Romancing the Holiday

by HelenKay Dimon

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  She pulled her gaze away from other cars and looked at him. “I’m fine. Why?”

  “You seem tense.” Then he grinned at her. “I thought we worked all that tension out of you this weekend.”

  She smiled back at him. “I’m not tense. I’m just trying to get back into work mode.”

  “Okay.”

  It was their turn at the window. Marjorie was the worst gossip ever. This was going to be an epic disaster.

  “Morning, Brody,” Marjorie said, her raven-and-gray hair pulled back into a bun as usual. “Hey, Tori.”

  So much for the sunglasses as a disguise.

  “Mornin’, Marjorie,” Brody said. “We’ll take a dozen mixed.” He turned to Tori. “You want a coffee?”

  She’d need it to get through this day. “Yes. An extra large, please, Marjorie.”

  She waited for the winks, knowing looks, or the questions. Instead, Marjorie said, “Coming right up.”

  Nothing. She’d gotten nothing at all. No sly looks, no questions, just the box of donuts and her coffee and then they were on their way.

  Huh.

  Which didn’t mean Marjorie wouldn’t be calling or texting everyone she knew about the fact she and Brody had been seen together in Brody’s truck at six-thirty in the morning.

  They pulled up to the office and she breathed a sigh of relief. Neither Ethan nor Wyatt had arrived yet. She nearly bolted out of the truck, her keys in one hand, coffee in the other, to open the front door.

  “I’d have come around to open your side,” Brody said as he met her at the door.

  “Sorry. I, uh, need to pee.”

  “Oh. Okay. Go right ahead.”

  She didn’t have to go, but she fled to the privacy of the ladies’ room for a few minutes to catch her breath. Okay, so far so good. She checked her face in the mirror. It was flushed.

  Calm down, Tori. You might just make it through this day.

  She booted up her laptop and set the donuts on the conference room table, then started a pot of coffee while Brody gathered up paperwork. They worked efficiently side by side as Brody asked her to pull some files and blueprints they’d talk about at the morning staff meeting.

  Everything was back to normal, which made her ache with loss. She wanted to slide her arms around him and hold him close, feel his heart beating against her as it had the past few nights. She wanted to kiss him, to feel his lips touch hers. She wanted his hands on her again.

  But that was over. He’d had his fill of her and they were done now, just as she’d suspected.

  And when Wyatt came in, followed shortly thereafter by Ethan, it was like the final nail had been driven in the coffin.

  “Morning,” she said, lifting her chin and pasting on her brightest smile. She wouldn’t give in to her emotions. She’d known what she was doing the other night, knew what it was going to cost her. If she was heartbroken, she had no one to blame but herself. She knew what kind of guy Brody was. He was a serial woman chaser, and once he caught a woman and had her, he was done and on to the next one.

  She couldn’t blame him for what he was.

  Once the guys had all had some coffee and shared some mundane chit chat, they all gathered in the conference room for the staff meeting. Tori made notes and discussed financials for an upcoming project that Brody would be heading, which was gutting and rebuilding one of the town’s major supermarkets.

  “It should be set to gear up after the holidays,” Brody said.

  “I’m damn glad we won that bid,” Ethan said. “If the Johnson brothers had taken that one out from under us, I might have had to resort to violence.”

  “I’d have been right behind you on that one,” Wyatt said. “But it’s ours and it’s a big project. We’re going to need to add to our labor force.”

  Brody nodded. “Already on it.” He motioned to Tori, who passed out a sheet she’d prepared.

  “We estimate we’re going to need to add about fifteen to this project. I’m already in contact with some of our labor force people about the people we’ll need, and have contacted the local union for the steel portion of the project. They’ve got a meeting set up with Brody next week.”

  “Good,” Wyatt said then turned to Brody. “How about the Hansen Sporting Goods job over in Mission City?”

  “It’ll be finished before this one starts up.”

  “Great. Any other business?”

