by Vivian Arend
“Good—”
“No talking. If I don’t say this now, I’ll chicken out. So, yes, I will see you, but I’m not going to sleep with you. Because I really want to.”
“That makes—” He stopped himself. “Sorry, continue.”
Hope groaned. “You must think I’m a crazy woman. Maybe I should start rescuing stray cats or something. But I’m serious. I could have crawled into bed with you last summer without blinking an eye, but now I think that would be a huge mistake for us both. So I will see you if you can promise we’ll try to keep this out of the bedroom for a while.”
When she stopped he waited, making sure he wasn’t about to interrupt again. “May I talk now?”
Her loud burst of laughter made him smile. “I’m a bossier shit than you thought, aren’t I?”
“I don’t mind. Well, I do mind. I think it’s totally insane that you want us to keep this platonic. But you asked, so even though my balls are screaming nooo at the top of their lungs, I’ll agree to your terms. One month no sex? Two? Six?”
“Six? My Lord, if we last six days I’m going to be impressed.”
Him too. “Your idea is a good one for a bunch of reasons, though.”
“Ha, you say that now, but I bet we’re both going to be bitching about it in no time.”
Matt pulled up to his trailer and sat in the running vehicle. “Hope, my turn to be crude. I can find someone to fuck.”
“Jesus.”
“Well, it’s true. I don’t want to go out with you just because I can see us having a blast between the sheets. I want to try that friend thing as well, and having sex off the top could get in the way. So…although I can’t believe I’m saying this…fine. No sex.”
“Not until we say—I know, like a double-jeopardy thing. I have to say yes, and you, and then we can’t do it for twenty-four hours or something.”
She had to be kidding. “Don’t try to make rules, darling. If we decide it’s time, there ain’t going to be any double-signed papers or anything like that bullshit.”
“I could wear a chastity belt.”
“I can pick locks.”
She snorted. “Ha, you can not.”
“With my teeth.”
Matt was still laughing when he made it into his trailer. The fire had gone out, and he shuffled through the cold room to light it one-handed as he clutched the phone. “I’ll call you when I get back into town, you crazy woman.”
“Don’t leave it too long or you’ll find I’ve given your quilt space to the cats.”
Matt clicked off, a high-energy rumba on a saxophone echoing in his ears, and the most optimistic sensation in his heart—happier than he’d been in a long time.
10
Hope checked out the menu, but she was more interested in examining the restaurant. Matt had asked her to meet him at a new spot on the east side of town, an eclectic place that was somehow wildly appropriate as a location for them to begin this unusual relationship.
She sipped her water as she glanced around, the butterflies refusing to settle.
“Is this seat taken?”
He slid in opposite her, and she was glad she’d just swallowed or drool would be dribbling off her chin. That facial hair of his got her every time. “Hey. No, I managed to keep that one for you. Just don’t sit in the chair by the wall or my invisible friend will beat you up.”
Matt’s smile flashed white. “I hope he’s not planning on staying for long.”
A snort escaped. “Nahh, he’s got a date.”
“Invisible friends.” He laughed. “Did you ever hear about the time the twins decided there were dragons living in the hayloft?”
She shook her head, not bothering to pretend she wasn’t checking him out. Matt kept talking, but all the while she was examining his beard, the way his eyes sparkled as his hands rose to help with the storytelling. Hmm, hands.
She knew how firm they were. His lips as well.
Hope pinched her thigh and sat a little straighter in an attempt to throw her mental process from full-throttle forward into physical admiration to what this was supposed to be about. Making friends.
And then the sex, her mind whispered, and she pressed her lips tight to stop from moaning.
Matt leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “I think we might need to start again.”
She shook herself alert. “What? I’m sorry.”
“You’re objectifying me already. I know this is going to be tough, but I thought you could at least keep your hands off me for thirty minutes.”
His teasing smirk helped push her thoughts the proper direction. “Busted. I’ll wait with the guh comments then. You’re mighty fine, Mr. Colem—”
He threw up his hand. “Whoa. There’s nothing more mood-killing than thinking you’re checkin’ out my dad with lust, okay?”
“Oops.”
That deep chuckle of his sent goose bumps all over her. “What we need to discuss has nothing to do with the drool-worthy state of your being—although let me just get it out there that you look awesome—and everything to do with dinner. See anything you like?”
“Yes.” She stared him over.
Matt laughed and poked at the menu. “This list.”
Drat. “I haven’t decided yet.”
He winked then picked up his own menu.
Hope relaxed as she checked the options, impressed with his tactics. If he’d ignored the simmering heat between them, it probably would have made things harder to deal with. Acknowledging their attraction, putting it right out in the open instead of being an elephant in the corner—well, the desire was still in the room but it was a lot easier to deal with saying it was there.
That it was fine to feel the tension, but for now they could move on to the next thing.
By the time their food arrived, she was laughing out loud at his stories. They stole food off each other’s plates and thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
Hope eased back in her chair and raised the last of her Coke in a salute. “Here, here. To a wonderful first date. Suggesting this place was fantastic. Ready for my addition?”
