by Anthology
But I respected what he’d told me on Thanksgiving. He was making an honest attempt to be a better man, and even though my raging libido said otherwise, I couldn’t get in the way of that.
At least that was what I told myself. But when I walked out into the parking lot and saw Trent leaning against the side of his truck, his feet in their heavy boots crossed at the ankle, hands jammed into the front pockets of his worn jeans and his ball cap keeping his eyes in shadow, my breath caught and my chest tightened. I couldn’t see his face, but somehow I knew he was watching me as I made my way across the asphalt. My heart beat a little faster, and I slowed my pace, letting my hips sway just a tad.
He didn’t move until I reached the truck, and then a smile curved his lips as he pushed away from the vehicle. “You all set for some Christmas magic?”
I held back the snarky answer that was on the tip of my tongue. “You know it. Hey, do we have time to stop at my house real fast, so I can change? I can’t walk too far in these heels and this skirt.”
Trent flickered a glance down my body and nodded. “Sure.” He opened the passenger door and stepped back. “Climb in.”
I’d been in his truck since that first time, and I’d learned to slide over toward the middle and avoid the door, as he’d warned me. I’d just fastened my seat belt when Trent swung into the driver’s seat, started her up and backed out of the space.
“I thought we’d grab something to eat in town, is that okay?”
“Sure. I’m starving. I bet Jude’ll be open later, with all the people coming into town. I’d kill for a Ripper burger.”
The small apartment I rented was only about ten minutes from the office. Trent pulled up in front of my door and hit the parking brake, but he didn’t turn off the engine.
“I’ll just wait out here.”
I unlatched my seat belt. “Are you sure? Why don’t you come in and have something to drink? I promise, I won’t molest you.”
He shot me a withering look. “I’m not afraid of that. I just want to make sure we get down there in time to eat, and if I go inside with you, you’ll dawdle.”
I slid out of the seat and put my hands on my hips. “Dawdle? Me?” I sent him a saucy smile. “And just for that, if you stay out here, I’m going to take my good old sweet time. And I’m from Tennessee, I know how to do that.”
With a huff, he pulled the keys from the ignition and climbed out. Slamming shut the door, he came around and followed me up the sidewalk to my stoop. “There. Are you happy?”
I batted my eyes sweetly. “I’m not unhappy.”
Once inside, Trent flopped down on what he called my lady couch, a narrow antique fainting sofa. I’d bought it when I first moved down here at an estate sale because it reminded me of something my grandmother used to have in her sitting room.
“This is the most uncomfortable piece of furniture I’ve ever seen,” he complained.
“Then sit on the floor.” I dropped my purse onto the small dining room table and kicked off my heels.
“Hey, you still don’t have any Christmas decorations up.”
I flipped through a few envelopes from the day’s mail. “Nope. We’ve been over this, Trent. I don’t do Christmas. And even if I did care about it, I don’t have time to put up a lot of junk that only I’d see.”
“Still . . . you don’t want a tree? I could hook you up.”
I shook my head. “I’m trying to ignore the season, dude. Hard to do that with a big ol’ evergreen shedding needles in my living room.”
He didn’t respond, but I noticed the frown between his eyes as I headed into the bedroom to change.
“Get yourself a beer or whatever out of the fridge.” I called the words over my shoulder.
“Nah, I’m good. Need to stay clear-headed.”
I wriggled out of my skirt and tossed it into the laundry basket and then tugged down the Lycra no-line underwear that the clingy material of the skirt required. “You mean you need a clear head to hand out flyers? Really?” I slipped on fresh cotton boy shorts and bent over to dig for jeans in my drawer, jumping up and down to pull them into place.
“No, I need it so I can handle you.” His voice sounded closer than it should have, and before I could cover myself with the blue V-neck I’d taken from my closet, he was standing in the doorway.
I stood there in my jeans and my bra, frozen. Trent didn’t move either, and I wondered if he’d gone into shock. His mouth opened, and then he wheeled around.
“Sorry.” The word was full of embarrassment and something else I couldn’t pinpoint. “I thought you’d be changing in your closet or whatever.”
“No big deal.” I slid the shirt on. “It’s not like I was naked. And it’s not like I have anything you haven’t seen before, right?”
“Yep.” Still, he didn’t turn around.
“Hey, I’m decent now. Just let me grab some shoes, but you can come in.”
He moved mechanically and stood just in the doorway. “Have you ever been to this Christmas lighting thing before?”
“Uh, no. I’ve only been here for two other Christmases.” I stepped into a pair of flats. “And as you know, I don’t go in for a lot of the holiday . . . stuff.”
“Yeah.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “You ready then?”
“Sure.” I grabbed a sweater from the hook behind my door. “Let’s go.”
* * *
The main street of Crystal Cove was decorated to the hilt and filled with people. Trent grunted as he maneuvered the truck around crowds. “Where the hell am I supposed to park?”
