by Annie Rains
“What are you doing here?” she asked Troy.
He slid her that sexy grin that made tingles course through her body. He’d done a lot of things to her body last night, she remembered for the millionth time that morning. And she had liked the things he’d done. Every single touch. Every single kiss. Every bit of it.
“I came to see you. I wanted to see if you were hungry.”
She raised an eyebrow as she looked at him. “I’ve been famished all morning for some reason,” she said, feeling her cheeks heat. He was the reason she’d been famished. She’d had a workout last night that had her body aching in the best kind of way today.
“Can I take you out for a sandwich?” he asked.
For a long moment she stared at him. She wanted to say yes so badly that the only acceptable answer was no. Instead of saying no, though, she gave him an excuse. “First I have to do some toy shopping. Probably not your thing.” She looked at him, hoping despite herself that he’d disagree.
“My mother accuses me of being a big kid at heart,” he said. “I love toys.”
She nodded, disappointed and relieved at the same time. “Well, then I guess we could go together. You are Santa, after all.”
He opened the passenger side door to his truck, which was parked right next to her car, and tilted his head. “Hop in.”
It felt strangely intimate being in his truck with him. She could smell him in the air around her. The cologne and distinct smell of pine and cedar intertwined to make a scent that had her body buzzing. She couldn’t help but take a deep breath in.
“So about last night,” he began.
Her heart stuttered to a stop. “Last night?” she asked, feeling her throat immediately go dry. “I thought we already discussed that, and decided not to discuss it.” Because discussing had too many variables. And all of them led to disappointment. If he told her it’d been a mistake, that would hurt. If he told her it couldn’t happen again, that’d hurt, too. If he told her he wanted it to happen again, then eventually he’d pull away, and that might hurt the most.
“You decided we shouldn’t talk about it,” Troy said. “I think we should.”
Keeping her gaze straight ahead, she steeled herself for the conversation and nodded resolutely. “Okay. Shoot.”
“I liked last night,” he said. “A lot.”
Her skin flushed. She wanted to agree with him, but that would make her vulnerable. Disagreeing with him would be a lie. She’d liked last night, too. “We probably shouldn’t have done last night, though,” she said.
He glanced over, as one corner of his mouth kicked up. “And why is that?”
“Well, for the obvious reasons. We’re not a couple.”
“Enough of one for you to agree to have sex with me last night,” he pointed out. “You said you don’t have sex with guys you aren’t dating.”
Right. She’d made an exception because she’d wanted him so badly she could taste it. “Yes, that’s true. But our relationship is just a technicality. We’re only together until Saturday night after my family’s Christmas Eve party.”
He raised a finger. “So you admit that between now and Saturday night we are technically together,” he said. “There’s a loophole in our relationship. And I’m proposing that we explore that loophole.”
Allison swallowed. “Explore that loophole?” she asked.
Troy veered off onto a road that led out of Seaside.
“Where are you taking me?”
“To Paradise Point again,” he said. “My sister-in-law happens to own a toy store there. It carries everything. There’s not a doll that can’t be found in that place, I promise.”
“Really?” she asked, growing excited.
“Really.”
“That would be fantastic. Little Lucy only wants that one item and it’s impossible to find anywhere. I’ve even looked on Amazon.”
Troy nodded. “I guarantee that my sister-in-law will have it.”
Allison pulled her lower lip between her teeth and looked over. She wasn’t ready to continue with their previous conversation just yet, so she asked the question that Troy kept dodging. “You still haven’t told me why you aren’t going home for Christmas.”
He took a deep breath and blew it out. “Long story. But in short, my middle brother is a dickhead.”
Allison gave an audible gasp.
This made him laugh. “He’s always been a dickhead, but I used to like him,” he said nonchalantly. “My father left the family businesses to me and my brothers.” He glanced over. “I have three brothers. Dad knew that my heart was in the military. I joined after my cousin Dale died on nine-eleven. Mom and Dad were always fine with it. My older brother David, however, resents me for what he defines as walking out on the family. Last Christmas he had one too many beers and kicked me out of the house that I grew up in.”
