Which left…
Phoebe felt her smile spread. He was perfect. He was sweet, cute and romantic but wouldn’t take it too seriously if Phoebe told him her friend was in town for only a few days and for the formal. Hell, he’d probably love to romance Kate, have a fling and then say goodbye.
“His name is Tucker Bennett,” Phoebe told her.
She heard Kate take a deep breath. Phoebe held her breath, waiting for Kate’s decision.
“I can be there in a couple of days.”
Phoebe breathed and grinned. “Awesome. This will be so fun. We can make cookies and go for a sleigh ride and—dammit.”
Tiffany looked up, startled.
“What?” Kate asked.
Phoebe swiped her debit card through the machine and sighed. “We’re going to be out of town for the next few days. DC parties.” She frowned. “Hey, why aren’t you going to DC to the parties?”
“I backed out,” Kate said. “Told my boss that the holidays bring up lots of negative emotions and I couldn’t handle the parties. He and his wife are going. He’s actually thrilled.”
Phoebe hated the idea of Kate staying in California. She was afraid if Kate got her takeout and got the movie marathon going there would be no getting her out of her apartment, not to mention on a plane. “Come anyway. I can give you directions to the house. We leave a key under the ceramic frog next to the porch.” She had no problem saying that out loud in the middle of the grocery store. The few people in Sapphire Falls who did lock their doors had similar ceramic creatures near their porches sitting on their spare keys. “You can come, make yourself at home, enjoy the tree and fireplace. You can watch Netflix here. We’ll be home in a few days and it will all be good.”
Kate was quiet for a long moment.
Phoebe nodded when Hunter, the kid who was bagging groceries, asked if she wanted him to carry her bags to the car.
She was opening her trunk for Hunter when Kate finally said, “That sounds really nice.”
“Awesome. This is going to be the best Christmas, I promise.”
Kate laughed. “Well, it wouldn’t take much.”
2
If a hundred of Santa’s elves had eaten too many Christmas cookies and thrown up all over, the town square in Sapphire Falls would have been the result.
Levi sat behind the wheel of his rented Maserati coup and stared.
There were four Christmas trees, one on each corner of the square, fully decorated. There was a gingerbread house—big enough that three or four young kids could fit inside. There was a life-sized sleigh. At least a dozen five-foot plastic candy canes lined the sidewalk. Plastic ornaments in various shapes, all about the size of car tires, hung from the branches of the non-evergreen trees in the square. A gazebo with a huge throne-like chair and a banner that read Welcome to Sapphire Falls, Santa occupied the center of the square. And, no shit, there was a penned-in area next to one of the trees that had two real, living, breathing reindeer munching on hay.
As if even Mother Nature was conspiring for a perfect Christmas scene, there was also a slight dusting of powdery white snow over everything.
“Holy sleigh bells.”
He’d fallen into a fricking Christmas card.
Just like Joe had said.
His brother had used words like idyllic and quaint to describe the place, and he’d sent photos of town events that Levi had, in all honesty, thought were fake. Levi knew it was a small country town that prided itself on its welcoming, homey feel. But…wow.
He parked the car in front of the grocery store and got out. It wasn’t hard to find the businesses in Sapphire Falls. They were all clustered around the square. A block away from the square in any direction took you into residential areas. The one exception was south of the square. A block off of the grassy area was the main highway that went past Sapphire Falls, and along the highway was a gas station, the Come Again bar and the little strip mall area that housed several local businesses, including a homemade furniture shop, a card and stationary shop and Scott’s Sweets, a candy shop and bakery.
Overhead, Levi heard the soft strains of Silver Bells and he glanced up. He couldn’t find where they’d hidden the speakers, but he did see that there were indeed silver bells hanging from the lamp posts that dotted the street in both directions.
There was no way the Ghost of Christmas Future would mess with him here. Levi felt a huge grin stretch across his face. Simply breathing the air here was making him a better person. He didn’t even mind the nearly thirty degree drop in temperature or the fact he could see his breath. It was refreshing. Exactly what he needed. Sweet beyond description.
