"I can't believe we got this much snow." Mia groaned, shoveling another pile of snow off the driveway so that they could get out of it. "I know. I'm so sorry to make you do this when you could be inside sleeping, warm and cozy in your bed. Or my bed. Since you seemed to like it last night."

She threw a sideways glance at him before reaching down to grab a handful of snow and throw it at him. It turned into dust before it could hit him. "I was cold." She reasoned, but from the smile on his face, she could tell he knew she was lying. "Right. Right. If that's what helps you sleep at night." He said with a chuckle, taking his shovel and scooping a pile away. "Actually, no...I helped you do that. Tell me this, do you always climb in bed with strangers?"

Her eyes grew wide and she whirled around to look at him again, almost losing her footing on the slippery terrain. "No. But you were warm. And you did offer your bed. So, I took you up on it. Has anyone ever told you that you make an excellent foot warmer?"

He was thoughtful before he answered, "no, and I wish I could say thank you but my calves almost froze off. You should try wearing socks." She snorted. "Yeah, because that's sexy."

"You'll need a lot more than socks in bed to be sexy when your toes fall off from frostbite."

"They won't fall off. You won't let that happen, right?" She teased. "I'll see what I can do. Are we almost done? I'm hungry and ready to get on the road." He whined and she laughed. "Yeah. We should be good to go after this last push."

"Excellent!" He exclaimed, his eyes lighting up as he shoveled the last spot on his side and pushed the snow out of the way.

*

"Oh, thank GOD there's a Mcdonalds!" Justin yelled out, pointing in the direction of the bright yellow arches. "And they still have breakfast." She added as she looked at the time. How they'd managed to get up and out the door before Mcdonald's stopped serving breakfast, she wasn't quite sure, but she was definitely grateful for it. She pulled off the road and into the parking lot, opting to go through the drive-thru instead of taking the time to go inside.

It's not long before they're back on an open stretch of road, nothing but trees and snow banks in front of, and behind, them. The ride is quiet except for the hum of the radio, a station that seems to be playing some kind of Al Green Power Hour, and Mia finds it intriguing that Justin knows almost every word to every song they play. Her eyes widen in horror when he screeches out the next part:

"Youuuuuuuuu make me feel so brand neeeewwwwwwwww..."

"Iiiiiiiiiiiiii want to spend my life with youuuuuuuu..." Justin's dancing in the passenger seat and Mia can't help but sing along with him and laugh, thinking that this is probably the best Christmas she's had in...ever, really.

The song ends and switches to something less catchy and Justin reaches to turn the radio back down. "I'm glad you're going to stay. My parents will love you."

"Why do you say that?" She asks, eyes trained on the road in front of her. "Because you give me shit." He replies, making her laugh. "None of my previous girlfriends were like that." He freezes when the word tumbles out of his mouth without thought and quickly tries to explain himself. "Not that you're...but...you know what I mean, right?"

"Yes." She says with a nod, itching to ask what his exes were like. "I don't understand how they didn't. It's so easy to poke fun at you."

"Hey!" He shouts, reaching over the center console to poke her in the side. "So are you, lightweight."

"When are you going to stop calling me that? That got old like a thousand miles back."

He shook his head at her, letting an easy smile fall on his lips as he took her in. "We haven't even been in the car that long."

"Feels like it with you yapping..." She muttered under her breath and he poked her in the side again. "You know, in addition to my stellar feet-warming skills, I have outstanding hearing."

Mia took her eyes off the road to roll them in his direction. "You talk too much." She said directly to him and he laughed it off. "Whatever." Then added, "lightweight." She growled at him. "I am not! I just didn't eat a whole lot yesterday and Johnny always kind of kicks my ass if I consume him in large quantities."

"Hmm...if you say so. I'll be testing you out again, though, to see if you're telling the truth. My best friend Trace is coming over to the fam's house later on tonight and he and Johnny are tight."