Allison gasped louder. “How can he do that?”
Troy shrugged. “My dad died a couple years ago. David lives with my mom and thinks he’s the man of the house now. We got in an argument and he told me I wasn’t welcome there anymore. Of course, my mom doesn’t feel that way and she insists that I come home.” Troy shook his head. “I’ll go to my other brothers’ houses. And mom comes to Seaside regularly to have dinner with me. But as long as David is a dickhead—which he always has been so why would he change now?—and as long as he is living with my mother, then I’m not going back to that house.”
“And that’s why you’re skipping Christmas this year,” Allison said.
“Trying my damnedest.” Troy ran his gaze over her. “But this beautiful redhead keeps getting in the way, sprinkling all this Christmas cheer all over me.”
“Sorry,” she said, but didn’t mean it. “It’s Wednesday. Saturday night is only a couple days away,” she added, hesitantly returning to the initial topic.
“Exactly. It’s just a couple days of dating me. What could go wrong?”
Allison could think of a lot of things that could go wrong. Her crush could grow even bigger. She could develop feelings for Troy. Feelings that her mother would trample on come Saturday night. Feelings that he might not reciprocate.
He reached over for her hand. His calloused skin felt so good against hers, and she shuddered with the memory of how good those hands had felt on the rest of her body last night.
“What do you say?” he asked.
She glanced over as he pulled into the parking lot of a toy store in Paradise Point. She took a breath and nodded. “I say…why not?”
—
Hell, yeah. That’s what Troy was saying internally. Because ever since he’d met the green-eyed beauty, he hadn’t been able to shake her. He fully planned on doing that, but what was the hurry? He might as well take these next couple of days and discover what exactly it was about Allison that made him tick so hard that he vibrated these days.
He walked around his truck and opened the door for her. “They don’t sell adult toys here, by the way.”
Her mouth fell open. “I’m tempted to go back on my agreement just for that.”
“That would mar your integrity. And you value integrity.”
“I do, huh?”
“Yep. You are a moral person. It’s one of the things I love about you.”
Allison’s mouth fell open again; her eyes widened just a little at the mention of her in the same sentence as love. Yeah, that had surprised him, too. He held the door to the toy store open and gestured for her to enter, ready to get as far away as possible from what he’d just said.
“Troy! Is that you?” Rhonda came running down the aisle toward him as they entered the store. She was small-boned, but she knew how to tackle. She’d been in the family for years. She was like a sister to them and had to be tough to hold her own. Lord knew his brother Jason, Rhonda’s husband, had never made the brothers take it easy on her.
Troy opened his arms and spread his legs, bracing himself to be pummeled.
Rhonda skidded to a stop when she
saw Allison. “Who’s this? You brought a girl home?”
“Not exactly home,” Troy said.
Rhonda waved a hand. “You and David need to hug and make up already. It’s Christmas.”
“Bah humbug. He needs to make the first move.”
“David is a mule. He’ll never make the first move,” Rhonda told him.
Troy shrugged. “Then we won’t be making up.”
Rhonda focused on Allison. “He must like you to bring you home. Troy doesn’t bring girls home. Ever. Not anymore.”
“Allison and I aren’t like that,” Troy objected, but Allison stepped forward and offered Rhonda her hand to shake.
“I’m Allison Carmichael. We’ve only been dating a short time,” she said, casting him a look.
“And there’s an expiration date hanging over us,” Troy said.
“Oh, Troy.” Rhonda shook her head. “He’s such a jokester. Always has been.”
“So I’ve learned. I’d love to learn more, though,” Allison said, walking side by side with his sister-in-law.
“Well, I could tell you stories all day long. Come on back with me.”