  “The Christmas party,” Tori said. “It’s time to start planning for that again.”

  Wyatt groaned. “I assume you’ll be handling it. Do we even need to participate in discussions?”

  “Actually, I was thinking since you and Brody have such big houses, and Ethan is building a big place, all three of you have plenty of room to start hosting these events at your homes. I thought this year we’d start at Brody’s, then next year at Wyatt’s, giving Ethan and Riley time to first finish their place and second, with their baby on the way, they won’t need to have a turn for a couple years.”

  Ethan cocked a brow. “Why at our houses?”

  “First, it’s more economical. Second, it’s more intimate and it’ll bring you closer to your customers. Third, having it at your homes gives us more flexibility on dates to have the party since we’re not at the mercy of a hotel or restaurant and their busy holiday schedules.”

  Ethan looked over at Wyatt and Brody and shrugged. “I don’t have a problem with it. I doubt Riley will, either. What do you guys think?”

  “I guess it’s all right with me,” Brody said. “Wyatt?”

  “I’ll have to discuss it with Calliope, but that woman loves a good party, so I can’t imagine she’ll say no. And she’ll help you with the planning, especially when it’s at our house. Hell, she’ll help you this year at Brody’s.”

  Wyatt looked over at Brody. “You’re the single guy. You sure you’re fine with this?”

  Brody’s gaze leveled on Tori and he quirked a smile. “Yeah, I’m fine with it.”

  She tried to tamp down the emotions battering at her. She dragged her gaze away from Brody and instead focused on his brothers. “Great. I’ll start planning. I’ll email all of you with potential dates for the party. Get back to me as soon as you can.”

  They went on to a few more last-minute topics, then wrapped up the meeting so the guys could get out to their jobsites for the day. Ethan and Wyatt were on the phones while simultaneously packing up their gear.

  Brody stopped at her desk. “You sure about this Christmas party thing at the house? That there’ll be enough space?”

  She tilted her head to look up at him. “Definitely. I wouldn’t have suggested it otherwise. But I think, depending on the weather, we rent a fire pit and heaters for the back deck. If it’s warm enough, people might want to spill outside.”

  “You order whatever you think we’ll need. I trust your judgment on this.”

  “And you’ll need a Christmas tree for that front window.”

  He cocked a brow. “This was all a ploy to get me to put a tree up.”

  She laughed. “Hardly. But it’s a perfect spot for one. And you can’t have Christmas at your house without a tree, Brody.”

  “Fine. But you’ll have to come over and help me decorate it. I don’t even have ornaments.”

  He was inviting her over again? She didn’t know what to make of that. Was it in a professional capacity, or something more personal? “Okay. Sure. I’ll be happy to help you set up the place. Trust me, I’m not going to leave it for you to handle.”

  He bent over and whispered in her ear, “I’m not talking about just the Christmas party, Tori.”

  She leaned back, her gaze shooting across the room to a gaping Wyatt and Ethan. “Brody. Your brothers are watching.”

  “Let them watch.” He brushed his lips across hers, a long slow kiss that melted her to the chair. She clutched his shirt and soon forgot where they were. She might have even forgotten her own name.

  “G
et a room,” Wyatt said.

  “Jesus, is it hot in here or what? I need to go outside, where it’s cold,” Ethan said.

  Brody pulled his lips from hers, his smile and sparkling eyes as devilish as always. “Screw you guys,” he said without looking at them. “I’ll call you later,” he said to her.

  “Okay.” She released the death grip she had on his shirt and watched him as he grabbed his coat and his bag and walked out the door, his brothers following behind. They both gave her a knowing grin as they left her.

  She finally exhaled.

  Well. That was unexpected. And she supposed she should stop worrying about all the things she’d worried about this morning. Like whether anyone in town would find out. From their trip to the donut shop to Brody kissing her in front of her brothers, that cat was most definitely out of the bag.