There was mistletoe around here somewhere. He just knew it.
Grinning like a damned idiot, Levi headed into the store and grabbed shampoo and the other toiletries he hated to pack and headed to pay. He was aware that he was drawing attention from the other shoppers and store employees and he gave them all his most sincere smiles. He had to behave here. This was Joe’s hometown. No hitting on the cute girl shopping in aisle three. No flirting with the beautiful forty-something buying apples. No making the young—very young—cashier blush.
Back in his car, he started toward Joe’s place. He had instructions printed off from Joe’s email. He knew Joe and Phoebe lived out in the country outside of town, and Levi couldn’t wait to see this. Sapphire Falls was the country as far as Levi was concerned.
He’d only gotten about a mile outside of town and turned onto the dirt road when he realized that his brother no longer drove a sports car, not because he’d matured and no longer put his self-worth in material things, but because a low-slung coupe was impractical on roads that were gravel and mud and snow.
Creeping along, praying as he went that he wouldn’t get stuck out here where he had no one to call and no idea how exactly to get to Joe’s on foot, Levi made it another mile before there was another road. He glanced at the directions in his lap. He didn’t dare actually stop the car for fear of not getting it going again so he kept moving as he read the tiny type. Why hadn’t he increased the font size? He was supposed to go another hundred yards and he’d find Joe’s driveway.
One hundred yards later there was another dirt road. This was narrower, bordered on both sides by big old trees and with two deep ruts running from the road up to the house he could see in the distance. Deep ruts that were obviously caused by truck tires.
Awesome.
He turned in, grimacing as he heard and felt the crusty snow underneath dragging along the bottom of the car.
He finally made it to the house, pulled over onto a flat slab of cement beside the garage and turned off the ignition. Thank goodness.
At least, he hoped this was Joe’s place. And he hoped that his brother’s truck was here and that they’d left the keys.
The front door key was under the ceramic frog as Joe had said it would be, and a minute later, Levi let himself into the farm house with his suitcase and grocery sack.
He let the bags fall as he took in a big lungful of air. The house smelled amazing. It was neat and homey. There were no Christmas decorations up yet, but it was only the twentieth and Joe and Phoebe were supposed to be home on the twenty-second. They’d all decorate together. Levi felt a surge of happiness. Pure, unadulterated happiness. It had nothing to do with a winning poker hand or a shot of alcohol or a woman’s cleavage. It was about feeling at home, warm, safe, cared about.
Levi Spencer would never ever admit it to anyone, ever, but when Joe had invited him to Sapphire Falls, Levi had felt his heart actually swell. The organ he’d thought shriveled like a raisin long ago had thumped in his chest, reminding him that it was there and working.
Joe and Phoebe were the only people in the entire world that Levi could say with absolute certainty cared about him.
Joe’s invitation had meant more to Levi than he’d realized. He was even a little choked up.
If that wasn’t the damnedest thing, he didn’t know what was.
He hauled his bags up the stairs to the guest room. He was even more shocked when the choked-up feeling increased when he passed his niece’s bedroom. The scent of baby powder and the sight of a purple stuffed elephant sitting on the seat of the rocking chair made his cold, dead heart thump again.
Damn.
Who knew he was a big pile of mush underneath the Rolex and Armani?
It had to be the concussion. He must have jarred some feeling loose when he’d banged his skull into the car window.
The guest room was the third door on the right. Levi pushed the door open and threw his bag on the bed. Then he turned a full circle. The quilt on the bed was…a quilt. He had never slept under an actual quilt in his life. Levi would put good money on the fact someone Phoebe was related to had made the thing. The bed was a four-poster queen. The bedroom floor was refinished wood with a huge woven rug on top to keep it from being cold. There were two big windows in the west and north walls covered in simple cotton curtains that matched the maroon color in the quilt. There was an overstuffed reading chair in the corner, an armoire on one wall, and the remaining wall held a collection of black-and-white photographs that were clearly of Phoebe’s family over the generations on the front porch of this very house.
