by Cindy Kirk
The woman who opened the door wore black pants, a crisp white shirt and a smile.
“Welcome. Dustin and Krista are with other guests in the great room to your left.” She held out a hand. “May I take your coats?”
As they handed over the garments, Faith didn’t appear surprised, which meant Dustin and Krista likely often hired help for their parties.
“You’re with Creative Creations out of Jay Peak,” he heard Faith say as the woman handed Graham a claim ticket.
“I am.” The middle-aged woman, her brown hair laced liberally with strands of gray, studied Faith. “Cecelia Odvody. I own the company. One of my employees has strep throat, so I’m filling in. Have we met?”
“Faith Pierson.” Faith shot the woman a smile. “We worked together on some signage for an event you were catering.”
“Of course. Faith. Now I remember. I’m sorry for not making the connection.” The woman rolled her eyes. “My only excuse is it’s been rather hectic with Darlee calling in at the last minute. It’s good to see you again.”
The woman cast a curious glance in Graham’s direction, as if wondering if he was someone else she should recognize.
“Cecelia, this is Graham Westfall.” Faith placed a hand on his arm. “Graham is Ginny Blain’s son-in-law.”
“You were Stephanie’s husband.”
Graham steeled himself against the sympathy in her eyes. “You knew my wife?”
“Steph worked for me a couple of summers in high school.”
“I didn’t realize she had a job back then.”
“She didn’t put in a lot of hours,” Cecelia told him. “Just enough to buy some pretty clothes and save up for lift tickets.”
“That sounds like Steph.” He chuckled. “She loved the slopes.”
How many times over the years had they planned a relaxing ski vacation only to cancel because of work obligations?
“I ran into Ginny last month at a function we catered.” Cecelia smiled. “She was so looking forward to seeing her granddaughters. It was all she could talk about.”
“They’re at her house tonight for a sleepover.” Graham chuckled. “I’ve been advised not to come by to pick them up until late morning. Apparently, chocolate chip pancakes are on the menu.”
Puzzlement furrowed Cecelia’s brow. “Ginny said you were going to stay with her.”
“That was the plan.” Graham kept his tone light. “Shawn and his family are also here for a couple of weeks, so the house was a bit crowded.”
“Finding a place can be difficult this time of year.” Cecelia cocked her head. “Where are you staying?”
Faith stepped back into the conversation.
“Graham is renting the upstairs at my grandmother’s house.” Faith cast a teasing glance in his direction. “I warned him it’ll be noisy. He took the space anyway.”
“You’ll love it.” Cecelia, apparently hearing footsteps on the porch, offered a quick smile. “Nice seeing you again, Faith. Good to meet you, Graham. Leona, please take the door while I put away these coats.”
Leona, an older woman with tight gray curls, smiled pleasantly at him and Faith before stepping around them to greet the next guests.
“Let’s find our host and hostess.” Faith reached out and took his hand, ostensibly to pull him out of the foyer into the large room filled with laughter and conversation.
Graham’s fingers curled around hers, sending a familiar heat shooting through his body.
The spark in her eyes told him Faith felt it, too.
She said nothing, only tugged him into the room, her hand still wrapped in his.
Dustin and Krista spotted them almost immediately. They said something to the couple they were speaking with, then began winding their way across the room to where he and Faith stood.
“Faith.” Krista, dressed completely in winter white except for shiny black boots, gave Faith a hug. “You’re wearing my favorite dress. But where’s the Santa hat?”
Faith returned the hug. “I left it at home.”
Krista raised her hand to Faith’s hair. “Love the chopsticks.”
Graham couldn’t miss the genuine warmth between the two women. Though they were as different as night and day, there was a definite connection.
“Graham. I’m happy you could make it.” Dustin shook his hand and slapped him on the back.
Dustin looked as fit and healthy as he had during his nine seasons in the NHL. There was no evidence in his stride of the torn ACL that had sidelined his career. As well as no trace of the bitterness that often hung around athletes who’d been forced into early retirement.
If anything, Dustin looked like a man happy and satisfied with the direction his life had taken.
“Faith invited me to come with her. I hope you don’t mind.” Though Dustin had acted as if Graham had received his own invitation, it was important to Graham that Dustin knew he wasn’t crashing.
“Any friend of Faith’s is a friend of ours.” Dustin flashed a smile in Faith’s direction, the one that had made him a favorite of female hockey fans, before refocusing on Graham. “How’s the ad campaign coming?”
“Good. It’ll be ready for you to preview at the end of the month.”
Krista slipped an arm through her husband’s. “Don’t tell me you’re talking business.”
Instead of chiding, she had a teasing glint in her eyes.
“Just checking in,” Dustin answered.
“This one,” Krista gestured with one hand toward her husband, “is super stoked about the store. I don’t think I’ve seen him this excited since his team won the Stanley Cup.”
“Not true.” His expression turned solemn.
Her perfectly manicured brows pulled together. “What did I forget?”
“Only the two most important events in my life.” He lifted a hand and, with gentle fingers, tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear. “When we were married and when our boys were born.”