He nodded. “Movie? Walk? Are we going to cut innocent chunks of fabric into teeny tiny pieces then sew them back together?”
She snorted. “Innocent chunks of fabric?”
“That’s my nephew Lance’s description of quilting. Kind of the same concept as making trees into furniture, but what you do is nowhere near as manly, you know.”
“Good thing my manhood isn’t offended by that definition.”
Matt took a long, slow gaze down her body, enjoying every minute of it if she was any judge of his expression, before meeting her eyes again. “Your manhood has nothing to be offended about.”
Simmering lust shot way back up to a boil. Why, oh why, had she suggested no sex was a good idea? A change of topic was desperately needed. She sat up and clapped her hands together. “We’re going tobogganing.”
“Oh God, really?”
Hope nodded. “At the ski hill.”
He lifted a brow and smiled with a little more interest. “Really?”
“Ha, you lazy ass. You didn’t want to do it when it required hard labour.”
“Damn right. I got enough exercise today.” He rose to his feet and held out a hand, tucking her fingers into his strong grip. Outside he paused in confusion. “Where’s your car?”
She pointed and waited for the fireworks to begin.
“Okay…”
It was almost anticlimactic, his total lack of response as he walked her to the truck she’d pointed out and waited for her to unlock the door.
“Shall I meet you at the hill?” he asked.
Hope nodded.
He helped her in then shut the door and waved. Only he pulled out his cell phone as he walked away. Uh-oh. Seems a moment of brotherly love was about to take place.
She turned over the reluctant engine and shoulder-checked before slipping into the traffic and heading back into town.
; Matt wondered how close to danger level his blood pressure was. Still, he wasn’t going to take his concerns out on Hope.
But his brother? He had no trouble stirring up some shit there.
He put through the call. Blake picked up. “Yo, bro.”
“What the fuck were you thinking?”
There was silence for a minute. “This is Matt I’m talking to, right? Calm, cool and collected—”
“Did you sell Hope that hunk of junk that’s been sitting in the back forty for the past ten years?”
“Nope.”
Matt swore as he caught up with her, positive he was going to be pulling over to pick up chunks of metal from the road as the wreck fell to pieces before his very eyes. “Well then, hallelujah, there’s been a miracle, because somehow she’s driving said wreck down the street in front of me. And so I repeat, what the fuck were you thinking?”
“I was thinking that she didn’t have a car, and it must be damn tough to be a single woman with no vehicle. And since the shop figured it would cost more to repair the crap she was driving than it was worth in insurance, when she came here last week and asked if I would sell her—”
“What!” Matt pulled the phone from his ear and clutched the steering wheel tight to stop from flinging anything anywhere, including his own vehicle in front of hers to act as a guard.
He counted to ten. Twice. Then he spoke. “Hey, you still there?”
“For all of five seconds if you continue to be a shithead.”
Matt collected his hard-won calm and forced it into his voice. “Sorry, that was just a momentary lack of concentration. Let me get this straight. Hope came to you and asked for the hunk of junk that’s been out rusting behind the far barn for years.”
“She did.”
“And you sold it to her?”
“I gave it to her. Well, fine, sold it for a dollar. Just to make it legal.”
Oh God. “Shit, Blake. Still…I mean…”
His brother rumbled back, his own annoyance coming through. “Yeah, I know the truck’s a piece of crap. But she had valid reasons and insisted it would work. She brought over a new battery, a couple of milk crates to secure shit in the back and we used binder twine to lash the front seat in place.”
Matt’s temper raced upward again. “Did you say binder twine? Goddamn, Blake! So, what’s going to happen if she’s in an accident?”
“She said it’s only temporary, but she needs a way to get around.”
“I don’t like it.”
Blake snorted. “Tough shit. I don’t think it’s your choice, is it?”
“Would you let Jaxi ride in there with her?” The silence at the other end of the line was enough to make his point come through loud and clear. Matt knew he had Blake. “Right. That’s what I thought. Good luck convincing me you had nothing but—”
“Does she know you know she has the beast?”
“Since I just took her out for dinner and I’m following her to the ski hill, umm, yeah.”
“What’d she say to you?”
“Nothing.”
Blake sighed. “Not going to tell you your business, but if the DMV approved her, and she got the thing insured, not much you can do.”
Not without coming off like the over-controlling jerk of the century. “I hear you.”
“I promised to keep an eye out for a good deal. Something smaller. You got to admit, that piece of crap is a bloody tank. If she does lose control, she’d win the fight with ninety percent of what’s out there for her to hit.”
“You’re not making this any better, Blake.”
“Sorry.” A high-pitched cry reverberated in the background. “Gotta go. Princess Becca is commanding my presence. Have fun at the hill.”
“Yeah, run and hide behind the babies. I’m still pissed at you.”
Hope made it to the parking lot in one piece, and Matt pulled in beside her, staring at the dash as he went through and discarded different responses.
Blake was right—it was her choice.