Troy stayed rooted. The last thing he wanted was to listen as Rhonda dug up his most embarrassing moments, and there was no stopping that woman once she got talking. “I’ll just stay back and look for the Betty doll,” he called after them.
He cursed under his breath. He hadn’t thought about the repercussions of bringing Allison here. Now his brothers would be calling tonight to find out the status of his so-called relationship. They wouldn’t buy the truth, either, that he wasn’t even sure of what the status was. He was confused and just vying for time with her.
Troy ran his eyes over the selection of dolls. There was a doll that peed. And one that burped. He continued to look for the Betty doll, and then his eyes landed on a small baby doll with black hair and a sprinkle of freckles across her nose. It was the Feed Me Betty doll, the one that Lucy from Mercy’s Place had her heart set on. Well, she wouldn’t be disappointed this year. Not on his watch.
He scooped up the box and carried it to the front of the store, scared to know what Rhonda had been disclosing to Allison over the last several minutes. Rhonda was a lot of wonderful things, but she also had a big mouth and couldn’t keep a secret to save her life. Not that Troy had a lot of secrets to keep. He liked to think of himself as an open book. But his book didn’t need to be open for Allison. Not when whatever they had going on would be over after the weekend. That realization settled in his gut like a fine layer of disappointment.
“Hey, you two,” Troy said, walking up on the two women huddled together behind the cash register. “What are you talking about, dare I ask?”
Rhonda waggled her eyebrows. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”
“Probably not,” he said with a laugh.
Allison grinned and swiped away that sexy lock of hair that was always falling onto her cheek. “Rhonda was telling me about all the trouble you caused growing up.”
“I see. Well, I stand by the fact that it was always Jason getting me in trouble,” he said of Rhonda’s husband and his older brother.
“I don’t doubt it,” Rhonda said.
Troy held up the doll. “Found it,” he said.
Allison squealed with delight. And, if he didn’t know better, she was just as excited about the doll as little Lucy would be on Saturday. He liked to see her excited. It did something for him. Everything about Allison did something for him.
“So if you two are done trading dirt on me,” he said, “then we’ll pay for the doll and go to lunch.”
Rhonda waved a hand. “If that doll is for one of the orphans at Mercy’s Place, then it’s on the house,” she said. “I think it’s wonderful that you two are playing Mr. and Mrs. Claus, and delivering all those toys to the children.”
Troy nodded. So that’s what Allison had been telling Rhonda over the last few minutes. He could live with that, although his brothers might rib him for dressing up as jolly Saint Nick.
“Are you taking Allison to Aunt Mabel’s?” Rhonda asked.
“I thought I would.” He turned to Allison. “My aunt Mabel makes the best honey ham sandwich you’ll ever taste.”
Allison’s eyes widened. “You weren’t kidding when you said your family owns most of the town’s businesses here.”
Rhonda laughed. “It takes some getting used to, but I’ve never regretted joining the Matthews family.” She gave Allison a look that said maybe she thought Allison might be joining them, too. Troy hated to break it to her, but Rhonda’s new best friend wasn’t going to be joining the Matthews family. In fact, Alison wouldn’t be sticking around long enough to meet most of his other relatives.
Which was a shame. Even though he and his brother David were at odds, he loved his family and thought maybe Allison would, too.
Without thinking, he reached for her hand, taking it in his own. Her eyes widened a little more, but she didn’t pull away.
“See you later, Rhonda,” Troy called, tugging Allison out of the store with the Betty doll under one arm.
“Well, that was fun,” Allison remarked as they bypassed his truck and started walking. The town of Paradise Point was scenic. And Aunt Mabel’s Deli was only a few blocks down the street.
“I really like your sister-in-law,” Allison said. “Are your other brothers married, too?”
Troy gave his head a hard shake. “My brother David lives with my mom, remember? And my youngest brother is a workaholic. He runs half the family businesses on his own.”
“How many businesses does your family own, exactly?” she asked.
