Holiday Love (Love Collection)

by Natalie Ann

  There was no reason for him to be frantic over it. It was just lunch and something his mother could take care of each morning. She’d often told him to leave it for her, but he couldn’t. Luke was his son, his responsibility, and he wanted to be the best father possible. In his eyes that meant doing everything he could, like slapping peanut butter between two pieces of bread.

  Thankfully he remembered his son’s food today, just not his own, reminding him he might get father of the day, but not much else.

  He pulled into a chain soup and sandwich restaurant, thinking he had enough time to eat his lunch there rather than bringing it back to his office and sitting at his desk. Eating in the little kitchen at work was out of the question. He didn’t have time for small talk and didn’t have much in common with the few employees he’d met so far.

  The other radiologist on staff had been there for years and was close to retirement. He was set in his ways and got the job done, but didn’t often do much extra. The same as Dr. Bronson who ran the facility and hired Owen. Nice men, just not the type of people Owen wanted to spend his lunch hour with.

  The place was packed, so he ordered his sandwich and soup at the kiosk, then filled up his drink and sat at a table until it was brought over to him. To kill time, he pulled out his phone and started to read his emails that had been filling up.

  The one from Jill Duncan caught his eye and he read what she had forwarded to him. He’d planned on reading it after she’d left his office this morning, but his mother called him and he got distracted, then patients started to come in and emails were the last thing on his mind.

  Although, Jill hadn’t been far from his mind in weeks. She’d smile at him in the halls, but she’d never given him a little wave again, nor had she said much other than work-related conversation. He was starting to think that maybe he was too cold to her when he was just trying to do his job. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to talk to some of the staff now and again.

  He looked up when his lunch was placed in front of him, and out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the woman that was taking up a lot of his thoughts. She looked over and met his stare. He waved, then nodded his head toward the empty chair at his table. It would be interesting to see what she’d do. Whether her lunch was for here or to go, she’d still have to wait.

  A second later, she made her way over. “Fancy meeting you here,” she said.

  He was going to comment on her being more outgoing than she was earlier but decided against it. Could it hurt to have a little flirty conversation with a woman? He was on lunch and not distracted by work or what Luke was doing so why not.

  Besides, maybe she was like him and just wanted to keep a lower profile in the office.

  “Imagine that,” he said. “Are you picking up or staying?”

  “I hadn’t decided,” she said.

  “I’ll hold off if you’re staying,” he heard himself say. It was probably a mistake, but he started it and he was going to finish it.

  “Maybe I will. I’ve just got soup, so I think it’s only going to be a second.”

  “And a cookie,” he said, seeing it in her hand.

  “Sometimes I need a little sugar to get me through the afternoon.”

  “Duncan,” they both heard.

  “I’ll be right back,” she said.

  He watched her walk over to the pickup counter to get her soup. In a bag. Which meant she had planned to leave, but instead she came back and pulled out a seat.

  “You decided to stay,” he said, picking up his spoon when she pulled her soup out.

  “Why not? It’s better than sitting in the kitchen listening to everyone talk about the latest episode of This is Us.”

  He snorted. “Not a fan, I take it.” It was the way she rolled her hazel eyes when she said it.

  “I’ve never watched it, so I can’t say one way or another. But I can say all I hear about is how much everyone cries when they watch it. That’s not my thing.”

  “Drama or crying?”

  “Neither,” she said. “Life is hard enough for some people; why would I want to watch something that makes me cry? I see people like Kathy all the time here. That’s real and sad enough.”

  “Very true,” he said. It was a good outlook to have on life and he often wondered why he got lost in his own troubles when many had it much worse. He was thinking she might be what he needed in his life at the moment. Maybe now it was time to venture out and be more than Luke’s dad for once. “Do you live around here?” he asked her.

  “Clifton Park. It’s not that far. I know you’re not from around here,” she said.

  “I grew up in Saratoga. I’ve only been in Houston for the past ten years.”

  “Oh, sorry for assuming that.”

  “No need to apologize.” They both went back to eating and when his soup was done, he picked his sandwich up, and decided to ask, “Would you like to get a drink sometime after work?”

  She started to choke on her soup. Lovely. Just what he needed. Talk about being rusty asking someone out. Guess being a father was all he could handle right now. What a nice blow to his manhood. “Seriously?”

  “I was until you started to choke. Maybe I’m thinking it’s not a good idea. Or maybe you’re thinking it’s not a good idea,” he said, frowning.

  “No. I mean yes. I’d like that. I guess it just took me by surprise.”

  “Okay. How about this Friday after work? We can go somewhere closer to Clifton Park if you want. Then it’s not that far for me to get home either.”

  “I’d like that,” she said, pushing her empty soup container away and opening her cookie.

  “I thought that was sugar for the afternoon,” he said, grinning at her.

  She broke her cookie in half and handed him part of it. “I like to share my sugar.” Then she stood up and walked away, taking the empty remains of her lunch.