"You're on." She challenges, sticking out her right hand to shake his. She only lets herself get distracted by the warmth and smoothness of his skin a moment before she averts her attention elsewhere. "So, are we almost there?" He looks around at their surroundings and nods. "Think so. We're about 20 miles out of Memphis and then it's pretty quick once we get there. Why? You excited?"

She hums a bit, a grin breaking out on her face. "Actually, yeah. Is that weird?" He returns her excitement, a smile spreading across his lips too. "Not at all. I'd be excited to hang out with me, too."

"You are ridiculous." She says with a laugh before reaching to turn up the radio again-it's playing her song.

"I want a hippopotamus for Christmassssssssss..." She sings out and Justin joins in. She turns to look at him and can't help but think how much her whole routine has been turned upside down since he'd come into her life. And she's also startled to admit that she kind of likes it-likes this weird vibe-y, comfortable feeling she's getting from being around him. She senses he feels it too, and knows that he does when he stops singing to look over at her and give her a wink. 

When they arrive to Justin's house, she thinks she'll propose a toast like he had last night. Only this one will go something like "to Justin, for showing up on my doorstep last night and showing me that there's hope, and it comes in all shapes and sizes, and to shaking up my day..."

Maybe even my life, she thinks.

*

Justin can barely breathe when they pull into the driveway of his parent's house and he's not at all surprised that his palms are sweating. Mia throws the car in park and reaches over and gives his knee a squeeze and a reassuring smile. "Don't sweat it, Justin. Things will work out." He tries his best to return her smile but it comes out as more of a grimace.

"And if it doesn't?" He questions, the pitiful look in those impossibly blue eyes of his breaking Mia's heart. "Then we go back to my house, go a few rounds with Mr. Walker and figure things out."

"Has anyone ever told you how incredible you are?" His eyes are piercing through her soul and she shies away from the compliment, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear nervously. "I'm really not." She whispers out, old wounds of being rejected and not being enough for her parents surfacing from the dark part of her mind. She's forced to meet his eyes when he grasps her chin between his fingers and lifts her face up. "You are though. I don't know anyone who would've helped me out the way you did." His eyes are searching her face, his fingers still on her chin, and he feels that same pull to her that he felt last night. He moves his hand to cup her cheek and his thumb brushes underneath her eyes, a tiredness he hadn't noticed before behind her green eyes.

Mia inhales sharply when she recognizes the look in his eyes and sees his tongue poke out of his mouth to run along his bottom lip. He's going to kiss her right now-and she's going to melt into the seat and die. And this is the worst possible time to do it because she can see the front door of his parent's house swing wide open out of the corner of her eye. Those incredible blue eyes are still raking over her face, memorizing every detail and she doesn't want him to stop looking at her this way but there are now more than just his eyes watching her and it's slightly uncomfortable.

"Justin..." She rasps out, shocked by the sound of her own voice. Justin catches it and smirks, one side of his mouth pulling up and she feels her stomach flip-flop. "We have an audience." His eyes cut away from her face to look at the gathering of people on his front stoop.

"So we do. I'll get you later." He says with a wink. "C'mon...let's get this part over with." He opens the door and then runs to her side to open hers, shivering at the drastic change in temperature from the heat of her car to the outside air. "It's about time, Justin!" He hears his mother call out and he forgets about his bag and everything that had happened between them for the moment and runs to her. "Hey momma." He whispers out, instantly swept into a hug by Lynn when he mutters the words. Tears prick the backs of his eyes and he curses that he'd gotten his mom's sappiness and not his father's (lack of). He'd promised he wasn't going to do this. She stroked the back of his head lovingly, whispering into his ear, over and over, that she loved him. When his dad came around the corner, he wrapped his arms around Lynn and Justin, and Justin was shocked to see tears shining behind his eyes too.