Graham didn’t quite know what to think when Krista wrapped her arms around her husband’s neck and kissed him. He thought of the parties he and Steph had attended. Such a bold display of affection would have been deemed inappropriate.
Dustin grinned.
Krista winked. “There’ll be more of that…later.”
Looping one arm around his wife, Dustin swept the other arm in a wide gesture. “Both bars offer nonalcoholic options, including a wide variety of soft drinks. I assume one of you is the designated driver.”
Faith raised her hand like a schoolgirl in a classroom. “That would be me.”
“Good.” Dustin’s expression turned serious. “Our road and alcohol don’t mix well.”
Krista tugged on his sleeve. “Sam and Stella just got here.”
“Excuse us.” Dustin’s gaze shifted from Faith to Graham. “Perhaps we’ll have a chance to talk more about the campaign later.”
“I hope not,” Graham muttered under his breath as the couple strolled off.
Faith shot him a concerned look. “Not going well?”
“Not going.” Graham shrugged. “It will come. If I don’t try to force it.”
“It’s that way with my products.” Faith offered a sympathetic nod. “If I try to force things, a wall goes up. A wall I can’t seem to breach. If I relax, take a walk, put my mind on other things, that’s when inspiration strikes.”
Faith understood the creative process, Graham realized, in a way that most people didn’t. People usually acted like creativity was a faucet you could turn on and off at will. Maybe for some it was. Steph, he remembered, never seemed stuck for an idea. It wasn’t like that for Graham. He might struggle, but he never gave up.
“I’m hoping,” he confided, keeping his voice soft, the words for her ears only, “that being here tonight will give me a better feel for who they are, not just the hype in the media.”
“This is who they are, Graham.” Faith stepped close and lowered her voice.
The fresh scent he associated
with her wafted over him. He inhaled deeply. He’d never have believed the scent of vanilla could be so sensual. So intoxicating.
“For them, home and family are paramount.” Her eyes blazed with conviction. The heat stirred something in him. “They also have tons of energy and drive. I’m sure that’s why they were so successful in their other careers.”
Resisting the urge to pull her close, Graham filed away the information. There were many questions he could have asked about the power couple, but now didn’t seem the time or place. The stylish, yet homey feel of the cabin—if you could call a five-thousand-square-foot home a cabin—had already given him a stronger understanding of the couple.
As had the display of affection he’d witnessed.
He was off to a good start. Because this was a party Faith had undoubtedly anticipated, he didn’t plan to spend the entire night talking about Dustin and Krista. Or his advertising campaign. He wanted Faith to have fun.
“You can feel free to mingle without me,” he told her.
Her brows pulled together. “I don’t understand.”
“I mean, I enjoy being with you, but I’m baggage. I don’t know many of these people, while you know everyone.” Graham thought of the parties he’d attended with Steph. The parties she’d gone to with him. They’d often separated so the other could work the room. “I don’t want you to feel as if you have to babysit me.”
“I brought you here because I like being with you.”
Her words touched him in a way he didn’t want to examine too closely. He told himself she was simply being kind. And generous. She was that kind of woman.
“You brought me here because you thought it would be good for my career to become better acquainted with my clients,” he pointed out.
“That, too,” Faith admitted. “But if I didn’t enjoy your company, I wouldn’t have offered.”
Their eyes met. For a long moment, neither spoke. A shimmering heat filled the air, broken only when a guest bumped into Faith, sending her lurching into Graham.
He placed steadying hands on her arms, holding her close for a moment longer than necessary.
“Sorry,” the person called from behind her.
“No worries,” she called back, her eyes never leaving Graham’s face. When she finally spoke, her voice was breathy with a teasing lilt. “So, dear baggage for the evening, how about I introduce you around?”
“How ’bout you start with me?” A pretty woman with red hair stepped forward and shot out her hand. “Melinda Kelly.”
Chapter Eight
With the falling snow blanketing any sounds, the trip down the mountain seemed almost peaceful. It helped that Graham was now confident in Faith’s driving abilities and that the tension that had him in a stranglehold on the way up had disappeared.
“Your friend Mel seems nice.” Graham saw no need to mention that a single look from Melinda Kelly had felt like a two-hour interrogation.
“She liked you.” Faith sounded pleased by the thought.
“How could you tell?” Graham wasn’t simply making small talk, he wanted to know. While Mel had been extremely pleasant, Graham had the feeling she’d have been that way even if she’d hated him.
The woman was clearly protective of her friend. Graham admired that quality, even if sensing Mel’s sharp and assessing gaze on him during the course of the evening had been a little off-putting.
Faith’s impish smile brought with it a rush of warmth. She really did have the best smile, Graham thought. So open and genuine.
“Mel told me.” Her tone was matter-of-fact.
Graham was truly perplexed. He and Faith had been at each other’s sides the entire evening. Spending that much time with a single person during an event was a new experience for him. One he’d discovered he liked very much.
He suspected most of the reason the evening was so pleasurable was due to Faith. Her upbeat attitude was infectious. And while he noticed she listened more than she spoke, Graham discovered she was extremely well-read and knowledgeable on a wide variety of topics.
“When did she tell you?” Though the answer didn’t matter, Graham was curious. He couldn’t think of a time they hadn’t been together.
