“Thanks,” Abby said without smiling at him.
“I hope you have some coffee brewing,” Aunt Cassandra said as she bustled into the living room. “We’re freezing and starving.”
Uncle Dick left the door open and went for the luggage.
Aunt Cassandra came to a halt in the middle of the living room and turned in a circle as she took in the tree and decorations. “Oh, Abby, this is...interesting.”
Abby couldn’t tell whether the woman’s voice translated approval or barely-veiled disapproval. When Aunt Cassandra attempted niceties, she could hide her dislike fairly well.
“Thank you.” Abby crossed her arms. “I think.”
Her aunt turned to look at her, green eyes wide with surprise. “No. I mean it’s very nice. More than we usually put up.”
“This suits me.” Abby headed for the kitchen. “Why don’t we brew that coffee?”
Proud of herself for saying what she felt, Abby made non-consequential conversation for a few minutes.
When her uncle came in with the luggage, she took them upstairs to the guest room.
“Wow, you’ve really done this place up,” Uncle Dick said as he dumped the suitcase on the coverlet and eyed the garland festooned about the large multi-paned window. He glanced at the other flourishes with something bordering on disdain. “Fancy as all get out.”
“This is a—a lovely room.” Aunt Cassandra said, surprising Abby with another smile. “Like you said, the decoration suits you. Very Victorian. Knick-knacks.”
Back downstairs, as they sat around the breakfast-nook table and sipped coffee and munched tuna fish sandwiches, Abby waited for the disapproval to appear. Although her aunt seemed less crotchety, her uncle glanced at Abby with barely concealed dislike. His usual brand of skepticism would appear. Only a matter of time, Abby knew. A few minutes later they moved to the living room.
Abby glanced at the clock. “It’s getting close to noon. I’ve got to go to the store.”
Her aunt sat in the same spot on the couch she’d occupied earlier, and her uncle stood and gazed at her bookcases as if the titles were fascinating.
“You’ve made a nice place for yourself,” he said, tearing his gaze from the books. He winked.
Her insides did a nervous twitch. He always winked when he was about ready to go into a full-fledged attack of teasing.
“Thanks,” she said, standing behind the love seat as if she could use it as a shield.
“Sit down and tell us more about these people you work with,” Aunt Cassandra said, folding her hands in her lap.
Resisting her aunt’s request, Abby put her hands on the back of the love seat and squeezed the upholstery. “There’s Becca and Nick.”
“Nick?”
“He just hired on not long ago. He’s also a mall Santa.”
“A young man?” Aunt Cassandra asked, lifting one suspicious eyebrow.
“Thirty-two.”
Aunt Cassandra’s lips turned into that frown.
The frown.
Nothing, other than her sulking bouts, could be worse than a Cassandra Scowl. Whole nations would crumble under this woman’s glower, never to resurface again. “Oh, isn’t that nice. Just the right age for you. Of course, a man who works in a bookstore and as a Santa isn’t exactly marriage material.”
A sizzling sense of instant resentment gathered in Abby’s soul. The urge to shout at her aunt was almost overwhelming and Abby had to restrain the tone of her voice. “I’m not thinking about marriage. We’re just friends.”
“Friends,” her uncle said, a mild smile on his face. “That’s what they call it now days?”
Shot number one.
Abby clasped her hands in front of her and walked around to the front of the love seat where she sank down slowly.
“Friends,” Abby said.
Uncle Dick retreated to the couch and sat by Aunt Cassandra. He took a long sip of his coffee. “Always did like that euphemistic term.”
Abby forced herself to smile pleasantly. “I’d like to stay and talk, but I have to head to the mall.”
Her aunt’s frown returned. “I see. Well, I’m sure your uncle and I can wander around the town on our own.”
Please do. And wander straight back out of my life again.
Uncle Dick wandered toward the kitchen, carrying his coffee mug. “She’s eager to be with her boyfriend, Cassandra.”