All of this was almost too much to take for Mia and she stood out of the way, waiting until Justin called out to her. She didn't have to be close to the family to know that they were all probably crying and she felt her heart break a little bit when she saw just how close they were. Even knowing Justin for as little time as she did, she could tell that the bond he had with his family was unbreakable. Growing up the way she did, she'd learned to just accept that she'd never have a family like the one Justin had, but right now, she wished with everything in her that she had. She watched as Lynn fussed over Justin, patting his cheeks and poking at his sides, and Paul clapped him on the back, love shining in his eyes, and the smile that Justin gave them both was a completely different one than she'd seen before and he was dazzling. She felt herself fall, just a little bit, for him at that moment. At the site in front of her, she almost just got into her car to leave so she could let them have their time alone. But part of her was selfish and wondered if she'd ever hear from Justin again if she left.

The moment ended when Justin called her over to meet his family-introducing her to Lynn, Paul, Sadie and Billy-parents and grandparents. She wasn't expecting to meet his whole family today and she felt like she was intruding and apologized for doing it, only to be met with laughter and assurances that she wasn't intruding at all, and that any friend of Justin's was a friend of theirs.

"So, you're all tied down now, Justin?" Sadie asked, throwing a wink in Mia's direction, when they'd been seated at the table for a mid-afternoon snack. Mia stifled her laughter as Justin stuttered and stumbled over his response before she jumped in.

"He hasn't put a ring on it yet but...I'm this close to breaking him." She teased; loving Justin's freaked out expression and his inability to form a coherent explanation. "Well, whatever you two end up being to each other, I'm glad it was your house he wandered to last night." Lynn spoke up, reaching over to grasp Mia's hand and give it a gentle squeeze. "Me too." Mia replied, the meaning behind it so much deeper than what his family probably knew. With each second she spent in their presence, her faith in love and family and relationships and...the magic of the season was being restored.

"Yeah, she helped me out just a bit." Justin said with a grin, poking her in the side and she returned it. Little did he know how much he had been helping her.

*

After the snacks, Sadie took to the stove again, this time beginning to cook for dinner.

"You want to help me whip up a batch of cookies?" Sadie asked and Mia instantly took her up on it. After all, cookie baking was her specialty and helping out was the least she could do after their incredible hospitality.

She was almost elbow deep, kneading bread dough when she heard the loud bang of the front door and a male voice call out to the occupants inside the house.

"That'll be Trace." Sadie told her. "The boy is like a homing pigeon." She said with a chuckle, wiping at the flour on her face with her sleeve. "In the kitchen, Trace." Justin called out, peeling at the label on his bottle of beer.

Mia watched as Trace wandered into the kitchen, acting as if he owned the place, and by the way Sadie had greeted him, she guessed he was probably as much a part of the family as Justin.

"So you're the girl Justin told me about on the phone, huh?" Trace asked, introducing himself to Mia after he and Justin had shared a "brotherly" hug. Justin elbowed him in the side and smiled at her through gritted teeth and she laughed nervously. When had Justin had time to talk to him about her? "Uhh, I guess so?" If Trace was Justin's best friend then she had to make a good first impression if she wanted the seal of approval. He looked her over behind the aviators that were still perched on his nose and smiled. "I'd say so by the look of ya. Sadie workin' ya like a dog?"

"Hush, boy."

He chuckled. "The reward is worth it."

"Totally." Justin mumbled, shoving a forkful of cobbler into his mouth. Mia giggled when she watched him struggle to swallow the huge bite, his cheeks puffing out like a squirrel storing nuts. "Seems like it. I've already had a taste of cobbler and I was in heaven."

"There's more? Sadie, you're holding out on me."

"It's on the table." She began and he was sitting in a chair and heaping a pile of it onto a plate before she could finish the sentence. "Need a fork or are you just going to open up your mouth a dump?"

