by Nancy Fraser
It was curious, of course, but he didn’t know her. If she wanted to keep her reason for taking these weeks off a secret that was fine with him.
Still, he wanted to understand her. He’d never been particularly curious about what made a woman tick before. He’d asked no more than the basics. But Brenna pulled at him and he accepted the pull.
Brenna was gorgeous, at least to him. She was clever and had to be creative if she wrote ad copy. You had to be smart and witty to do that and succeed. You also needed a strong work ethic and the ability to focus and be open at the same time.
Marva arrived in all her wild glory and he grinned at her appearance. She winced with each step, but her look of fortitude made him proud. “You’re hurting,” he said.
“Only when I move,” she quipped. “But I’m here and I’m determined to do this.”
“Have you considered finding a good massage therapist?”
“You read my mind,” she said while she hung up her cape. “I’ve booked a massage right after this. I felt lucky to get in on short notice.”
He walked over to her and drew her away from the coat rack area toward the wall of mirrors. “We begin,” he said. She huffed out a breath in response.
“Okay. Even my arms hurt,” she whined as she lifted them, and he engaged. But she did much better than he’d expected.
When Marva’s hour ended, he clapped for her. “I have to say, you’ve done well.”
“Considering I can barely stand up straight.”
“You’re hard on yourself.” His mind moved to his previous student and how gracefully Brenna had moved with him. “You mentioned the tree lighting ceremony yesterday. What time is it?”
“Seven p.m. Are you going after all?”
BRENNA HAD FORGOTTEN to pay for her lessons. Once Jett had taken her in his arms, her mind had scrambled. When their hour was up, she’d bolted and yanked on her coat and boots and then scurried out like a frightened mouse. She’d bolted for home. Only then did she realize she hadn’t paid him.
Ridiculous. Where was the confident young woman who’d bulldozed her way to the front of the line for the promotion?
His powerful sensual pull frightened and excited her. Get a grip! A smart, sexy man was pursuing her right under the noses of her grandmother and her aunt. Sure, her feelings were juvenile about her elders seeing her in full flirtation mode. But she was no longer the awkward teenage girl that found boys intimidating.
To make her point, if only to herself, she called him and left a voice mail about meeting up at the merry-go-round in the square. “We can get a hot chocolate and take a stroll around the square,” she suggested after she’d set the time for an hour before the lighting. “I hope to see you there,” she ended.
Dancing with Jett Smith had been the most fun she’d had in far too long. Her shoulders, back and arms felt tight where she’d used muscles that she’d let go soft. A hot soak before meeting Jett would help.
“Wait for me and I’ll come with you. We can park at Lolly’s,” Gramma said when Brenna descended the stairs. She reached for her coat, boots, and red-and-white-striped scarf. It was ancient but a must in Dickens in December. Especially for the ceremony. She smiled just draping it around her neck. “Sorry, Gramma, I’m walking over.”
“Really? Are you meeting someone?”
“Yes.” She refrained from rolling her eyes. “I invited Jett to come along.”
The smile that stretched her grandmother’s mouth went wide and her cheeks showed every laugh line she’d earned. The expression in her green eyes warmed Brenna.
“Don’t wait up,” she said, hoping the night might bring more than a simple stroll and hot drink.
True to his word, Jett stood on the far side of the merry-go-round, beside a dark pine that towered over him. He wore a long dark wool coat, a jaunty red scarf and earmuffs that looked like...candy canes? He saw her as she rounded the structure and grinned shyly as if he hadn’t believed she’d be here.
The air felt brisk with the promise of winter, and Jett’s nose looked red from the chill. Definitely a hot chocolate kind of night.
“Look what I found,” he said, holding up a pair of earmuffs. “I got you a set, too.” His grin widened and she saw a little boy peeking out from his gaze. Her heart melted and she wondered if he realized how eager, and guileless, he looked.
“How sweet. I love them,” she said as she lifted her lips to his cheek. “Thank you.”