Again, Levi felt something that could have been emotions clogging his throat.
For fuck’s sake. It was like a dam had broken open. He needed to get a handle on things. He couldn’t be all weepy and sentimental. Joe would send him for further medical work-up for sure.
Levi riffled through his bag, planning to change into something more Sapphire Falls appropriate. He was heading to the Come Again. Not because he needed a drink—even though he so needed a drink—but because that was where he was meeting his date for the Christmas formal. The woman who was going to keep him from being a complete and total asshole who thought of women for only one thing. Okay, two things—sex and his ego.
Surely recognizing that he was a womanizing ass was a step in the right direction.
He pulled out his phone and thumbed through to the message from Joe sent earlier that day.
She’ll meet you at the Come Again at eight. Built blonde in a red dress. You won’t be able to miss her.
Built blonde. Red dress. This was already a good idea.
Finding nothing quite right for the tiny bar in the tiny town in his bag, Levi headed for the master bedroom. He dug through a dresser drawer and found a pair of blue jeans and a black cotton T-shirt. In the closet, he found a pair of black Oxford shoes. The leather was soft and they obviously weren’t new, but it was those or a pair of brown work boots.
He was going to have to ask Joe about those boots. Joe Spencer was wearing boots? To do what? Muck out the stalls in his barn?
Levi chuckled to himself, but as he turned to exit the room, he glanced out the window. This one faced east and, sure enough, there was a barn in the distance.
For a second, Levi wondered what he’d gotten into.
Changing your life around before the ghosts get to you.
It was an analogy. He didn’t really think ghosts were coming to bring him a message about changing his life. He did, however, fully expect to have a stocking full of coal on Christmas morning.
Half an hour later, he walked into the Come Again bar in tiny Sapphire Falls, Nebraska, and thought maybe the Ghost of Christmas Present wasn’t such a bad guy.
The built blonde in the red dress sitting at the bar was exquisite.
It had been clear within three seconds of stepping into the Come Again that Kate was overdressed. But a night out at the pubs in her neighborhood meant fitted red dresses, a sexy twist to her hair and full make up.
At the Come Again, the dress code was clearly denim, cotton and more denim.
Kate pressed her lips together and rubbed as she lifted her glass of wine, trying to blot some of her lipstick off. None of the other women were wearing anything more than cherry lip balm.
She sipped and then set her glass down with surprisingly steady hands. It wasn’t nerves about the date. Phoebe had set it up, and Kate knew Phoebe. This was about Kate having a nice Christmas. The guy would be great. Funny, sweet, interested in helping her have a nice time. Her antsy feelings were about being the center of attention in a room full of strangers. She could hardly miss the blatant stares from all of the other patrons. Everyone was watching her with such open curiosity she almost laughed. She had no trouble being alone. Even drinking alone. But she felt compelled to engage them all in conversation for some reason. Even stranger was the realization that she would have nothing in common with any of these people.
What was she going to talk to her date about? He was a Sapphire Falls boy born and raised. What was his name again? Oh God, she couldn’t even remember his name. It was some country-boy name. Trent? Trey? Tate? She wrinkled her nose. Tate was a country club boy’s name. She pulled her phone from her purse and opened her text messages.
“Tucker Bennett.”
Tucker. That was definitely a country-boy’s name. Kate smiled. Not having anything in common with him could only be a good thing. She wanted to get away from her life for a while.
Phoebe had also included, “Dark hair, blue eyes, killer smile.”
Kate had texted back asking what he’d be wearing. Phoebe’s answer had made her laugh.
“One thousand percent sure he’ll be wearing blue jeans and a T-shirt.”
That was clearly a good bet, Kate thought, sipping her wine and covertly checking the room out. Every guy in the room was in blue jeans and the split between cotton T-shirts and cotton plaid shirts was about fifty-fifty.