“If we go down to the Tide, Jude’ll have some open spots. And then we’ll be right there to eat, too.”
He didn’t answer as he drove to the end of the street and found a place to park. The Riptide was busy, but we managed to score two stools at the bar and order burgers. Trent was uncharacteristically quiet as we ate.
“Are you really that unhappy about having to hand out ads tonight?” I dragged a fry through ketchup and stuck it into my mouth.
“Nah, it’s no big deal.” He shrugged.
“Then what’s up? You’ve been sulky since we left my house.”
“Just tired, I guess.” He pushed back the glass of sweet tea and signaled to Jude’s son Joseph who was working the bar tonight. “Changed my mind. I’ll have a beer after all.”
Once we’d finished, Trent retrieved the flyers from his truck, and we made our way up the street. Logan had set aside a table specifically for the Christmas tree business at the curb in front of the bed and breakfast he owned. Like the other vendor booths, it was decorated with fake greenery and a festive table cover. Trent groaned when he saw it.
“I’ve got to sit here all night? It looks like Christmas puked all over this table.”
I folded my arms over my chest. “Oh, come on, it’s not that bad. I’ll stay with you. We’ll hand out candy canes. And look, there’s even a Santa hat for you to wear.”
Trent got a deer-in-the-headlights look. “No way. That’s the line right there.”
“And you call me a Scrooge?”
“No, you call you a Scrooge.”
“C’mon, Wagoner, get into the spirit of things.” I stood on tip-toe and tried to pull the hat onto his head as he ducked away and grabbed it out of my hands.
“How about you get into the spirit, Hudson?” He snaked one long muscled arm around me before I could get away, holding me against his body as he managed to fit the hat onto the top of my head. I struggled to get away, but he only held me tighter.
Suddenly, I didn’t mind so much. My body became aware on every level that it was pressed up against a hard male, and my skin tingled. My breasts were smashed into Trent’s ribcage, making me wonder if he could feel the way my heart was pounding as I looked up into his face.
Something changed in his eyes. The hat was much too big for me, and it slipped down over my forehead, but Trent caught it, tugging it back up. The touch of his fingers on my face was gentl
e; it almost felt as though he was tracing a line over my forehead. His mouth opened a little, and I swallowed hard as my tongue darted out of its own accord to sweep over my own lips. For the space of two heartbeats, I was sure Trent was going to kiss me.
But the moment passed. His eyes shuttered, and he pulled the hat down farther, so that it covered my eyes and nose. I was blinded as he released me and stepped back.
“There you go. Now you look just like Mrs. Claus.”
I tore off the hat and threw it at him. “Nice job. Now my hair’s a mess.” I ran my hands over the top of my head.
“No one’s going to notice. It’s going to be dark soon.”
“Doesn’t matter. I’ll notice.” I gave my hair one last swipe. “Does it look okay? Or is it sticking up all over?”
Trent glanced down at me and then away. “You look fine.”
“Thanks for the ringing endorsement. Please stop, you’ll make me blush.”
He snorted and thrust a pile of flyers toward me. “Here. Make yourself useful. The sooner we get rid of these, the sooner we can get out of here.”
His voice was tight, and I was confused. Why had he invited me tonight, if he didn’t want me around? And what had made him suddenly go so cold and distant? I smothered a sigh and concentrated on the task at hand. Men were a mystery, and I wasn’t going to figure out this one tonight.
The crowds began to grow as the evening went on. Trent and I stood on either side of the table, pressing the colorful paper ads and candy canes into the hands of every passer-by. As soon as it was fully dark, the mayor came out onto the balcony above us. Speaking into a microphone, he welcomed everyone to Crystal Cove’s official Christmas lighting and thanked all the businesses that had contributed to the evening, specifically mentioning Jude and Logan.
“And now we’re happy to welcome our grand marshal for the evening, Matt Spencer. As most of you know, Matt owns The Surf Line, and he’s a long-time community leader in the Cove. He’s here with his wife and two daughters, and they’re going to be the ones to throw the switch that’ll light up Crystal Cove for the holiday season!”
I craned my neck to see Matt standing with Sandra, who held their brand-new baby, and their daughter Lily. Matt lifted the little girl in his arms and whispered into her ear. Lily reached for the beribboned switch and moved it into the on position.
Magically, Crystal Cove was awash with sparkling, twinkling lights. The crowd gasped in delight, and even I couldn’t help smiling.
“Pretty, aren’t they?” Trent murmured into my ear, and I realized he was very close behind me. “Doesn’t matter if you’re in the snowy north or the balmy south, Christmas lights are . . .”
“Magic.” I supplied the word I’d just thought.
“Yep. That’s it.” For a minute, I thought he was going to thread his arms around me and pull me tight to his body. His breath fanned over my neck, and I shivered, not moving, willing him to hold me.
But just as before, he stopped short. I felt his absence even before he spoke again. “The flyers are gone. We can take off. We’ve both got to be at work early tomorrow.”