Mia snorted, watching as Trace did almost what she'd just described. "'mm ‘ood." He mumbled out around a mouthful. "You should save some." Justin told him, and Mia put a fork down next to him. "There's starving kids in Africa." She finished.  He almost spit out what was in his mouth as he laughed at what Mia had said to him. He guessed he was probably going to like her a lot. He finished his cobbler and sat and watched as Sadie and Mia made homemade bread for dinner and cookies for dessert, smiling a little bit when he let his mind wander to all the other girls Justin had brought home. He didn't recall Carlee ever offering to help out in the kitchen.

"You ladies good in here? I'm think it's time--" Sadie turned from what she was doing at the stove and nodded. "Of course. I can entertain these two while you're gone. If not, Trace is entertaining enough for the both of us." She said with a wink.

"Ok. Mia, I'll be back." He turned to leave the kitchen but turned back around when he was half way out the entrance. "Oh, and...whatever he says about me...it's not true."

Sadie shook her head and laughed with Mia as he left the room, noting the look in Mia's eyes as she watched him walk away. "Cute, isn't he?" She whispered, and wasn't at all surprised when Mia nodded her head yes. "I think I can finish up here. You and Trace go relax." Sadie instructed. "I got the beer." Trace called out, fishing in the fridge for two cold ones, hitting the tops on the side of the counter as he followed Mia out into the living room.

Trace lifted the half-empty bottle of beer to his lips and took a sip, eyeing Mia over the top of it. It was curious, he thought, that Justin had taken so quickly to her and had gotten so comfortable with her in the short time span. In the lifetime he'd known Justin, he'd never known him to be like that with a girl...even when he was engaged he'd never seen his and Carlee's relationship like he did whatever was developing with Mia. Curious indeed.

And then Mia smiled at him, a row of perfectly straight, pearly white teeth, and her brown eyes sparkled and Trace knew that was probably what had done it for Justin.

"You know, you shoulda dropped the kid on his ass." Trace said jokingly. Mia cut her eyes to him again and grinned. "I should've." Her response made his eyebrows rise to his hairline. "...but he's just so darn cute."

Trace laughed. "Trust me, that'll only get him so far."

Mia winked at him as she took a sip of her beer. "Oh, I know."

"So, you didn't have anything better to do than hang out here today?" Trace asked, wondering why Mia was here with complete strangers on Christmas instead of back home with family. "Who'd want to miss this? Sadies cobbler is worth blowing off any plans I may have had, but I didn't."

Trace whistled through his teeth and called out over his shoulder to Sadie in the kitchen. "You hear that, grannie? You hooked another one."

"Tell her I'm sending some back with her when she leaves!" Sadie called out. 

"You're trying to fatten me up." Mia interjected. Sadie came walking out of the kitchen, dish towel in hand as she wiped her hands in it. "You're darn right. You and Justin could use some meat on your bones!" With that, she shoved another bowl full of cobbler into Mia's hands and Trace pouted when he didn't get a second helping. Sadie eyed him and laughed. "And you, boy, have had a few too many helpings in your lifetime." He pouted even more.

"I'm sorry Justin ran off and left you with this one." Sadie said sympathetically before she made her way out of the living room. "He's not so bad." Mia answered back with a laugh.

"How long do you think they'll be?" She questioned Trace, pulling her feet up underneath her on the couch.

"Who knows-I do know that they needed this somethin' fierce. None of them have been the same since they grew apart."

Tears pricked the backs of Mia's eyes and that same feeling that she was intruding on something big here came back. She felt sorry for herself and for the family that she never had and not being able to spend Christmases this way.

"Shall we grab another beer and head outside? There's a killer hill around the way that's awesome for sledding, if you want." Trace offered and Mia liked the idea of getting out the house and doing something besides wondering what was going on with Justin and his parents upstairs in his room. She knew they were talking and knew it would be a hard one to have. It seemed odd to her that she hated that she couldn't be there with him to comfort him if he was upset or defend him if he needed to be. That same pull to him that she'd felt earlier was growing stronger the longer she was around him and his family and friends and she wasn't sure just what it meant.