  As far as the weekend spent with Brody being a one-time-only thing? From the kiss he just gave her, she’d guess probably not.

  Brody had changed everything.

  She just didn’t know what to make of it all.

  * * *

  “What the hell was that about?” Ethan asked as they walked out to their trucks.

  Brody clicked the remote on his key ring. “What was what about?”

  “You might look dumb, but we know you’re not,” Wyatt said. “That kiss with Tori in there.”

  “Now who’s dumb?” Brody threw his briefcase in the passenger seat and turned to look at his brothers.

  “So what’s going on?” Ethan asked.

  “None of your business.”

  “If it’s Tori, it’s definitely our business.” Wyatt laid his briefcase down and folded his arms. “So, spill.”

  “Whatever’s going on with Tori and me doesn’t concern the two of you, so butt out.” He climbed into his truck, but before he could shut the door, Wyatt grabbed it.

  “She’s family, Brody. Don’t screw this up.”

  “And don’t hurt her,” Ethan said.

  Brody rolled his eyes. “Don’t you two have jobsites to get to?”

  “I’m serious,” Ethan said. “She means something to us.”

  “She means something to me, too, so leave it alone, okay?”

  He finally pulled the door shut and his brothers walked away. As he drove off, he shook his head.

  First they wanted him to make peace between him and Tori. Now that he had, it was like they wanted him to back the hell off.

  Christ. He raked his fingers through his hair as he made the turn onto the highway.

  First he pissed her off and he was the bad guy. Now he brought her in close and he was still the bad guy.

  It was a no-win scenario, and no matter what he did he was going to be skewered.

  He and Tori had had a great weekend, even better than he could have imagined. He wanted more time with her, because a few days of her sweet smile, her genuine laughter, her smartass wit and her gorgeous body just wasn’t enough.

  He had no idea where it was going to lead, and he didn’t waste time imagining the future. He preferred to live in the present and let things roll out how they were going to roll out. There was no sense in trying to predict how a relationship was going to go.

  Hell, he never even had relationships, so this was uncharted territory for him. Hopefully he and Tori could just take it a day at a time, without anyone butting their nose in and offering unwanted opinions.

  He eased into the fast lane and hit the gas, switching his mind over to business, where it belonged.

  Though a certain redhead kept popping into his head, making him smile as he worked throughout the day.

  That was a first, because once he settled on business, that’s usually where his mind stayed. But stray thoughts of Tori kept filtering through. Her laugh, the way she looked naked, her competitive nature when they’d played video games, or the soft way she snored when she’d fallen asleep while watching movies.

  He’d never realized how alone he had been until he had her with him all weekend, or how much he’d enjoyed spending time with her.

  Usually he was all about getting women out of his house.

  Now all he could think about was when he could get Tori back there.

  Chapter Nine

  Mondays were always busy, so by the time Tori got home, she was exhausted, not only from work, but from her nonstop ringing and texting cell phone.

  Word was out that she had been with Brody, and there had been more calls and texts from Calliope than anyone.

  She knew Calliope had her hands full at the day care center, so for her to take the time to send her approximately seven million texts meant that it was urgent. And for Tori to send only one back, which said “We’ll talk after work tonight,” meant that Tori was being a big fat coward.

  She couldn’t face anyone, didn’t want to talk about this thing with her and Brody.

  Whatever this thing might be, which was probably no thing at all, which was why she didn’t want to talk about it.

  She hadn’t been home more than a half hour when her phone buzzed.

  She looked at it, saw that it was Calliope again and pressed the button.

  “Hey.”

  “You might be the queen of avoidance, but I’m the queen of I-will-stalk-you-until-you-talk-to-me-because-we’re-best-friends-dammit.”

  Tori smiled at that. It was true. “I’m sorry, Calliope. It was a hellish day at work.”

  “I’m sure it was. Now answer your door.”

  She frowned. “There’s no one at my door.”

  “There is now. Me.”

