And Then He Kissed Me

by Southwick, Teresa

  “Don’t borrow trouble, Ab.”

  “But it’s snowing harder than ever. The roads are slippery. They left before us. They should have been here by now.”

  “Like I told you, buses go a lot slower than we did. Didn’t you tell me the kids were stopping halfway for breakfast?”

  She nodded, worrying her top lip with her teeth. “That’s what the itinerary said.”

  “They could be two hours behind us,” he said.

  “Oh, Nick. I don’t think I can stand much more.” She folded her hands around the coffee cup in front of her. “I should never have let her go on this trip.”

  Nick stared at her, reminding himself that he didn’t know what parenting felt like. He loved his niece, but he wasn’t her primary caretaker, responsible for her upbringing and welfare twenty-four hours a day. He had no frame of reference for what degree of anxiety was acceptable in this situation. But he’d always believed it did no good to borrow trouble. And his gut told him that Abby was a degree or two above commonsense limits here.

  Frowning, he studied her. The blond hair tucked behind her ears, the intensity in her eyes that turned them a darker shade of blue. Her lips, So full and tempting yesterday when he’d contemplated kissing her, now pulled tight with worry. He was afraid that if she didn’t loosen the reins on her sister, there would be hell to pay.

  “You did the right thing letting her go,” he said. “You asked all the right questions, dotted all the is and crossed the is. I’m sure everything is going according to plan.”

  “No one planned for the snow. The icy roads were not on the itinerary. What if—”

  “‘What if will give you an ulcer, pal.”

  Nick realized he wanted to make it better. He wanted to fix this problem and bring back the Abby he’d seen at the cabin a little while ago. That Ab had seemed relaxed and more carefree than he’d ever seen her. That woman had tested the limits of his willpower as he struggled not to take her in his arms and kiss her the way he wanted to.

  But that would be borrowing trouble. Which he’d just decided was a bad idea. Especially when he could wind up with egg on his face again. He would have to be an idiot to pursue a woman who had come right out and told him that she wasn’t interested in anything more than friendship. But he had to admit, the more she worried, the harder it was to keep from taking her in his arms. The more time he spent with her, the more certain he was that he cared for Abby. More than friendship, and more than he wanted to admit.

  Nervously she brushed the hair off her forehead. Nick caught her hand between his own and rubbed her icy fingers. “Why don’t I show you around town? We can call the lodge to see if the bus got here.”

  She shook her head. “I can’t leave until I know she’s all right.”

  “Then how about if I buy you some lunch? The last time I was here, I got a pretty good burger.”

  “You go ahead, Nick. I don’t think I could eat a thing.”

  Abby had picked this booth for its clear view of the driveway, so that she could see when the bus arrived. He heard a rumbling like a truck at the same moment Abby pointed. As the big yellow vehicle lumbered past the window he read St. Ignatius Church on the side.

  “There it is,” she said. Her voice quivered with relief and excitement.

  “Great. There’s a little shop in the village I want to show you.”

  “No. I want to say hi to Sarah.” She started to slide out of the plastic booth. “Then I’d love to see the village.”

  Nick put his hand on her arm. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t you supposed to maintain a low profile? Sit on the bench in a supportive capacity in case you’re needed? Hang out on the sidelines, not seen or heard unless called upon?”

  “I’ll do all of that. Just as soon as I touch base with my sister.”

  Once again, being the above-average-intelligent man that he was, Nick sidestepped the full-speed-ahead Abby Ridgeway. And he saw Sarah sitting inside the bus waiting her turn to get off. He watched her shoulders slump and a scowl replace her bright smile at the sight of her sister. He wished he’d stopped Abby. She was on a collision course with trouble. And he wanted to head her off at the pass.

  The smell of exhaust was strong in the air as they stood by the bus watching the kids descend the stairs. Abby twisted her hands together as one by one the teenagers passed her. When Austin Reed climbed down and spotted them, he grinned.

  “Hey, Nick.” The tall teen looked at Abby. “Hi.”

  “Austin. How was the trip?” Abby asked.