  Things were about to get interesting. He couldn’t figure her out and surprisingly he was good with that fact.

  Now he just needed to find a way to balance it all.

  Wrong with Her

  A few days later, Jill was trying to decide if she should change after work or run home and change and meet Owen at the pub they agreed on. If she changed at work, someone might see her and question where she was going, not that she really cared, because it’s not like anyone could guess she was going out with Owen.

  He was Owen to her now, too. After he’d seen her in the hall after lunch the other day, eating her cookie no less, he pulled her aside and said, “It’s Owen, by the way.”

  “I know your name,” she said.

  “But you’ve never said it.”

  “We’re at work,” she pointed out.

  “And there is no one around. So it’s Owen.”

  “Then I’ll talk to you soon, Owen.”

  He laughed and she felt happier than she’d felt in a long time.

  She hadn’t dated anyone in a year. It seemed like every time she was ready to put herself out there, she got cold feet, always finding something wrong with them, wrong with her, or making excuses.

  But this time there would be no excuses. This time she was ready and she wasn’t going to tell herself she wasn’t good enough, and she wasn’t going to find fault with him or any potential relationship they may or may not have. Even if she had been stressing about it.

  Seriously though, dating someone higher up than her at work was a surefire way to end up at the back of the unemployment line if things went south. But she was pushing those thoughts aside for now.

  Instead she was going to take a page from the book of life, start to do what made her feel good by putting all her poor decisions and failures out of her mind. To stop looking at all the things that could go wrong and look for what might be right.

  Starting with Dr. Taylor and the fact that he asked her for a date tonight.

  By the end of the day, she decided to just change quickly, because she realized he wouldn’t be going home either. If he changed,
he’d have to do it at work and they might as well stay on the same playing field.

  She was just walking toward the back door when she noticed Owen coming out of his office. There were others around and she was unsure what to do, so she decided to let him take the lead.

  She did notice that he’d changed into dark jeans and a pair of sneakers that looked more like shoes. He still had the same light green shirt on, but no tie and he was looking mighty fine in her eyes.

  With his long legs, he caught up to her fairly fast, then held the door open for her, but never said a word about seeing her in a few minutes. She held her tongue too, when normally she wouldn’t.

  Instead, he winked at her, and then walked to his SUV. She’d been right when she figured the high-end luxury vehicle was his.

  They pulled out of the parking lot together and she ended up following behind him on the Northway all the way to the exit and to the pub that they’d agreed on.

  It was barely five-thirty, but half the parking lot was full. She figured in another hour it could be standing room only.

  She parked next to him and shut her car off, then got out and waited for him to join her. “I didn’t think much of the time when we set this up. Do you have plans later? Want to have dinner with our drink?”

  “My only plans were with you,” she said confidently, then wondered if that came out wrong. Would he think she was offering herself up to a night at her place, or maybe his?

  “Then dinner it is,” he said, holding the door for her and not commenting on her remarks.

  They were led to a table and their drinks ordered. Him a beer, her a white wine. She didn’t drink often, but beer wasn’t really her thing and mixed drinks were too sweet half the time.

  “So how long have you been back in Saratoga?” she asked while they waited for their drinks.

  “Just about four months. I flew back for the interview and once I secured the job I started to make plans to move.”

  “That was fast then. Did you have a house to sell?” she asked.

  “I was in an apartment and just bought out my lease.”

  She should have figured it wouldn’t matter in a doctor’s situation to move that fast. Unlike her, paying out a lease would have been difficult.

  “So what brought you back here?” she asked. “I always thought I’d leave, but like so many people in New York who say they want warmer weather, I find myself kind of stuck here.”

  “We are only as stuck as we allow ourselves to be,” he said, “but the truth is I came back because I needed help with my son.”

  The waitress set their drinks down and she didn’t hesitate to pick hers up and take a big gulp. “Son? Are you married?”

  Seriously? Nothing ever went right in her life!

  ***

  Owen had debated letting Jill know about Luke but figured it wasn’t a secret either. And if he was going to take that step to be more open with people or at least try to date, he wanted to be upfront about having a bigger commitment at home. That Luke was his priority and Luke had to come first, until he knew more about her or how Luke might react.

  “I’m not married, nor have I ever been,” he said, taking a sip of his beer, watching her over the rim. He wasn’t sure what to make of her reaction and was just gauging things now.

  “How old is your son?”

  He could tell she wanted to ask about Luke’s mother but was hesitating. He’d give her credit for that, but he wouldn’t hide his situation if it came up. It didn’t mean he was going to talk about the messed up relationship he had with Ashley though.

  “He’s five. His mother and I were dating for a short period of time when she found out she was pregnant. It’s a long story. We didn’t get married, but I’ve always been in Luke’s life. Usually weekends and nights during the week. Ashley, Luke’s mother, was killed in a car accident six months ago. I couldn’t do it alone, so I moved back here to get help from my parents with him.”