She hadn’t meant to invite more, but Jett clasped her shoulders and moved the kiss to her mouth. She responded like a starving woman. Maybe she was. She’d certainly been lonely these last months. Maybe a year. Oh, had it been that long?
His lips were chilled, but they tasted of peppermint and warmed quickly as she tipped her tongue out to meet his. “I want to kiss you too much to continue here,” Jett said in a throaty voice.
She felt the same way, but the good citizens of Dickens were arriving in family groups, and she didn’t want to create a spectacle. Everyone here knew Lolly and Gramma and she didn’t want, or need, the gossip. Spending the next weeks talking about her and Jett would take all the fun out of it. She was here to regroup so she could return to work ready to step into her promotion at full throttle.
With a satisfied grin firmly in place, Jett set her gift on her head. She adjusted the earmuffs and smiled up at him.
The look he gave her steamed up her spine and she was immediately pulled back to the way he’d held her while they’d danced.
She could be in trouble here. Big trouble. “We’re parting ways after Christmas,” she said. “Let’s keep this light.”
“Agreed. But for now, we have weeks ahead of us and anything can happen.”
She wondered if his words masked a wish for more or a warning not to hope for more. He draped his arm across her shoulders and snugged her into his side. “I’m so happy,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything like this. All these people coming just to see some lights?”
“Dickens is all about Christmas. The cheer, the decorations, the family time. It’s full of wonderful family memories for me.”
“Nice,” he said quietly.
She tilted her face up. He looked far away. Maybe his memories of the season weren’t as special as hers. “Did you have a happy childhood?”
“I got through. I couldn’t wait for it to be over. I wanted to be in charge of my life.”
Some kids didn’t grow up in the happiest of circumstances, so she decided not to pry. If Jett wanted to share more about his young life, he would. But she did have one question.
“How did you become a dance instructor?”
He came back to her, setting aside his darker thoughts. “Dancing put me through high school and college. I grew up watching the kids on the street dancing alone and in teams, but I’d seen a few old movies where couples moved together. I loved how fluid they were, how the steps carried them across the floor. The synchronicity of the couple touched me in ways I didn’t understand. I walked into a ballet school and asked if I could learn to be Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire if I took out the trash and swept up.”
“Enterprising,” she said with a nod. She took his hand and led him toward the coffee shop on the square. Outside stood a lineup of people waiting to get hot drinks from the large urns on a table. “Did you take ballet?”
“No, the manager sent me to a friend of hers who taught me in her home. When I came of age, I moved in there and continued with my education. Without Delia, I wouldn’t be who I am today.” He frowned.
Which begged the question about who Jett really was? Teaching the tango in a rented studio wouldn’t pay the bills. And certainly, wouldn’t pay for the beautiful wool coat he wore.
“Are you two still close?”
He shook his head. “She passed away while I was in college. When we met, she was heading for seventy-five and having me in the house gave her purpose, she said. She was a real character. Loud, brash, glorious in her day. Every morning I’d head out
with a red smear of lipstick on my cheek.”
“She sounds wonderful.”
They edged up toward the table and she saw her aunt and grandmother across the square. “Don’t look now, but we’re about to be accosted.”
Of course, he looked around. When he saw the women, he raised his hand and waved. They waved back and immediately put their heads together, like birds on a wire.
“I can only imagine the grilling I’ll get when I get home.”
He chuckled. “You don’t like your family?”
“I love them, but they want things for me I doubt I’ll have time for.”
“Like?”
She sighed and let go of a dream. “Children, mostly. People who work sixty to seventy hours a week should not be parents.” Even off the clock she had to think of her project, whatever it was. Inspiration didn’t strike from nowhere. She earned it.
“I’ve never considered having children,” he said. “No time.”
“That’s sad,” she said.
“Yes, it is.” He gave her an ironic look she chose to ignore.
“You’d make a fun dad. Buying candy cane earmuffs, dancing the tango.”
