Living La Vida Mocha (The Coffee Loft Series)

“Want to sit around the fire?” I asked, falling with a solid thump onto the unforgiving hay bale. My aching tailbone was going to berate me for hours after that.

“That idea has a whole latte potential.”

I wanted to throw a pun back in his direction, but he used the word I had prepped for just the right moment. Scrolling through my brain, I conjured up another word. “You mocha me laugh.”

With a giant smile, he fell beside me untying his skates and setting them off to the side after slipping his boots back on.

Freeing my hands from the warmth of my mittens, I started loosening the laces, wondering how long it would take before I lost feeling in my fingertips. It was cold enough my breath created giant puffs of white, breezy clouds.

“Please, allow me.” Before I could go any further, he propped my foot onto his lap and untied the laces, tugging and pulling which allowed cold air to strangle my ankle.

I shivered uncontrollably.

“You’re freezing.”

“That’s why I want to sit around the fire.”

“Only the second-best activity here.”

I leaned back onto my palms. “You’re really hyping up this whole tree lighting thing. It can’t be that amazing, can it?”

“You’ll see.”