She was going to get her neck broken.
If she did get hurt, he was going to kill his brother.
The truck should have been driven straight to the edge of the dump and pushed off years ago.
A light tap on the window pulled him back to discover Hope staring in. She wore an old-fashioned jester cap on her head, complete with bells on the ends of the long, dangling tassels. Neon green and pink, it was hilarious and ridiculous, and made him smile at her total lack of self-consciousness.
So unlike Helen, who would have never been caught dead in such an outfit.
Hope didn’t smile back. Instead, there was a tiny furrow between her eyes as she waited. “You coming?”
He nodded then grabbed his gloves and a spare toque from the back. He paused casually next to the rust-bucket mobile under the guise of pulling on his gear. Actually, he used the time to sneak a glance at the licence.
Insured and registered. Dammit. “So. New wheels?”
Hope squirmed, her gaze darting away. “Temporary. It passed inspection, but it’s just until the spring. I’ve got leads on a couple others.”
“Good.” Matt took her hand and headed toward the service desk. That was as much as he could ask for right now. “If you’d like, I don’t mind looking around for you as well.”
Hope slipped ahead of him and slapped down the money for their tickets before he could. She offered a smile. “I would love your help.”
They were on the hill then, and Matt had no more time to strategize how he was going to convince her to leave the deathtrap at home. Like sneaking her taxi fare, or maybe he could just sit at the end of the block and every time she came out to go somewhere he could “accidentally” drive past and offer her a ride.
“Come on, dreamer.” Hope poked him in the chest and Matt concentrated harder. There were people scattered all over the hill. Some were newcomers to town while others he recognized from years back—schoolmates and the like. A few of them gave him questioning looks, their gazes bouncing back and forth between him and Hope.
And so it began. The watchful eyes of the small town were on them. He wondered exactly how long it would take for the entire community of Rocky to know he and Hope were on a date.
They slid their inner tube under the rope tow and crawled on board. Matt found himself cradling her between his legs, and suddenly the cold temperature around them wasn’t going to be nearly enough to keep his body from reacting to the surprisingly intimate position. He’d never thought of sledding as potentially erotic.
“Ready?” She turned toward him, and the limited lights of the hill shone through the darkness and highlighted the flush on her cheeks.
He reached up and grabbed the rope. The tube slipped upward smoothly. Hope wiggled sideways until her chest faced him, clutching him tighter. There might be icy-cold air slipping into his lungs, but with the grip she had on him and the way her long legs slid against his, he was plenty warm.
“When was the last time you went sledding?” she asked.
“Boxing Day. Family tradition.”
“That’s right. I knew that.”
Matt stiffened involuntarily. Hope looked out at the lighted sections of the ski hill, and Matt bit back his frustration. Yeah, she knew that from him taking Helen out year after year with the family. Or at least asking Helen to come, when she did deem it possible.
There was no way to get around it. He and Hope knew way more about each other than the average couple at the start of their dating career.
The comfortable banter they’d enjoyed earlier in the evening vanished, and with every passing second he wished he could turn back the clock. Change his response. He could ignore the awkward moment, but that wasn’t going to make the truth go away. “We will have to deal with this at some point.”
Hope adjusted position again, which brought her hips into contact, her crotch nudging his hip. “Deal with what?”
The erection he was carrying? The one going from a semi to a
full faster than he wanted, considering they were going to hurl themselves down the hill in a few minutes. “We can’t pretend that Helen doesn’t exist.”
Hope snorted. “Well, hell, can’t we?”
“You know what I mean.”
They were at the top of the hill, and she rolled, pressing her hands against his chest and pushing her way over him. The move teased as her body weight rested fully on him for a second before she slid off. He let loose the rope and scrambled upright.
They reached for the tube at the same time. Hope deferred to him and grabbed his hand instead.
“Yeah, you’re right. She does exist, but you know, if we’re going to do this…dating thing, then you’ve got to not tense up every time someone mentions her name or you have to talk about something you’ve done with her.” Hope squeezed his fingers. “I’m just saying that the longer we’re around each other, the more likely it is that someone will say something. Or, you know, remind you of her. It’s time to move on. Ether that or we stay at my place and hide out, or we forget about seeing each other altogether—”
“That’s not what I want.” Matt stopped them on the top ridge of the slope, securing the inner tube with a foot as he brought their bodies close together, tucking a loose hair farther under her crazy toque. “I’m not hiding, and yeah, you’re right. People will talk, but I’m a grown man, so I can just get the hell over myself. You have permission to smack me whenever I get stupid. I’m trying.”
Hope grinned, her head tilted to the side as she looked him over. “Smack you? Hmm, sounds fun. You mean like this?”
She leapt forward, and he jerked to attention, catching her as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Only with one foot up on the inner tube, his balance was far enough off-center that the force of her momentum tipped them both and she landed on him, squarely on the inner tube.
Their combined weight set them barreling forward, and Hope buried her face in his neck as they bounced down the hill at an increasingly breakneck speed.