*

Trace and Mia were nowhere to be found when Justin and his parents had finished their talk and Justin was partially glad for it. He needed a moment or two to collect himself and get rid of the puffy eyes he probably had from crying. He wandered into the kitchen and found Sadie stewing over a pot on the stove. "Mia and Trace went sledding." She spoke up, looking up at him with a knowing smile. "Glad to have you home, boy." He embraced her in a warm hug and fought not to start crying again. "Me too, Grannie." He whispered. "Me too." She released him and he padded to the back porch window to gaze outside, finding Mia and Trace in the backyard, dragging sleds behind them, and coming back inside. They were both drenched from head to toe and laughing over something. Justin felt a tug of jealousy in the pit of his stomach, mad that he hadn't gotten to go out and have fun with them. But he was glad to see that Mia and Trace were getting along-it meant that Trace had given her the seal of approval. Though why that meant so much to Justin, he still wasn't entirely sure.

They both stomped their snow-covered boots on the mat outside before coming in, stopping in their tracks when they saw Justin. Mia's heart immediately went out to him when she saw his red-rimmed eyes, no doubt from crying. Without a thought, she went to him, wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him. When she realized what she was doing, she pulled back to look up at him and almost laughed at the confused expression on his face. "Everything's good?" She asked, eyes searching his. He nodded before giving her a lop-sided smile-one that she was growing quite fond of seeing directed her way.

"Dude, you're standing under mistletoe." Trace pointed out. As Mia took in Trace's words, she felt her heart rate pick up to a gallop and struggled to breathe. Which was only complicated further when Justin turned those bright blue eyes of his her way, letting the faintest smile tug at his lips. She was suddenly glad the door frame was behind her because when his tongue poked out the wet his lips, she felt her knees turn to jelly. Justin's eyes looked upwards to where Trace had pointed and then back to his friend. "So I am." He replied with a devilish grin, before turning to face her again. He shrugged, "I can't break tradition." Mia met his gaze and felt every nerve ending in her body come to life when Justin slid one arm around her middle to bring her flush against him. If he was going to do this, he was going to do it right, he thought, loving the uneasy look in Mia's eyes at the moment. He reached up to brush a few hairs off her face and grinned brightly at her when she sighed, letting her full, pink lips pucker. He played with the ends of a few strands of hair, testing their texture before he decided to tangle his hand in her long waves. She raised an eyebrow at him, trying to figure out just what he was up to, and attempting to control her heart rate so that she wouldn't pass out before this was all over. Kissing him, she knew, wasn't going to be like kissing anyone else; he knew just how powerful his looks were and what he did to her. She could tell that from the teasing and flirting and innocent touching they'd been doing since they met.

Justin forgot all about the fact that he was kissing her at this moment because of some stupid mistletoe-being truthful to himself, he knew it was more than that. That he'd wanted to kiss her practically since he'd knocked on her door last night. Her eyelids fluttered closed when his head dipped closer to hers and he let his lips ghost over her cheek. He almost laughed when she groaned, impatient. He brushed his mouth against the corner of hers, his lips igniting at the first contact just like he thought they would.

Her legs practically gave out when his lips finally captured hers and she felt her stomach drop to the floor and her heart rate triple its normal speed. His bottom lip nibbled at hers and she opened to him, granting him the access he had been searching for when his tongue traced her bottom lip.

He groaned when their tongues tangled, the sweet taste of her making him dizzy and leaving him wanting more. Her hands came up to grasp at his short curls and he gathered her in his arms, not able to get close enough. His eyes flew open when his knuckles brushed against the wall and he was shocked to find that they'd managed to move by the wall of the stairs. He hadn't even realized they'd been moving at all. She sighed against his mouth when his fingers pushed under the soft cotton fabric of her turtleneck and caressed the smooth skin of her back. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been kissed like this by someone...she couldn't remember much at all at the moment. Her head was foggy from lack of oxygen but she would've rather passed out than stopped kissing him. She felt his heartbeat against her palm when she laid it against his chest, pounding out a rhythm that matched hers. She unconsciously rolled her hips towards his and smiled into the kiss when he growled and tore his mouth from hers. He twisted his hips against hers and smirked at her groan. The look in his eyes, so dark from lust they were almost black burned into hers, melting her into the wall. She ground her pelvis into his again, her chest arching off the wall and he struggled not to rip her clothes off right there. His lips trailed along her jaw and over to her earlobe, nipping at it. "I told you I'd get you later." He rasped out, his breath hot against the shell of her ear and she shivered against him.

