. Holding her breath, she typed in a new text to Nathan.
    Good morning .
    It was closer to noon than morning. He should be at work. Unless, of course, he worked the night shift.
    She didn’t know how the Build-A-Boyfriend management scheduled the employees. Maybe they were on call all the time. This company provided a hell of a service, considering she was on a free trial.
    Phone in hand, she sat waiting for his reply. The minutes ticked by, and as she sat, obsessing, another horrible thought hit. What if whatever employee was on duty at the time answered the texts as they came in? Her next message might not be from the Nathan of last night at all. It could be a completely different person.
    Panic hit, as did the fear she’d never talk to that Nathan again.
    This was crazy. She was going insane. This was an app . . . but it felt like so much more. No app should cause such emotions.
    Sadly, she realized no response had come through. She must have used up the free texts.
    That was okay. She’d upgrade. Get more texts.
    Maybe there was an unlimited plan. That would be good. Then, when she did finally get a reply, she’d be able to talk long enough to determine whether it was the same person responding. She was confident she’d be able to figure that out. There had been such a connection between them last night. She had no doubt she’d be able to tell.
    Having talked herself off the ledge, Noelle carried her phone with her into the bathroom to shower so she could get ready for the day. One unexpected visitor stopping by to find her in her pajamas was enough.

CHAPTER 6
    M uscles protesting, Nathan forced himself to cool down after the workout when he’d rather collapse flat on his back on the cold ground. Though that might not be too bad. He could always stretch while he was down there.
    â€œTwo days in a row.” His teammate Stone shook his head as if he didn’t believe it.
    â€œI know.” Nathan wiped the sweat off his face with the edge of his T-shirt.
    â€œI mean, what the hell? It’s Christmas and the commander is trying to kill us.”
    Nathan laughed. “Not kill us. Just make us wish we were dead.”
    â€œWell, I’ll tell you what, it’s working.” Stone huffed out a breath. “You ready to go on in?”
    â€œYeah.” Nathan had cooled down as much as he was going to. Soaked as he was in sweat, it would do more harm than good to stay outside in the late December chill.
    Stone swiveled his head to glance at Nathan as he held open the door of the building for him. “Y’all going home for Christmas?”
    â€œYup. Put in for leave starting noon tomorrow. If no shit hits the fan and we don’t get recalled, I’ll be home for almost a full week.”
    â€œLucky.” Stone scowled. “I didn’t remember to put in for extra days.”
    Luck had nothing to do with it. Nathan was organized. Stone was not. Nathan didn’t mention that and instead waved off Stone’s comment. “You know they’ll cut you loose early Friday anyway. They never make us stick around for a full week leading up to a holiday.”
    â€œYeah. And my parents’ place is only a couple hours’ drive. I can be home in no time.”
    â€œTwo hours is a hell of a lot better than my drive home.” Nathan wasn’t looking forward to making that trip again. Especially not after having just done it a few weeks