“I’m not eager—” She wouldn’t buy into his goading. “I have a lot of work to do. Becca is leaving on vacation. I’ll give you the extra key in case you decide to come back to the house before I get home.”
Her aunt’s frown increased, if that were possible. “Don’t worry about us. We’ll fend for ourselves, I suppose.”
“Driving around Russel is a breeze. It’s so small you can’t get lost.”
Uncle Dick came back into the room with a full mug of coffee. “Will your boyfriend be joining us for dinner?”
Resentment flooded her blood. Only he could take an innocent sounding question and turn it into a sneer. “Nick has family coming into town, too. I’m sure he’s busy.”
Aunt Cassandra stood and walked toward Abby, her annoyed expression plastered on her face like a permanent Halloween mask.
“We’d really hoped we could spend more time with you, Abby.”
Abby took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I know. But the store is very important, and I can’t shirk my responsibility.”
Before her aunt could retort, Abby turned and headed upstairs to get ready for work. For one moment she’d harbored the thought that her aunt might have changed, however little. Now Abby realized she was mistaken.
Throughout the day, Abby was grateful for the heavy customer load at the bookstore. She needed the diversion both from thoughts of her relationship with Nick, and the knowledge that her aunt and uncle had come to Russel.
Nick worked in the back and the pace at the front counter was brisk, so she had little opportunity to dwell on anything but selling books. Late that afternoon her aunt called. They set a seven o’clock dinner date at La Maison at the mall.
Nick watched her from his seat at the desk. From the curiosity in his eyes, she knew he wanted to know how things progressed with her aunt and uncle.
He pushed up from his chair and crossed to her, standing close but not touching her. “How are you holding up?”
Nick’s warmth, so near, hummed along her senses and she wanted to touch him. “All right, believe it or not.” She sighed deeply. “At first I thought Aunt Cassandra had changed a little. She’s a bit more casual and not so stiff.”
“At first?”
“Yeah. She hugged me. Showing physical affection has never been her thing, so I was taken aback.” Abby grinned. “She even complimented me on the living room. Reluctantly. But at least it was a compliment.”
Nick leaned against the desk and folded his arms, a curious expression carving his face. “Were you surprised or happy that she complimented you?”
“Surprised more than anything. I was totally unprepared for that reaction. I don’t think—I don’t think my uncle has changed a bit. The way he looks at me...” She shuddered, wrapping her arms about her body.
She saw the change in his face, a hard, fierce look she couldn’t recall seeing before. “Did he say anything inappropriate?”
“No. No, he’d never do that in front of my aunt. He never has. His teasing when she’s there is spiteful, but it’s never sexual. It will be interesting to see what happens at dinner tonight. They were also very curious about you.” She explained about her uncle’s ridiculous “euphemism” statement. “Like you were my lover or something.”
As soon as it came from Abby’s mouth, embarrassment filled her face. She wanted to take the statement back.
An irreverent sparkle moved into Nick’s eyes, but he didn’t speak.
Lover.
This hunk of a man, this unbelievably gorgeous, sexy man as my lover. The thought sent darts of arousal straigh
t to Abby’s stomach. She had to drag her gaze away from his.
Moving toward the coat rack, she asked, “Can you come to dinner with us tonight at seven?”
“Wish I could. Remember that dinner I have set with Candace tonight?”
She’d wanted to forget. She almost wished he hadn’t told her. “Oh, right.”
Nick continued. “I’m taking her to dinner tonight at La Maison after we close the store.”
“That’s where we’re eating tonight.”
Chagrin crossed his face. “I’d suggest we all eat together, but Candace said she has something important to tell me.”
As she slid her arms into her coat, she walked toward him. “She won’t give you up that easily, Nick.”
Nick stood up, and walked toward her until they stood close. “Why do you think that?”
Abby plunged forward with her theory, a dull ache starting in her temples. “I’ve met women like her before. It’s in her nature to fight for what she wants. I’ve seen how much she wants you.”