  Tori went to the door and looked through the peephole, laughing when Calliope stuck her tongue out. She opened the door. “Oh, my God, you really are a stalker.”

  “Told you. I was afraid you were going to ignore my calls again.” Calliope came in and Tori shut the door.

  “I did not ignore your calls.”

  “Of course you did.” She threw her purse on the chair and flopped down on the sofa, her curls bouncing as she did. “Trying to process your hot, sex-filled weekend with Brody and couldn’t come to terms with it enough to talk about it yet?”

  Tori laid her phone down and fell into the nearby chair. There was no sense lying anymore to Calliope. Her best friend knew her facial expressions and body language better than anyone. “Yes.”

  She propped her feet on Tori’s coffee table. “Spill. And I mean everything. Well, you can spare the intimate sex details because that’s between you and hot stuff. But how did it happen?”

  “I don’t know. He took me out to dinner. We were supposed to go over my annual review. We talked. I bolted from the restaurant when it got personal and he wanted to talk about the two of us.”

  “Coward.”

  “I know. But then he took me back to his place and gave me the option of coming in or not.”

  “And you took option I-want-to-sleep-with-you.”

  “I don’t know that I consciously took that option, but I knew the two of us had to talk and clear the air.”

  “Bet you didn’t do much talking, did you?”

  She laid her head in her hands. “Not particularly.”

  Calliope clapped her hands together. “Well, it’s about time. You should have jumped Brody’s bones years ago.”

  She lifted her head. “No, I shouldn’t have done it at all. This only made things worse.”

  “Yeah? How so?”

  “We work together. You know how entrenched I am with his family. When things end between us—and they will, because you know how he is—I’ll lose my job and my connection to his family.”

  “Oh, aren’t you Miss Negative today? What if things don’t end badly, or God forbid you think positively, what if they don’t end at all? What if you two end up together, like forever and ever?”

  Tori snorted out a laugh. “Brody doesn’t do forever and ever. He doesn’t even do two weeks.”

  “Brody’s grown up now. He’s not the same guy he was before.”

  “Before
what?”

  Calliope gave her a smug smile. “Before you, honey.”

  She didn’t want to think positively. She didn’t want to hope that things would work out between her and Brody, because the crushing fall would be unbearable.

  “We just had a weekend, Calliope. Nothing more.”

  “And then he kissed you in the office this morning. In front of his brothers, no less.”

  “You know about that?”

  “I’m married to one of said brothers, you know. You think he wouldn’t tell me?”

  “Okay, right. Forgot about that.”

  Calliope laughed. “Wyatt called me from the truck with one of those ‘You’re not gonna believe this shit’ kind of phone calls. I figured it would be a jobsite thing, and nearly fell off my chair when he told me Brody planted a hot one on you right in front of Wyatt and Ethan. What was your reaction when he did that?”

  “Honestly? I was so focused on Brody kissing me, it was like no one else was in the room. I didn’t even think about it until after.”

  Calliope gave her a nod and a smug smile. “Oh, you’re in deep.”

  “I know.” It was already too late to guard her heart against the break. “And I don’t think I can handle it.”

  Calliope came over to her and shoved herself into the chair next to Tori. “You can handle this. Love is scary business, Tori, but it’s worth fighting for. I think you and Brody could have something special.”

  Tori looked at her. “I’m scared.”

  “I know you are. And I know you think you have a lot to lose, but at some point you have to either close yourself off to him, or throw yourself headlong into this and trust Brody not to hurt you.”

  She shuddered at the thought. Could she do that? Could she trust him, given his past track record with women?

  It was a huge leap of faith.

  She didn’t know what to do.

  Calliope’s pocket buzzed. She shifted. “Hang on a sec.” She looked at her phone and then at Tori. “Oh, it’s Brody’s mom.”

  “Hey, Mom...” She looked at Tori. “Really? That sounds fun. I’m actually at Tori’s right now and I know she’d love to help.”

  Tori’s eyes widened and she shook her head.