“Are you saying you wouldn’t be a good mother and that makes it okay to work your life away?” He pressed his lips together. “Because work should not define a person. Ambition should not steal away families. They’re too hard to come by.”
Chapter 6
JETT STEPPED TO THE front of the line and ordered two hot chocolates.
“Mint? Or regular? Marshmallows or not?” the server asked.
“Mint and marshmallows,” he replied and looked at Brenna, who frowned. Probably over his comment about ambition and families and working too hard. He didn’t care if he had put that frown on her face, she needed to hear what he thought.
“Neither,” she responded to the server. “I like mine plain and I don’t need the extra sugar in the marshmallows.” She looked slightly uncomfortable, so he decided to explain more about his newfound attitude about work.
He paid for their drinks and they stepped away to circle the square amid the throngs of arriving people. He took a sip and burned the tip of this tongue. “Hot! Be careful.”
“I’ll let it cool,” she promised.
“I worked with a man awhile back who dedicated his every waking moment to his new business. Paul felt driven to succeed, to make his product a household staple. He had a son and two daughters and a wife who loved and supported him.”
“Jett?” came a woman’s effusive call. He looked up and saw Marva give him a huge wave that belonged in a football stadium.
“You’re gonna love meeting this woman,” he said out of the corner of his mouth. Brenna grinned. “Marva, nice to see you here,” he called back and waved her over.
“Marva’s a favorite student of mine,” he said when she arrived, breathless and happy and rosy-cheeked. “And this is Brenna,” he announced. The women exchanged smiles and greetings, while he took stock of the proceedings around him. They had almost circled around to the carousel again. “Marva, I’ll get you a hot chocolate, if you’d like.”
“Thanks, I’d love some.”
“Stay right here. I need to make a call. I’ll do it while I’m in line.” He pulled out his cell phone as he strode to the vendor. Jett had called his assistant, Sophia, and explained what he wanted several hours ago. But this time Jett wanted information of a more personal nature on the man behind the process. Sophia answered on the first ring.
Ignoring a greeting she said, “I can’t find a thing on a Billie Adamson from Dickens or the surrounding county. There are no William Adamsons in that area.”
“The breadcrumbs the guy left in the chat room lead to Dickens.” Jett wasn’t often wrong. He shrugged it off. “I’ll check further from my end.”
“Unless he doesn’t own or rent a property. He could be a roommate not on the lease,” she suggested. “That would make it harder to find him.”
“Yes. Maybe he moved in with a woman who already had a place.”
“I’ll dig deeper.”
“No, not tonight. You should be leaving for home by now.” He had boots on the ground here and he’d keep looking. Now that he had contacts in Dickens, like Laurel and Mrs. Moore, he might have better luck.
“I’m heading out to buy presents. Do you have your list of gifts yet? Don’t make me scramble last minute. I’ll order more online this year. We need to have enough time for delivery.”
“I’ll send the list to you soon.” He flashed on how much fun he’d had picking out the earmuffs for Brenna. He’d been delighted with them and he’d bought a pair for himself on a whim. Funny, he didn’t usually do whims. He didn’t indulge silly impulses. Time off to chat up a woman, hanging out doing nothing constructive, laughing for no reason other than enjoying the company he was with; all those things were alien to him.
He ended his call and while he stood in line, swept the square with his gaze. He drank it all in. Quaint towns weren’t his thing, but then, he’d never spent time in them. He loved what he saw here in Dickens: a gazebo for music and important speeches, a carousel, a statue, a walkway that wove in and out of the structures. In the middle stood a towering, perfectly conical pine draped in strands of unlit light bulbs.
The shops and elegant old homes that circled the square had also kept their lights off as darkness had fallen.
“One hot chocolate, please.” He considered Marva’s sense of style and went with what he figured she’d want. “With marshmallows.” He paid for the drink and hurried back to the where the women waited.