“She wants my money, my prestige as the CEO of a company.”
“Cheese points.”
He smiled, his wide grin a warm, unstoppable charisma. “Yeah.”
The longer she remained with him, the deeper she sank into the quicksand. “Is that always bad?”
He shrugged. “I didn’t think so at first. Now...” His gaze traveled undeniably to her lips and fixated there. “Now, I think it was one of the bigger mistakes I’ve ever made.”
“What made you realize that?”
“The dummy factor.”
“What?”
“I woke up one morning and realized that age had made me stupider instead of smarter. I thought fun and no commitment after—after Deena died would erase the pain I felt losing her. For awhile it worked like a bandage.” Nick brushed her hair away from her face. “But each holiday, the wound reopened. When I saw that angel, it reminded me of all I’d wasted and lost. I don’t want that anymore, Abby.”
The heat of his gaze made her insides melt like chocolate. What she really wanted was to be alone with him tonight, but obviously that wouldn’t happen. Before she could put distance between them, Nick cupped her face in both hands and lowered his lips slowly to hers. Gentle and soft, his lips dwelled and sampled. Instead of moving away as she knew she should, her body rebelled and answered him in the most fundamental way. She moaned in pleasure as he took control. He didn’t touch her anywhere else, and the restraint in his caress made her crazy. Abby’s body thrummed with urgent desires.
As she clutched at his sweater like a drowning woman, she didn’t hear the door open.
“Holy cow!”
Abby and Nick jerked apart, startled.
“Sorry,” Becca said, smiling and starting to close the door again. “I was going to fetch my coat.”
“No,” Abby said. “We were almost finished.” Another blush stole over her face. “I mean, we’re about to head home.”
After Becca bid Nick a wonderful holiday season, Abby quickly followed her out of the store.
“I’m really, really, sorry,” Becca said again as they used the escalator to the second level. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”
Her face still pink, Abby said, “Of course you didn’t. You couldn’t have known.”
Becca’s gaze sparkled with mischief. “Just think, you’re spending Christmas with that man.”
“He’ll be with his parents at Beggar’s Point, remember?”
“Yeah, but you’ll be there, too.”
Abby stopped at the front of the restaurant and noted Aunt Cassandra and Uncle Dick hadn’t arrived yet. “My aunt and uncle are here now. I can’t head to Beggar’s Point.”
Becca pulled the hood up on her woolly cream-colored coat. “Well, there’s got to be a way you can do both.”
“I’m not sure I want to do both.”
Her friend made a growling noise. “I can’t believe you. You have to work it out.”
“Besides, it’s probably good we don’t spend the holidays together. It would be...awkward.”
“How?”
Abby looked at a row of sparkling mall lights and shrugged. “His family might form strange ideas about our relationship. That could cause embarrassment and God knows what.”
“Grrrrr,” Becca said, thwacking Abby lightly on the arm with the gloves she carried. “Listen, I just caught you two in an all-out, batten-down-the-hatches, knee-buckling, torrid lip lock, and you think they’ll get ideas? Let me tell you, I have ideas. Damage is done, girlfriend.”
On cue, as if they’d been sent to save the day, Aunt Cassandra and Uncle Dick appeared from around a corner and headed toward the restaurant. “Quiet, you. Aunt Cassandra and Uncle Dick have rounded the corner.”
Becca looked skyward a moment and sighed meaningfully. “All right. I give in. For now. But when I come back from vacation, I want to hear about it all. I mean every little itty bitty piece.”
Abby couldn’t help but laugh at her friend’s mock outrage. “It’s a deal. But there isn’t anything to tell now, and there won’t be anything to tell when you get back.”
“Liar.”
Before Abby could manage a retort, her aunt and uncle arrived and she introduced them to Becca. Becca, in her usually gracious way, greeted them cordially, then headed for her blissful vacation. Abby wished that she could run away, too. Escape from her crazy, desperate feelings for Nick, and the complication of her eccentric relatives.