“Well, let’s see. My cousins own the Fishing Pier and the restaurant attached to it. Rhonda owns the toy shop you just got to see up close and personal. Aunt Mabel has the town’s favorite sandwich shop,” he said. “There’s a boardwalk downtown. Most of that land belongs to the Matthews family, too. We own a few small businesses there, including the bar on Front Street.” He glanced over. “It’s a lot of fun growing up in a town where your family owns the local bar.”
Allison shook her head, marveling. “I can’t believe you gave all of that up to join the military.”
“Why is that so hard for everyone to believe?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. Most people would love to have a ready-made, thriving business fall into their laps.”
He reached down for a rock as he walked and rolled it between his fingers, considering this. “I’m not most people, I guess.”
—
After eating lunch at Aunt Mabel’s, Troy drove Allison back to the Veterans’ Center in Seaside. She was in a really good mood after finally locating the prized Betty doll and having the best honey ham sandwich she’d ever eaten. And maybe Troy Matthews had a little something to do with her mood, too.
“I have work stuff tonight, but if you’re still willing, I’d love to get together tomorrow night,” he said as he pulled into the Center’s parking lot.
She was willing all right. And a little disappointed that the fun wouldn’t start until tomorrow. “Sounds good.” She hesitated before unloading from his truck. She wasn’t sure how to act with their new arrangement. Should she kiss him now? A peck on the cheek or a full-on kiss with tongue?
Troy glanced over and leaned in. He kissed her mouth, no tongue. It was perfect, though.
Allison got out and half floated, half walked back into the Center.
“Is that the Betty doll?” Julie asked, walking up behind her.
Allison held up the box excitedly and continued toward her office.
“Where did you find it?”
“In Paradise Point. There’s this wonderful toy store I discovered there that has just about everything you could possibly want.”
They entered Allison’s office and she sat the doll on her desk.
Julie raised an eyebrow as Allison turned to face her. “Paradise Point, huh? Isn’t that where Troy Matthews is from?”
Alliso
n skirted her gaze. “Yeah, so?”
“Was Troy the one who happened to take you to this toy store?” Julie asked, curling her words in a singsong voice.
“He came here to take me out to lunch and then we decided to go see if his sister-in-law’s shop had the baby doll. It was all very innocent.”
Julie propped her hands on her hips. “Why did he even come here to take you out to lunch? I thought you said there was nothing going on between you guys.”
Allison couldn’t contain her grin.
Julie pointed. “Ah-ha! Busted crushing on the hot Marine. Spill.”
“It’s nothing really. We’re just having fun together,” Allison said. And tomorrow night when he came to her place, she planned on having a whole lot of fun. A year’s worth of fun, in fact, because that’s how long it might be before she found herself in another relationship. A real relationship.
“Fine. Spare me all the juicy details if you want,” Julie said, pouting her lips. “Even though when Lawson and I started dating, I told you all the juicy details.”
Allison pulled her lower lip between her teeth and bit down gently. Then she walked quickly to her office door and shut it. “Fine, but this is top-secret information. Don’t tell anyone.”
Julie bounced lightly on the heels of her feet. “Oh, goody. You’re going to spill the juicy details. Did you and Troy kiss or something?”
Allison brought a hand to cover her face. “Yes,” she said, and startled when Julie squealed with delight. “Shhh. People will hear you.”
“Do you think that you and Troy are going to do more than kiss?” Julie asked excitedly.
Allison peeked out between the cracks of her fingers. “We already kind of did more than kiss,” she admitted.
Julie gasped. “Did you make out?”
Allison removed her hand from her face and met her friend’s eyes. “More,” she said, and Julie’s hands flew to her mouth to muffle another loud squeal.
“Did you…? No…Did you?”
“Yes,” Allison said, cheeks heating. It wasn’t like her to have sex with a guy she barely knew. But there was something about Troy that made her feel like she did know him.