  “Great.”

  “No problems?”

  “James got carsick. That was gross, but everything else was fine.”

  Sarah appeared in the doorway and Abby waved. “Hi, sweetie.”

  Nick wondered why the snow around little sister didn’t melt, as hot as she looked.

  “What are you doing here?” Sarah asked.

  Instead of answering, Abby said, “How are you? Was the trip wonderful?”

  “Can’t you see I’m fine? No one else’s parents came. Would you please go away? Why do you have to embarrass me? Why can’t I have some fun?” she asked, her voice low, but tight with hostility. Sarah looked at him and pleaded, “Nick, please take her somewhere and get her a life.”

  He glared down at her. There weren’t many years between the sisters, but since when had age lost its privileges? Abby had sacrificed her youth for this ungrateful little witch. “That’s no way to speak to your sister, Sarah.”

  “It’s all right, Nick—” Abby touched his arm. “Let her go.”

  As he looked down at Abby, fighting the urge to say more, Sarah brushed past them and joined her friends on the way up the lodge steps. He decided it was best to let her go. Now wasn’t the time to say what she needed to hear. But he wanted to shake some sense into the thoughtless teenager as he watched tears well in Abby’s eyes, helpless to stop them. The term “mixed feelings” had never been more true. He was torn between annoyance at the inconsiderate teen and a clear understanding of why she’d needed to be independent. Then one fact stood out over everything and knocked the air out of him as surely as a punch to the gut.

  He couldn’t ignore his powerful need to protect Abby. He cared about her. A lot.

  Not in a boss-employee way, and definitely more than as a friend. This wasn’t the instantaneous, head-over-heels, blindsided sort of feeling he’d had for Margaret. Or the brotherly affection he had for Madison. This was different, and he wasn’t sure he understood how or why. He only knew that he never again wanted to see her lips quiver as she struggled to keep from crying. No one, not even her sister, would hurt Abby if he could help it.

  He put his arm around her, surprised but relieved when she let him lead her toward the Jeep. “C’mon. Let’s go have some fun. I have a Twister game, and I know how to use it.”

  “My h-hero,” she said, as her laugh caught on a sob.

  With the key from the hook in the cabin kitchen, Nick unlocked the storage shed. He yanked on the string in the center and a light went on, illuminating the jam-packed space.

  “I wonder where Dad put it,” he said to Abby who followed him inside.

  “What are you looking for?”

  He pulled the saucer from a nail on the wall. “This.”

  She frowned. “It’s a little big for a Frisbee, isn’t it?”

  Shaking his head, he sighed. “What am I going to do with you? It’s time for footloose and fancy-free, the crash course.”

  “I’m not sure that’s the best phrasing. Especially since I have a sneaking suspicion that you’re going to make me do something with that contraption in the snow.”

  “Not to fear. I’ll be with you every step of the way.”

  “Okay. Then let’s take this baby out and see what she can do.”

  Nick switched off the light and locked up. Then, on impulse, he grabbed Abby’s hand. “You don’t have gloves.”

  She shook her head. “I didn’t think about it. I had no i
dea it would be so cold. I’ve never been in snow before.”

  He was torn between his concern for her and his need to make her laugh and take her mind off Sarah’s hurtful words. Forgetfulness won. “Let’s take a couple of runs down the mountain. Then we’ll go into the village for dinner.”

  “Whatever you say.”

  He led her behind the cabin and positioned the saucer at the top of the hill. It was starting to snow again. Flakes caught in her hair and eyelashes. Clouds of white hovered in front of her as she blew on her hands. She’d never looked more appealing.

  Before he did something he would regret, he sat down, spreading his legs to make room for her on the saucer. It was small, but still accommodated them both. Besides, it gave him the opportunity to be close to her. “Your chariot awaits, my lady,” he said, holding out his arms to her.

  Laughing, Abby settled in front of him. “Please tell me I’ll live to regret this,” she said, glancing over her shoulder at him.

  “Have I ever lied to you?”

  A sweet smile teased the corners of her full lips. “No. Never.”

