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Gettin’ Merry

Page 6

by CATHY L. CLAMP; FRANCIS RAY; BEVERLY JENKINS; MONICA JACKSON; GERI GUILLAUME


  They were barely on the porch before a black Lexus SUV pulled up and parked behind his car. With a shout of joy, Andrea ran to meet the two men and one woman scrambling out. Travis was two steps ahead of her. They laughed and hugged and jumped up and down like children.

  Nicholas wasn’t prepared when they all turned to look at him. Only Andrea smiled. He could tell when he was being sized up. He could handle it. There wasn’t anything about him that Andrea would have to be ashamed of.

  He stepped off the porch and met them on the sidewalk with a friendly smile. Andrea made the introductions of the rest of the Fab 5 of Jubilee High School, as she laughingly called them, who now lived all over the country but got together every Thanksgiving as they had since high school. Their parents, who still lived in Jubilee, had come to expect it and, in fact, would drop by themselves later on.

  In the kitchen, Andrea’s friends greeted Augusta with the same enthusiasm. The oak table had been extended to seat eight. Nicholas made sure he sat next to Andrea. Travis, a college history professor in Atlanta, might be all right; the jury was still out on John Williams, a photojournalist in D.C., and Clint Mack, a headhunter for a large corporation in Miami. The other woman, Elaine Bennett, a vivacious brunette, was a magazine fashion editor in San Francisco.

  As soon as they’d finished breakfast and cleaned up the kitchen, they all set out to find a Christmas tree. Once again, Nicholas positioned himself by Andrea’s side.

  “It’s just not right.”

  “Too skinny.”

  “Too lopsided.”

  Andrea’s reasons varied as she ruled out tree after tree and tried to find the “perfect” Christmas tree in the acreage behind her house. The other men groaned, Elaine teased her, but if Andrea wanted the perfect tree, then that was exactly what Nicholas would see that she got. “We’ll keep searching,” he always said.

  Each time, she smiled at him as if he was all that she could hope for in a man. Inexplicably, he wanted to stick out his chest. An hour and a half into their search, they finally found the tree.

  “That’s it!” Andrea said, staring at the plump seven-foot fir shaped like an inverted cone.

  “Give me the ax, Travis.” Holding out his hand, Nicholas turned to the man standing next to him.

  Travis’s grip tightened on the wooden handle. “Perhaps you should let me do it.”

  “Maybe you should,” Andrea suggested, worry in her face. “He’s done it before.”

  Nicholas’s hand remained extended. “I may not have chopped down a tree, but I’ve chopped plenty of wood.”

  Travis handed him the ax and a pair of gloves. After a couple of swings, Nicholas’s body remembered the motion; his mind, the technique. Several minutes later the tree toppled, to the delighted laughter of Andrea and the good-natured jibes from Travis that he could have done it faster.

  Nicholas didn’t care; all he cared about was the pride in Andrea’s face. Putting the ax on his shoulder, he caught her hand, leaving the other men to load the tree on the rolling cart they’d brought.

  Andrea couldn’t get her heart to settle down. Every time Nicholas looked at her it would go crazy. She tried to tell herself he was just playing a part, but her body wasn’t listening. This morning he’d been ready to fight Travis to protect her. He’d cut down the Christmas tree for her. He’d chosen her first for his team when they played tag football. It had been her idea to download the digital pictures John took to Nicholas’s parents, but he had asked that a picture of her be sent to his computer.

  It was too romantic. Even if it was pretend, she felt giddy with delight. He was the perfect prince.

  “Since Mrs. Augusta has gone to bed, are you going to jump Nick on the couch or by the Christmas tree?” Elaine asked, a wide grin on her beautiful face.

  Andrea laughed, but her heart went crazy again. She’d walked her friends to the door. Nicholas waited in the living room where they’d put the Christmas tree. “Ladies do not jump men.”

  Elaine sent Travis a speculative look. “There’s always an exception to the rule.”

  Travis grinned. “A man would count himself lucky if he were that exception.”