"I'd been looking forward to it." She replied, the hand that was on his chest sliding down to grasp at his belt loops to tug him as close to her as she could get him.

"Hey Justin, what do you think about-oh." Through the haze, Justin could make out the sound of his mother coming around the corner from the basement and probably stopping dead in her tracks at seeing him like this. Pressed up against a girl in the middle of their house, one second away from tearing her out of her clothes-he suddenly felt like he was in middle school and just got caught doing something wrong. He jumped away from Mia, putting as much distance between them as he could and giving Lynn a sheepish smile. Mia had to laugh when Lynn winked her way and then turned to stare down Justin. He reached up to scratch at the back of his neck. "We, uhh-she and Trace came in and-mistletoe...the mistletoe made me do it." He stuttered. Lynn chuckled. "You're a grown man, Justin...you don't have to explain it to me. Just-don't let Sadie catch you doin' that or you'll really hear it."

"Yes, momma."

Mia pressed her hand over her mouth to stifle her giggle. "Now, green bean casserole or corn casserole?" Justin stayed silent so Mia answered; her heart beat just barely coming back to normal. "Corn."

"Ye-yeah, corn."

Lynn rolled her eyes, a smile ghosting her face as she turned to walk back into the kitchen. "All right, you two love birds can go back to eating each other's face." Justin turned to Mia, his eyebrow raised and she smiled at him nervously, twisting a strand of hair around her finger. "That got kinda out-"

"...hot." Mia supplied.

"That too. And I'd really like to continue but..."

"Not in your parents house."

He nodded. "Yeah, there's just some things I can't do...at least not for the first go ‘round." He pressed both hands on either side of her face against the wall and leaned in close to her ear to whisper into it. "At least until I can figure out how loudly I can make you scream." He felt her shiver against him and grinned against her mouth when she yanked him by the back of his neck to press her lips to his.

"You really shouldn't talk like that if you don't want me sneaking into your bedroom again tonight." She mumbled, her fingers drawing lazy circles under his shirt just above the waist of his jeans.

"Mmm...I really don't think I'd mind." He said, rubbing his nose against hers. She looked up at him through her long eyelashes and grinned at him, the look in her eyes doing funny things to his insides. She headed into the kitchen and started to help out his mom with something for dinner, looking every bit like she belonged there. If they kept this up, he thought, she just might.

*

Justin wasn't all that surprised to wake up and find Mia pressed against his side, her feet smashed between his calves in an attempt to get the warm. He also wasn't surprised that he liked it; waking up next to her was nice--comfortable, even. He was, however, unhappy to have been awakened by the shrill ringing of his cell phone. Blurry eyed, he could barely read the Caller ID, and tossed the phone back onto the nightstand. He'd check it later when he didn't have this gorgeous woman wrapped around him and keeping him warm.

"Mmmm...who wa' ‘hat?" Mia asked as she yawned. "Don't know...don't care really." Justin replied, tugging the comforter further up over them. "You're comfy." He smiled, pressing his lips against her forehead. "And your feet are freezing. Remind me to buy you pretty Christmas socks for next year."

She pulled back only slightly to give him a questioning look. "Next year?" He shushed her with a finger over her lips. "Sure."

"Can we sleep longer or is your mom going to come in here and announce breakfast soon?" She asked, her fingers tickling along his torso. He shimmied away from the touch, laughing quietly. "We can sleep. If we're not up for breakfast she'll just save some for when we do wake up." Mia stretched and then snuggled in closer to his side. "Mmm...good. I think I'll stay here for awhile then."