  He tucked her hands beneath her armpits, then wrapped her in his arms. Holding her tightly to him, Nick whispered in her ear, “Then trust me. I won’t let anything hurt you. And I promise you’re going to love this.”

  Rocking his body forward started the saucer sliding down the hill. As they picked up speed, Abby squealed and hid her face against his forearms. Laughing, Nick shouted, “No guts, no glory.”

  They careened to the bottom, glanced off a snow-covered rock, and bounced into a snowdrift, laughing and unhurt. Eyes shining, cheeks red, Abby stood up. “That was great. Let’s do it again.”

  “Last one to the top is a rotten egg,” he said.

  With the saucer in one hand and Abby’s cold fingers in the other, he pulled her back up the hill. He laughed and Abby screamed as they went down again. After three more trips, he noticed that she was wet and shaking with cold.

  “We better go inside and warm up.”

  “Just one more time, Nick. Please. I’m not cold.” She blew on her reddened fingers. “R-really. Hardly at all.”

  “Yeah, I can tell.” But he didn’t have the heart to refuse her. So down they went one more time.

  When they stood up, he noticed her hair had snow in it and hung in strands around her face. He also saw that her shivering was worse. But she had never looked more beautiful to him.

  “No argument this time,” he said. “We’re going inside.”

  “Good idea. M-maybe your brothers are here.”

  Not if God was a man, Nick thought, trying to ignore the growing ache in his gut.

  Chapter Nine

  God was a man, Abby thought. No doubt about it A female deity would have made sure that in her vulnerable-to-Nick state, she wouldn’t be alone with him. But as yet there was no sign of his family.

  Right now she relaxed in the upstairs tub, warming up after having the most fun she could remember in a very long time. And trying to figure out how to keep from falling in love with Nick. He’d been so sweet to her after Sarah’s outburst. It was obvious that he wanted to play in the snow to take her mind off Sarah’s nasty words. It had worked like a charm; darn tough to hold on to hurt feelings and your life at the same time.

  He didn’t even have to be in the same room to affect her heart rate. He was directly below, and she could hear the faint timbre of his voice as he sang in the shower. And she still had no one to run interference for her with Mr. Wonderful. And she meant that with all her heart. He was wonderful. Much too wonderful for her peace of mind.

  The scene earlier with Sarah was an ugly black cloud hanging over her day. But there was a single silver lining. Nick had come to her rescue. She had carried the burden of raising Sarah for so long, that his support stood out like a lighthouse beacon on a particularly nasty, dark night at sea.

  “My defenses are down. My hormones are clamoring to be set free. And we’re alone. Where are the magnificent Marchettis when you really need them?” she asked helplessly.

  She couldn’t stay in the tub indefinitely. Not only was her skin turning all wrinkly, she was beginning to shiver again. The whole point of the bath was to warm up. At least that was Nick’s point. Hers was to escape.

  There was a single floor between them—he was showering in the downstairs bath. But that wasn’t nearly far enough.

  She heard the water shut off, and strains of a song drifted even louder through the floorboards. She tried to rein in her imagination, but the image of Nick, wet and slick with soap, and decidedly naked, took up residence in her mind. She tried valiantly to replace it with an ocean scene, but he managed to sneak his way in there, too—wearing a bathing suit. But it was skimpy and he was playing volleyball and those muscles she’d felt through his clothes rippled, naked and slick in the sun.

  Stop it!

  She sighed. “Maybe his brothers will be here soon,” she said. “I just can’t be alone with him.”

  There was a knock on the door. “Are you talking to yourself, Ab?”

  Her heart hammered in her chest. He was on the other side of that door, semi-damp and probably semidressed. On her side of the door she was decidedly naked. She swallowed hard.

  He knocked again. “Hey, are you okay? You didn’t drown, did you? I thought I heard you talking to yourself.”

  “You did. My dark secret is out. But if you heard me sing, you’d be grateful that I’m just a little dotty.”

  “Hurry up. Your tour guide is getting restless. There’s a whole village waiting for your perusal, my lady.”

  “Give me fifteen minutes.”