  Andrea didn’t know if Travis and Elaine were finally going to act upon the attraction that had always been between them or keep on dancing around it. She loved them both and wanted the best for them.

  “Maybe it’ll be me,” John chimed up.

  “Or me,” Clint said.

  “Or none of you,” Elaine said with her usual style. She hugged Andrea. “My plane leaves tomorrow afternoon. I’ll call when I get back.”

  “I thought you’d stay over the weekend,” Travis said with a frown.

  “Work,” she said succinctly. “Good night, Andrea. Get back in there, and for what it’s worth, I think you hit pay dirt.”

  “Thank you.” She trusted her friends, but she’d decided not to tell them she and Nicholas were just pretending. She didn’t want them to think ill of him.

  “I think Nick’s a little stiff,” John said, then clicked the camera around his neck when Andrea’s expression turned mutinous.

  She laughed. “If you show that picture to anyone, I’ll have your head.”

  “It would rattle, because nothing is in it.” Clint laughed.

  “Come on, children,” Elaine said, grabbing both men and going down the steps to her parents’ car.

  Travis stared longingly after her before turning to Andrea. “Be happy, Andrea, and if you ever need a big brother, you know you have three.”

  Andrea hugged him. “If you ever need someone to talk to about you-know-what, call.” She now knew what it was like to care for someone and not be sure how he felt.

  “Maybe one day.” After another brief hug, he went to his car parked on the other side of Nicholas’s and drove off.

  Going inside, Andrea cut off the porch lights, took a deep breath, and slowly walked to the living room. At first she didn’t see him. The only light came from the hundreds of twinkling star-shaped lights decorating the tree. Her mother had bought them the year before Andrea was born. “Nicholas?”

  He emerged out of the deep shadows near the couch. Andrea felt a chill race through her. For some reason he reminded her again of a large cat stalking his prey. He walked unhurried, his body loose yet poised to act if his intended prey tried to escape. She shivered again. Would she flee or remain?

  He didn’t stop until only a wisp of air separated them. She sensed his intention, the need pulsing through him. His hand lifted. Her breath caught, held. Then, his fingers traced her lower lip.

  Her knees wobbled. “N-Nicholas?”

  She swallowed. She couldn’t gather her thoughts. His hand moved to her cheek, the curve of her ear.

  “I like it.” His hand trailed down to the hollow of her throat. “I’ve wondered what my name would sound like on your lips when need rushes and burns through your blood like sweet fire.”

  His hand continued down to the rounded curve of her breast. “Tonight I intend to find out. I’ve thought of little else all afternoon. If you have any objections, you have three seconds to voice them.”

  Voice. What voice? Her mind was numb, her body trembling with want of him.

  “Time’s up.” His head lowered.

  Chapter 6

  The first brush of his lips shattered her; the second buckled her knees. Automatically her arms lifted, her hands clutching fistfuls of his shirt. His mouth was tender one moment, his tongue boldly erotic the next. He wasn’t asking permission now; he was taking what he wanted.

  Andrea pressed her body against his, heard him groan. Fierce pleasure swept through her that she could affect him this way.

  Then as if part of him recognized that she wasn’t going to flee, that she burned with the same wild desire that possessed him, his hold gentled; his mouth, sipped, teased, tantalized, rewarded.

  “Nicholas.”

  Her ragged whimper sank into him. This was what he wanted. He wanted to fill her thoughts as
much as he wanted to fill her body. Her small hands now clung around his neck; her body eagerly, if inexpertly, tried to match the erotic rhythm of his hips.

  Her eagerness, her inexperience, her trust in him did what he hadn’t expected. Tearing his mouth away, he held her fiercely against him. He couldn’t take from her with no thought of the consequences. He held her until their breathing settled.

  Sensing she wasn’t going to be the first to speak, he tipped her face up. “I want you more than I’ve ever wanted any other woman.”

  She bit her lip. “I-I shouldn’t have let you kiss me.”

  Nicholas didn’t bother answering such an idiotic statement; he just took her mouth again, letting the truth sink in that her body hungered for his as much as his hungered for hers. A vague memory of his wishing something like that for her stirred on the fringes of his mind, but the sweet lure of her mouth was too strong.