As he got closer, he saw that the crowd had come to order, and silence had built as parents shushed children all around him. Brenna waved to him to hurry. He dodged people faster.
“What’s happening?” he whispered to Brenna as he passed Marva her paper cup.
Marva mouthed her thank you and turned to face the gazebo.
“We get a speech every year but this year instead of the mayor, a kid gets to throw the switch.”
The speech was peppered with thank yous and the usual gratitude to the sponsors without whom the event couldn’t happen. People responded with applause as their friends and family got mentions from the mayor.
“Without further ado, I invite—drum roll—Wilhelmina Adamson to power up.” The crowd cheered as the teenage girl in a wheelchair flipped a switch on an electrical board.
The entire square lit up at once, and a moment later the surrounding homes and business turned on their lights, too. The tree glowed with thousands of twinkling lights. Magnificent in its glory.
Without warning, Brenna tugged his face down to hers and slammed her lips to his. He responded and gave her a one-armed hug because they were still holding their cups. When he raised his head, he smiled into the kiss thief’s eyes. Then he glanced around to see most people bussing their partners on the lips.
“It’s tradition,” Brenna explained, “to kiss the one you’re with.”
“Like New Year’s Eve,” Marva exclaimed. “I love it!”
With that, Jett gave the older woman a smacking kiss on the cheek. She touched her face where he’d smooched and cackled like a crow. “Thanks, Jett. It’s been awhile.” He may have seen a tear glisten, but she blinked.
Adamson. Maybe a relative of Billie’s. He’d almost missed the name, but the mayor had raised his voice to announce it.
Marva turned to say hello to people on her other side and began chatting animatedly about how nice the ceremony had been.
After a brief hello to the other people, Jett had Brenna to himself again. “You said we were about to be invaded by your aunt and grandmother. Where did they disappear to?”
Brenna shrugged. “Not sure, but you can bet I’ll be grilled like a steak when I get home. They’ll want every juicy bit of this evening.”
“I don’t want it to end, but the crowd is leaving.” And he wanted more kisses, plain and simple. “Would you go to dinner with me? It’s sti
ll early.”
“The crowd’s heading to the restaurants on the square. They’ll be completely full,” she said consideringly. “How about Antonelli’s? It’s about fifteen minutes from here and serves Italian cuisine.”
“I love the way you say yes. Not only am I spending more time with you, you’ve already found the way to my heart. Italian is my favorite food. Bring it on!”
Her cheeks flushed the prettiest shade of pink he'd ever seen, compliments of the lights from a nearby tree.
“Jett and Brenna,” Marva’s voice broke into their shared moment. “Harry invited me to see the snowman building contest. Care to come along?”
Harry stood behind her looking expectant and hopeful.
“We were discussing dinner plans,” Jett said.
Harry spoke up. “I’d also like to ask Marva to join me for a bite after I see my grandchildren build their snowman.”
Marva tilted her head in a clear signal for Jett and Brenna to clear off. With a jaunty wave, Jett grabbed Brenna’s hand and left Marva to her new friend. She’d been right about single men being in the square tonight.
Chapter 7
KISSING JETT HAD BEEN the smartest thing Brenna had done all day. And how sweet had it been that he’d given Marva a nice big smacker on the cheek? Brenna had seen a glow come over the woman’s face when Jett had included her in the tradition. Her heart warming toward the man at her side, she walked with him to his car.
“I hope I remember the way to Antonelli’s.” She’d been there before, but it had been awhile.
“I hope we beat the rush,” he replied with a grin. “But then waiting in a line up would give me more time with you.”
“Sweet talker,” she teased.
He chuckled and picked up her gloved hand. He brushed his lips across it, and she wanted, desperately, to take her glove off for him. Maybe more than her glove. Stop, you’re going way too fast. But she wasn’t sure her rational self would listen. Around Jett Smith, she felt warm and different and excited and she loved the feelings he brought out in her. Being with him made her light-hearted and she loved it.