  “I’m going to start my watch. The timer starts—now.”

  “Okay. You’re on.”

  Abby stood and grabbed a large thick towel that hung from a wall rack in front of her. She wrapped herself in the luxurious terry cloth and stepped out of the tub. Had Nick just rescued her again? A glow started in the pit of her stomach and radiated outward. It was as if he could read her mind and knew how nervous she was about being alone with him. He’d given her an out. They were going to the village.

  The thought tugged at her heart and pricked her guilt. To a workaholic like Nick three days off were precious. He should be here with someone who could make him happy. Not stick-in-the-mud Abby. She wasn’t free to pursue romance now. When her promise to raise Sarah was fulfilled, she would “get a life” as her sister had so bluntly put it. But for now the ungrateful little smart aleck would have Abby Ridgeway to deal with.

  As she blew her hair dry, visions of herself with Nick floated through her mind. It would be lovely if he waited until her responsibilities were behind her and they could pursue the feelings that simmered between them. But it wasn’t fair to put his life on hold for her. He’d been badly hurt; he wanted a family. She’d seen the yearning on his face when his sister made her announcement about the new baby. He deserved to have all his dreams come true. A.S.A.P., not A.S.A.A.C.—as soon as Abby could.

  Abby brushed a little blush onto her cheeks and some color on her eyelids. She slipped into her bedroom and put on the jeans and sweater she’d set out. After pulling on warm, dry socks and her sneakers, she took a last glance in the mirror. She looked pretty good. Anyone observing her and Nick together probably wouldn’t conclude that he was slumming. Only she would know that emotionally that’s exactly what was going on.

  “You get three days’ reprieve, Marchetti.” She nodded resolutely at her reflection. “But time’s awastin’. You’re not getting any younger. When we get back to the real world, I’m going to rescue you. I’m going to find someone who can make you happy. Maybe Madison.”

  That thought made her deeply and profoundly sad.

  Before she could dwell on it, there was a knock on her door. “My watch says one minute and ten seconds left. If you’re going to make the deadline, you’ve got to stop talking to your invisible friend.”

  Abby laughed. Leave it to Nick to chase away the
blues. “I’m ready,” she said, opening the door.

  He stood in the hall and the sight of him took her breath away. In his navy-and-gray plaid flannel shirt and worn jeans, he could have been the poster boy for lumberjacks. Her heart did a back flip. All the promises she’d made to herself flashed through her mind: always maintain a professional demeanor, never see Nick in anything but a suit and tie, above all never under any circumstances see him outside of work. And most especially, do not be alone with him.

  She’d broken every single one of them. All at the same time. It was him, her, here and now in the cabin. But there was one promise to herself she wouldn’t break. And she’d just made it. Find someone who’s free, not to mention ready, willing and able to make his dreams come true as soon as possible.

  She looked up at him and suppressed a sigh. “I’m ready.”

  He looked at his watch. “And with forty-five seconds to space.” He met her gaze and his eyes took on a hungry intense expression that was becoming familiar. “You look great, Ab.”

  The words nurtured her ego like water on a withering plant. “Thank you kind sir. But I bet you say that to all the girls.”

  “Only the ones I’m trying to impress.” Before she could retort, he took her hand and said, “Let’s boogie, beautiful.”

  Things were not going according to plan, Nick thought. He’d taken the girl out on the town, but all he could think about was getting her back to the cabin. And the activities he’d chosen hadn’t helped take his mind off what he would like to do with Abby.

  The late afternoon movie had been a romantic comedy. Judging by the glow in Abby’s eyes as they’d left the theater, she had enjoyed it. He was glad about that, but it had enhanced ideas he was trying to forget. Now they were seated at the best restaurant the small alpine village had to offer. He wanted to buy her a nice dinner. Unfortunately, the best place to do that was also the most romantic in town.

  Still, if it would take the edge off the way her day had started, with Sarah’s spiteful words, and end it on a happy note, it would be worth a world of discomfort on his part. And he would be a lot worse off if they’d spent the evening alone at the cabin.