  A long time later, he ended the kiss and pulled her securely against him. The top of her head barely came to the middle of his chest. He felt both protective and powerful with her in his arms. “How about a movie tomorrow night?”

  “I’m not sure it’s wise to keep seeing each other.”

  He could argue, but he’d always found reasoning worked better with intelligent people. “There’s no reason we can’t continue to see each other. We haven’t done anything to be ashamed of. People do more on first dates.”

  “I don’t.”

  He’d already figured as much. “Everyone will be suspicious if we aren’t affectionate. We’re just getting used to each other.”

  She was silent so long, he began to worry. His father always said if a woman was silent a man was in trouble. He thought fast. “How’s the writing coming with Braxton and Melissa?”

  Her head lifted, surprise shining in her dark eyes. “You remembered their names?”

  He started to kiss her nose, then thought better of it. “Of course I did,” he said, then went on to tell her exactly what she’d told him about the hero and heroine of the book she was writing.

  “They’re at an impasse. Melissa had to put herself in danger to rescue him, and Braxton didn’t like it. They’re out of immediate danger, but they aren’t speaking to each other.”

  Nicholas was determined that he not end up like Braxton. “He’s only angry because she put herself in danger for his sake.”

  “She knows that, but she doesn’t like his macho double standard. If the situations had been reversed, he would have rescued her.”

  “That’s the way it’s supposed to be,” Nicholas said emphatically.

  “Men,” Andrea said, and it wasn’t a compliment.

  Laughing, he stepped back before he kissed her again. “Now I’ll have to read the book to see how he gets back in her good graces. In the meantime, I’d better go.” He picked up his jacket from the arm of the green velvet sofa, then went to the front door and opened it. “What time should I pick you up for the movie?”

  She glanced away. “Maybe I should stay home and work on my book.”

  “It’ll be fun, and I promise to be on my best behavior,” he cajoled. She was not getting away. There was no wish woman. He raised the ante. “You did promise to help.”

  Her head lifted, but she crossed her arms defensively over her chest. “I’ll check the newspaper and call you.”

  “I’ll expect to hear from you, then. Good night.” He gave her a brotherly peck on the cheek, then strolled to his car, whistling.

  Andrea was trapped between wanting to keep her word and wanting a man who would never be hers. More than once she’d caught Aunt Augusta looking at her strangely. She didn’t blame her aunt. Andrea had left out the soda in the biscuits, broken a glass doing the breakfast dishes, turned on the washing machine without adding detergent.

  “You troubled, child?” her aunt finally asked when they were making the grocery list.

  Andrea’s hand clenched on the yellow ceramic top of the mushroom canister containing sugar. “A little, I guess.”

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Aunt Augusta nod her gray head. “You were always sweet and caring. Worried about everyone before yourself. That’s why you attract people. When you were in high school this house was always full of your friends. They sense you’re for real.”

  Not daring to face her aunt, Andrea checked the next canister and scribbled “flour” on the growing list. “You always see and think the best in me.”

  “And I’m right,” Augusta said. “I think you forget that you deserve happiness just as much as the next person.”

  Finally, Andrea turned, her expression filled with anguish. “But suppose what I want affects another person’s happiness?”

  Augusta’s gaze was steady. “What will be will be. Neither you nor I can change that no matter how much we might want to. To worry about it is useless. So stop worrying and live life like I’ve always taught you.” She opened the refrigerator. “Add eggs, milk, butter, sour cream, whipped cream. We’re outta so much, and the stores are probably picked bare from Thanksgiving. You want to go shopping this afternoon or wait until in the morning?”

  “In the morning. Nicholas and I are going to the movies this afternoon. The feature starts at five-thirty,” she said, trying to keep her voice light.

  “Mighty early to go to a movie,” Augusta said, rummaging in the refrigerator.

  “I want to get back and work on A Risk Worth Taking.” And it would be light enough when they returned so Nicholas wouldn’t attempt to kiss her good night.