  “I’m sorry. I’m pretty close with my ex and I couldn’t imagine something like that happening to him.”

  “Ex...” It didn’t matter, but he figured he should at least find out.

  “Husband,” she said. “High school sweetheart that didn’t work out. But we divorced amicably and talk all the time. No kids, in case you were wondering.”

  He was and was glad he didn’t have to ask. “I don’t know too many people who still talk to their exes, especially without kids involved.”

  “We were friends first and foremost. I met his latest girlfriend the other night. He wanted my opinion of her.”

  He laughed. “You’re joking, right?”

  “No. Everyone thinks that is so funny. I don’t get it. Lots of women have guy friends.”

  “But this is more. He’s your ex-husband.” It seemed odd to him for some reason, but she laughed again so he let it go.

  “We grew up together. That first love and all. I think we got caught up in love and marriage too fast. Nothing more than that.”

  But she dipped her head, averted her eyes, and took another healthy gulp of her wine, telling him there was more to it and he wouldn’t be finding out tonight.

  On the Bottom

  After her second glass of wine and with their meal finished, Jill realized it’d been almost two hours in the bar. She was enjoying herself more than she thought she would.

  Once the initial conversations about their pasts were over, they both steered clear of personal information, for the most part. She knew he was thirty-seven and lived in Houston for ten years after he was transferred when his residency was done.

  He knew she went to the community college and got her degree in radiology technology with certifications in ultrasound technology also. Peanuts compared to him, but the last thing she was going to admit was that she wished she’d had more. That she wished she could have continued on with her education and not put Darren’s first.

  She was over putting other people first in her life if she could avoid it now. She learned when you did that, you ended up on the bottom of a pile of rotten apples that no one wanted to touch let alone pick up and toss in the trash.

  “You probably need to go home to your son, right?”

  “Luke. I’m sorry, did I say his name before? It’s Luke. He’s spending the night at my parents’ tonight.”

  She smiled. “Did you tell your parents you were going on a date?”

  He smirked at her and her heart started to race in her chest. Smirking men never did much for her...before.

  “I might have said I was having a drink with someone tonight. My mother took it any way she wanted to. She was just glad I was doing something for myself. I believe her words were ‘Oh my God, you’re going to do something fun that doesn’t involve Luke!’”

  “That’s a sweet thought.” Someone else that seemed to put others first. He did move here for his son, after all.

  “I guess. Or a pathetic one. Depends on how you look at it. But my world has revolved around Luke for the past six months. Longer really, but not quite like it is now.”

  “And it still has to,” she said. “I get it.”

  Which meant he really didn’t have time for a relationship and was probably planning on getting in her pants tonight. That wouldn’t be happening.

  “What do you get?” he asked, taking the bill when it was brought over.

  “That dinner is nice, but don’t expect it often.”

  “I never said that.” He looked insulted.

  “That probably came out wrong. Let me be clear. I’m not a friend with benefits type of girl. I’m not sure if that is what you were thinking. When I say I’m close with my ex, it has nothing to do with sex.” It wasn’t the first time someone had assumed that about her.

  “I wasn’t thinking that at all. What I was saying was Luke is my son and I’m the only parent he has. I put him first and always will. I’d like to have some kind of a life of my own, but I can’t jump into it like someone without a child might. I’d like to see
you again, but if you don’t want to, that’s fine too.”

  She’d misread the whole thing. “I’m sorry. I was jumping to conclusions when I shouldn’t have. It came out wrong. I’d love to go out again, and I understand you’ve got other commitments. You tell me what works for you and we’ll see if we can meet somewhere in the middle.”

  “That sounds good,” he said. “I’ll walk you to your car.”

  He didn’t say anything about going home with her. The true test would be how he treated her at work come Monday morning.

  When they got to her car though, he put his hand on her chin and tilted her lips up to his, then lowered his mouth and whispered, “As much as I would love nothing more than to go home with you, it wasn’t even a thought tonight. But I did think about this all day long.” Then he kissed away all the insecurity she’d been carrying around with her for the past few days.

  She tried to concentrate on the road in front of her driving home, but it was hard. Her mind was on his words...and his kiss. Those soft but firm lips of his brushing against hers lightly, then deeper when she sighed.

  And when she parted her lips with the hopes of tasting him, he didn’t let her down. No, he swooped right in and showed her what it was like to have a man dominate you with a light touch of his hand on the side of your face and lips that wanted to devour you all night.

  He might have insinuated things would be slow, but that kiss sure the heck wasn’t.

  ***

  Owen lay in bed later that night. The house was quiet. The quietest it’d been since he moved here. He should have gone and picked Luke up from his parents, but since Sadie was spending the night too, Luke felt like it was a slumber party and Owen didn’t have the heart to rain on his son’s parade.

  He could be taking advantage of a night to himself, but all he did was come home and turn on the TV. That was after he’d taken a cold shower, because when was the last time a kiss affected him that much? Probably never.