There was a pool game going in the corner, music that she didn’t recognize other than to know it was country played from the jukebox and couples were moving around the dance floor in a coordinated pattern. She knew that was a two-step. She did watch movies and TV after all.
“Christmas just became my favorite holiday.”
Kate felt goose bumps dance down her spine at the rich, deep voice behind her. She swallowed her mouthful of wine and then turned slowly on the stool. She wanted to savor this moment. This was the first step toward her perfect, magical Christmas.
Tucker Bennett was gorgeous.
That was Kate’s first thought. Phoebe had said cute. She’d said he was a nice guy. She had mentioned the killer smile and blue eyes, but she had failed to warn Kate that she wouldn’t be able to breathe when she actually met Tucker’s gaze directly.
Holy jingle bells. This was gonna be good.
“Hi,” she said, trying to decide if she sounded sexy breathless or crazy breathless.
Obviously, Phoebe had told him she would be his date for the Christmas formal and Tucker would know she was from out of town, especially considering he probably knew every single person in Sapphire Falls and their grandmother. But she couldn’t be all gaga and pathetic. She wanted a movie-worthy Christmas, but she couldn’t fall all over Tucker. He’d signed on to be her date, not the savior of everything Christmas thus far in her life.
She needed to get a grip.
“Joe is a really, really good guy,” Tucker said.
She smiled. That sounded positive. And she couldn’t disagree. Tucker was probably a friend of Joe’s, and Phoebe had probably gotten Joe to talk him into this. Kate wondered briefly what Phoebe had told Joe and what Joe had shared with Tucker.
But it didn’t matter. He was here now and he was…magnificent.
She found herself staring at his mouth.
Crap.
She pulled her gaze back to his with a surprising amount of effort required. She couldn’t throw herself at this guy. He was a nice small-town guy doing a favor for a friend of a friend. Guys in sweet little towns didn’t do hot hook ups with girls they didn’t know. Hell, Tucker had probably known every girl he’d ever taken out since kindergarten.
Besides, she wasn’t a hook-up kind of girl. She liked sex, but she needed more than two sentences to get out of her panties.
�
�I’m sure hoping there’s mistletoe around here somewhere.”
Okay, maybe three sentences. Or him just standing there smiling at her.
Oh boy, this might be a problem. Or not. She did have that Christmas tree fantasy after all. She’d been planning on having a sweet, romantic Christmas with a nice guy who was fun but had no chance of breaking her heart because the expectations were clear and simple.
But she could probably squeeze in some hot sex by Christmas tree light with Tucker.
Phoebe and Joe didn’t have their tree up yet. She’d found the house a few hours ago and had unpacked, showered and gotten dressed before coming back to town. But maybe Tucker had his tree up.
As she continued to stare at him, her gaze dipping to his mouth over and over. His smile was relaxed and he stepped forward, the look in his eyes more intent than playful now. “Or maybe we can skip the mistletoe altogether.”
She was acting like an idiot.
She was vaguely aware of the fact, but she couldn’t seem to stop.
She’d dated good-looking guys before. She’d dated good-looking guys who knew they were good looking before. But there was something about Tucker. It wasn’t only his looks. It was the way he was focused on her, fully concentrated, as if the world around them didn’t exist. It was the way he moved into her personal space without hesitation, or permission, like he belonged there. It was the way he met and held her gaze. The way he blatantly studied her—but not her body, not her breasts, not her legs—her face.
It should have been unnerving. She would have expected it to be unnerving. But it was…tempting.
She felt like he was drawing her in, pulling her closer, relaxing her and opening her up.
She wanted to cuddle close, take a long, deep whiff of his scent, feel his warmth and strength against her and…yes, take off her clothes.
“This is going to be a problem,” he said softly, for her ears only.
She cleared her throat and finally forced words out. “What is?”
Home for the Holidays: A Contemporary Romance Anthology Page 41