  Augusta closed the refrigerator door. “Always liked that title. Says a lot about life and those two in your book. They’re lucky that they’ve found someone worth risking their hearts for. Some people go through life and never do. My prayer is that you’ll be brave enough to risk it all, that you’ll dare to grab your dream.”

  “It may not be possible,” Andrea whispered.

  “You’ll never know until you try.”

  All through the romantic comedy at the only movie theater in Jubilee, her aunt’s words kept running through Andrea’s head. Her aunt loved her. She wouldn’t want her to fall in love with a man who could never be hers, but that was exactly what Andrea was doing, tumbling and falling deeper with every second that ticked by.

  There was no stopping her fall, just as there was no way to alter what was to be. Could she be as brave as Melissa, to risk it all for love? But whereas Melissa would have a lifetime with Braxton, Andrea would have a few brief weeks, if that.

  She couldn’t very well depend on Nicholas to stop trying to entice her. Clearly he was a man who went after what he wanted, and since he didn’t believe in her aunt’s prophecy, he felt no compunction in tempting Andrea every time the opportunity presented itself. It was up to her to keep their relationship platonic. But how could she do that when she wanted to gobble him up like a chocolate bar?

  “Hungry?”

  Startled, Andrea turned to Nicholas in the seat beside her. He wore a lazy grin that made her want to lick her lips, then lick him. “W-what?”

  “I know the plot is predictable, the actors wooden, but you’re not even looking at the screen, so I thought you might want to leave and go get something to eat,” Nicholas explained.

  “You’d have to be looking at me to know that,” she told him.

  He grinned. “Guilty.”

  She couldn’t help the smile that formed on her face. “You’re incorrigible.”

  “My mother would call you a smart woman.”

  Her smile never wavered. She’d never meet his mother. “Did they like the pictures John sent?”

  “Shhhh.”

  “Sorry,” they both whispered. The holiday season combined with all the schools’ being out meant the theater was crowded.

  “Let’s get out of here,” he whispered. Her hand in his, they went into the lobby, then burst into laughter.

  A man who made her laugh couldn’t be that bad for her. And she’d never been a coward. Suddenly she was ravenous. “I�
�d like a box of popcorn, a hot dog, and a Pepsi, please.”

  He steered her to the counter. “I thought I’d get out of this with just the movie.”

  “Not a chance.” She bit into the hot dog as soon as she squirted it with mustard and sweet relish. “Delicious. Want some?”

  His eyes on her, he bit into the wiener and bun. “You’re right. Delicious.”

  She remembered him tasting her, her tasting him. Her hands trembled a bit, her insides were full of butterflies, but she wasn’t afraid any longer. As her aunt had always said, what will be will be. “There’s a park nearby, if you want to walk there.”

  “It’s cold. We’ll drive.” Pushing open the glass door of the theater for her, he followed.

  “Hot dogs can be messy,” she said.

  Opening the passenger door of his car, he helped her in, then handed her the box of popcorn he was holding. “So can a head cold.”

  “Ha. Ha. Very funny.”

  “I thought so.” He closed the door.

  By the time he’d gotten inside and started the motor, she’d propped the popcorn between her arm and the seat and placed the Pepsi in the drink holder. “You didn’t want anything to eat?”

  “I thought we’d share.”

  The idea pleased her. “The park is two blocks away on the left.”

  When they arrived at the park, Nicholas insisted they stay in the car. Twisting toward him in the seat, she offered the box of popcorn. “You never answered me about the pictures.”

  “Mom loved them.” He grabbed a handful of the buttered popcorn. “My brother teased me about cutting down the tree for you. He thought I was trying to show off.”

  Andrea sipped the cola. “Were you?”

  He grinned. “What do you think?”

  She grinned back. “The tree is beautiful.”

  “Mom asked about my tree. I told her I hadn’t had time to get one.” He finished off the hot dog. “I probably won’t have one this year.”

  The straw stopped midway to her mouth. Her eyes rounded. “You have to have a tree.”

 

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