"I'd like that."

"Me too."

*

"I'm sad you can't stay longer." Lynn said, pushing a container of peach cobbler into Mia's hands as they were on their way out the door. The phone call Justin had received so early in the morning was the towing company saying they could come and get his car today. Justin turned and wrapped Lynn in a hug, mumbling into her ear something that Mia couldn't quite make out. When they pulled away they both had tears in their eyes and then it was Justin's turn to hug his dad.

"We love you, baby. Come back soon." Lynn told him with a sniffle and he nodded in reply. "I will. I've got the next week off so when I get my car fixed or when I get my rental I'll head back this way."

"Promise?"

"Of course."

Lynn and Paul shocked Mia when they both gave her a giant hug as well. It warmed her heart and she felt the pieces that had cracked when they'd first arrived slowly mending themselves again. She thought she could really get to love this family of his. She could really get to love him too, if she let herself. "Thank you so much for everything, Lynn, Paul. Tell Sadie and Billy that as well. And tell Sadie I'll be in touch for that cobbler recipe." She said with a smile, clutching the food containers in her hands. "Will do, sweetie. And thank you-this Christmas wouldn't have been the same without you."

Mia ducked her head at the compliment, cursing that she felt tears pool in her eyes. "They're right." Justin whispered his hand on the back of her neck as they started to walk to the car. "You made this happen for us. I owe you so much."

She stopped walking to look up at him and swallowed thickly. "I owe you just as much. Someday I'll let you in on it."

"You know, Mia..." Lynn began, calling after the pair as they made their way to Mia's Expedition, "we'll probably come out to celebrate Justin's 30th. We'll see you then." And something in the way Lynn phrased it made Justin think it was more of a statement than a question. Mia turned shocked eyes up towards him and quirked her brow. A nervous grin stretched across his lips as he met her eyes. "Goodbye, Mom. I'll call you once I'm back in the city and have my car. It's probably six feet under by now." He chuckles lightly, jogging around to open up the passenger side door before climbing into the driver's seat. As he's putting the key in the ignition, he looks up through the windshield, Mia standing directly in front of the car with her arms crossed over her chest and an amused look twinkling in her eyes. "What do you think you're doing?" She asks, marching around to poke her head into the driver's side door. He grins, ignoring her question as he turns the key, the engine roaring to life in the cold. "Get in. I'm driving." He instructs, hoping she'll agree. She doesn't say a word and he's pretty sure she's going to protest, but she surprises him when she turns on her heel and heads to the other side of the car. She plops into the passenger seat, buckling her seatbelt and looking up at him through her dark eyelashes. "Fine. But if you put so much as a scratch in the paint job, I won't hesitate to come after your ass."

"You'd drag me to court?" He chuckles, putting the SUV in reverse and checking over his shoulder as he backs out of the driveway. "You forget, I'm a lawyer."

"You forget, I'm a woman. And I can be prettttty persuasive when I want to be."

He side-eyes her and can't stop the grin from splitting his cheeks. "I suppose."

"Not to mention, cute." She adds, situating herself in the seat and angling towards him. "Now that I can agree with." He says with a wink and she blushes twenty shades of pink.

"Thirty, huh?"

Nodding at her question, he pulls out onto the road, navigating through the hills easily, knowing he could drive these roads blindfolded.

"Sorry about my mom back there. She tends to think she's some kind of matchmaker. She never could stay out of my dating life." His hand pulls back from the steering wheel to scratch at the back of his neck uneasily, and what she says next startles him only a little.

"You don't have to apologize. It's not like I'd mind being matched up with you." He takes his eyes off the road for only a second to try and get a read on her face, no hint of her usual sarcasm there.

"Well, in that case..." He begins, switching hands on the wheel so that he can reach over and take her hand into his, "what are your plans for New Years Eve?"