Christmas closed in from all sides, threatening to dissolve into the worst holiday she’d experienced. What the hell was she going to do?
Settling back at the desk, Nick shifted in the chair. He gritted his teeth and let out a half groan as he stared at the goofy fish screen saver drifting across the computer screen. Taking a quick glance at his watch, he saw that if he didn’t get a move on his ass, he’d be late for dinner with Candace.
If a man knew what was good for him, he was never late for dinner with Candace.
Of course, he could always tell her the truth. His mother had called. Mom had chatted incessantly about their new holiday plans, filling him in on what time they’d arrive at Beggar’s Point tomorrow. They’d decided to head straight for the cabin Christmas Eve morning. He’d go up for dinner after helping Abby close the store for the holiday.
As he turned off the computer he thought back to the mortification on Abby’s face when Becca caught them kissing. Yeah, a little startling to be caught in a kiss with your employer, he had to admit. More than that he regretted that they’d been interrupted for the umpteenth time. Just when things were getting mighty damn interesting.
He settled back in the chair to ease the pressure on his groin. Once he’d imagined time away from Abby would make his need for her disappear. Wrong answer. He wanted her as much as ever.
Nick faced challenges every day at Claussen Resorts. But he hadn’t expected complications when he’d scaled down his life and moved to Russel for the short term. He hadn’t anticipated running into a woman with a gentle smile, a keen kindness, and sweet curves.
Hell, he hadn’t left all his troubles behind when he’d retreated from Denver. He’d replaced them with a different set.
Rubbing a hand over his jaw, he sighed. Take the ball and run like hell, Claussen, before the opposing team kicks butt.
He closed his eyes for a moment. At one time he would have steered wide of a relationship with a vulnerable, damaged woman like Abby. She had deep wounds that needed healing, even after all these years. Yet from the first day he’d met Abby, Nick had known she had style and strength. A beauty inside that had been forged from hardship. She’d come through a horrible situation and nothing turned him on more than a woman who reached for what she wanted. Unlike Candace, Abby didn’t use people to obtain her desires.
What did Pixie desire?
He wished he could look into her eyes and learn the answer. The answer would hound him until he’d excavated her every nuance.
N
ick had heard that in each man’s life there are defining points where everything comes as clear as the ring of true crystal. This was one of them.
He realized what she needed this Christmas, whether she understood it or not.
Abby needed family.
Not the memory of pain and degradation. Not a fear of Father Christmas that loitered around her reflections like stale perfume in a closed room. A real family.
Nick also realized in that second that he’d taken a major step in his own healing. He’d tried so hard to run from his family.
So had Abby.
Yet some weird twist of fate had brought their families here to Russel.
He grinned and tapped the desk blotter with a pen for the hundredth time that day. Synchronicity at work. If this was a sign, he had every intention of jumping before opportunity could escape. He’d ask his parents if he could invite Abby and her aunt and uncle to dinner Christmas Eve as well as Christmas.
“Snooze or lose,” Nick said.
Renewed, he headed to the restaurant. He wanted Abby Manners in his life and in his arms. Desperately.
And that frightened him far more than any confrontation with Candace ever could.
14
“Abby, you’ve barely eaten a thing,” Aunt Cassandra said as they finished their dinner.
She brandished her fork, gesturing impolitely. She’d changed into a blue silk blouse and tweed skirt for their outing, and Abby wondered if her clothing change had precipitated her aunt’s personality to revert back to old Cassandra.
“I guess I’m not that hungry tonight.” Abby took another surreptitious glance at the corner where she knew Nick and Candace dined. She’d caught a glimpse of them when they’d entered the restaurant.
“Abby?” Her aunt’s voice made her jump. “Is there something going on? You haven’t said a dozen words during dinner.”
“No.” Abby left her fork on the plate of half-eaten salmon. The meal had been delicious, but she’d found when she tried to eat her stomach would knot up. Her head had throbbed big time from the second she’d seen Nick and Candace walk into La Maison.
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