“When you went to get me a drink and got caught up in a conversation with Dustin.” Faith shrugged. “Mel saw an opportunity and seized the moment.”
Ah, that made sense. He’d forgotten about his second conversation with Dustin. Getting better acquainted with the sports star and his wife had been the main reason he’d gone to the party. Or so he’d told himself.
“He seems like a good guy. Very driven.”
“I believe Dustin will always be driven. I think you have to have that warrior mentality to succeed in the NHL,” Faith mused aloud. “I’ve seen a change in him the last couple of years, though, with an increased focus on home and family.”
“With kids, time goes by so quickly.” Graham thought about his conversation with Ginny. Dustin wasn’t the only driven man capable of making changes. “When I return to New York, I’m going to spend more time with the girls.”
“They’ll like that. You’ll like it, too.” Approval ran like warm syrup, thick and sweet, through her words. Without taking her eyes off the road, Faith reached over and gave his hand a quick squeeze.
There was nothing sexual about the touch, simply one friend showing support to another. Why was it, then, that when Faith touched him, even just a careless brush against his arm or a squeeze of his fingers, it felt like more?
Simply being in the close confines of the car with her, having the scent of vanilla teasing his nostrils, had his body on high alert. She must have freshened her lipstick before they left, because the rich red on her lush mouth was like a siren’s call.
Would her lips taste like cherry? Or strawberry? However she tasted, Graham had no doubt her lips would be as sweet as the woman herself.
He slanted a sideways glance and wondered how sweet could be so sexy.
The talk shifted to the weather and to her grandmother, who appeared to be continuing to make remarkable strides this Christmas season. By the time they reached home, and that’s how Graham was starting to think of the old Victorian, a watchful waiting filled the car.
Taking Faith’s arm—just because the sidewalks were shoveled and salted didn’t mean there couldn’t be slick spots—they strolled in companionable silence to the darkened house.
Once inside the foyer, she turned to him, face uplifted, eyes dark and luminous.
Hoping he wasn’t misreading the signals, Graham tugged Faith to him. She came easily, wrapping her arms around his neck. Her puffy coat might make any real body contact impossible, but she was finally in his arms. That’s what mattered.
He cleared his throat, his eyes never leaving hers. “I want to kiss you.”
“Good.” She smiled. “Because I want to kiss you, too.”
He wasn’t sure who made the first move, wasn’t sure it mattered. All he knew was his lips were on hers, and it felt as if it was meant to be. All of this.
Her in his arms.
His mouth on hers.
The kiss battered his body and soul with power and fury. Lips melded as if fused. His heart raced.
When they finally came up for air, a shaky breath escaped Graham’s lips. “Wow.”
“I knew it would be like this.” Faith brushed another quick kiss across his lips before stepping back. “Thanks for a wonderful evening. And for the amazing kiss.”
Before Graham could utter a word, she turned in the direction of her bedroom.
For one crazy second, he considered following her. Until he reminded himself he hadn’t been invited.
“You, Faith Pierson, are a mighty temptress,” he murmured. “What you do to me…”
Then, realizing what he’d said, he chuckled and headed toward the stairs, shaken and alone.
* * *
As Graham drove to Ginny’s house the next morning, his mind replayed the events of the previous eve
ning. He’d arrived at the cabin as an outsider, but by the time he’d left, he was part of the group.
It helped that Ginny had lived in Holly Pointe her whole life, and many of those at the party knew her. What seemed to have the greatest impact, though, was that he’d come to the party with Faith. Though she’d lived here for only three years, it was apparent Faith was firmly woven into the fabric of this community.
Graham thought of the kiss that had capped off the evening. Although kiss seemed far too tame a word for the explosion of raw want and need that had racked his body.
Had he really wondered if she’d taste like strawberries or cherries? Graham chuckled as he pulled into Ginny’s driveway. Once his mouth had met hers, there’d been no time to think or wonder. In that moment, all he’d known was one taste wouldn’t be enough.
The thought had him pausing with his hand on the door. He liked Faith, liked her a lot. He wanted to spend more time with her. Wanted to kiss her again. The truth was, he wanted to do a lot more than kiss.
But was that wise? Ginny had made it clear she had no trouble with him spending time with Faith—dating Faith—but was that fair to Faith? Was it smart?
Logic told him to slow things down.
Yes, Graham decided, a slowdown would be best. Before he reached the front stoop, the door opened, and the twins rushed out to greet him.
“Where is everyone?” he asked Ginny when he stepped inside, an arm around each girl’s shoulders. No way was the house this quiet if Shawn and his family were here.
“Beau is in the backyard, romping in the snow. Shawn, Morgan and the kids are on their way back to Jay Peak for another day of skiing.” Ginny’s lips curved as if both thoughts gave her pleasure. “I made them breakfast, and they took off about fifteen minutes ago. Can I interest you in a cup of coffee? Or I could rustle you up something to eat?”
Graham hesitated. Today was candy-making in Mary’s large commercial kitchen. According to Faith, those who didn’t have the knowledge or the room to make candy in their own homes came over for help and camaraderie. Some simply enjoyed doing such activities as a group, rather than alone.