I nodded and followed him through the crowd, back to where we’d left the truck at the Tide.
Given Trent’s mercurial mood tonight, I’d expected the ride back to the Christmas tree lot to be silent. But as soon as we’d gotten out of town, he glanced over at me.
“Tell me about you.” It’d become our go-to joke the last few weeks. Trent had realized that my abhorrence of small talk meant I’d tell him almost anything about myself, as long as he asked the right questions. And although I’d found he had certain impenetrable boundaries, he was willing to talk about his own life . . . up to a point.
“What do you want to know?” I turned in my seat to face him.
“Why don’t you like Christmas?”
I hesitated. “It’s not necessarily that I don’t like Christmas. But it’s like the small talk. I want it to mean something. In the military, Christmas was a time to throw fancy parties and make grand gestures. The officers’ wives club would make a big show of helping out some charity, people they didn’t care about the rest of the year. And then . . .” My voice trailed off. “In my family, holidays were tough. My father was away for more Christmases than he was home. When he was gone, my mom kind of went into hibernation. If we were in Tennessee with my grandparents, things weren’t bad, but if we weren’t, Christmas was half-hearted at best. But on the years my dad was with us, Mom went all out, making everything into a huge deal. Santa pictures, decorating the tree, making the house perfect . . . she went crazy. I couldn’t take it. There was never any happy medium.”
“Ah.” Trent nodded. “So will you see your family this year? Where are they stationed now?”
I shook my head. “No. Dad’s assigned to the Pentagon right now, but I won’t be going there. I always try to come up with a reason not to go home for the holidays. This year was easy, because they’re going to spent Christmas in Germany with my brother’s family.”
“Why’s your brother in Germany?”
“He’s stationed there.” My lips curved into a half-smile. “Both of my brothers went into the military, too.”
“Oh.” He made a sharp turn onto the road that led to our office building. “Were your parents upset that you didn’t choose the Army, too?”
“No, they never wanted that for me. My dad’s pretty old-fashioned. He’s tolerant of women in the military, but not his daughter.”
“So they were glad you became a lawyer?”
I lifted my shoulder. “They’re proud of me. As much as they can be, because my parents really don’t understand anything outside the Army. It’s all they’ve ever known. So they try to be supportive, and they ask questions, but honestly, they just don’t get it.”
Trent didn’t say anything as he pulled into the parking lot of my building. His uncle Nolan and Joe looked like they were just shutting down for the night, and they both waved as we passed. I wondered what his uncle thought of me, of his nephew’s friendship with me. Did he think I was leading Trent astray? And was I?
Trent turned off the truck engine and hopped out, coming around to open my door. I climbed down, but he didn’t move away immediately. His large body shielded me from any curious eyes over at the tree tent, even as it trapped me inside the door of the cab.
“Thanks for helping out tonight. I really appreciated not having to do that by myself.” His nearness made me dizzy, and I held to the door for balance.
“I didn’t do anything. But thanks for asking me. I’m glad I got to see the famous lighting of Crystal Cove. I can now die a happy girl.”
He smirked. “One item off the bucket list, huh?”
“You know it.” I looked down, and then glanced up at him, waiting for his next move. He didn’t seem to know what that was going to be anymore than I did.
“Well . . .” He paused and then faster than I could react, leaned down to kiss my cheek. “Thanks again, Elizabeth. Good night. See you later.”
He moved out of the way so that I could pass him, and once I did, he slammed the truck door and stalked over to the Christmas tree tent. He didn’t spare me another look as I made my way to the car and got in.
I was annoyed to find that my hands were shaking just the slightest bit as I held the steering wheel. My heart was still thumping as the adrenaline from the almost-kiss dissipated.
Yup, I’d be taking yet another cold shower tonight.
Chapter 4
Trent
December 20th
“Yo, Trent. That tree all set on the lady’s car?” Uncle Nolan came up behind me, wiping sap off his hands with a rag.
“Yeah, I tied it on there pretty tight. Hope she has someone at home to help her get it down, ‘cause she sure picked out a big one.”
Uncle Nolan laughed. “Not our job, son. We sell the trees, secure them to the customers’ vehicles, and then it’s all on them from there.”
Things were begi
nning to slow down at the tree lot. Our last truckload would arrive later today, and once that one was sold out, we’d close up shop. Uncle Nolan said it was possible they wouldn’t all sell, and we’d close on the twenty-second, regardless.
“We’ll hit the road at five that day, be back in Michigan for lunch on the day before Christmas Eve.”
“What about the leftover trees?” I glanced around the tent.
“We’ll leave ‘em. Nothing we can do with them anyway, and I figure there’s always folks who can’t afford a tree who’d be blessed by finding a free one here.” He paused, his eyes on me. “You’ve been a real help around here, Trent. I don’t know what you’re thinking about for the next year, but we could sure use you up on the tree farm. Lot of opportunity, if you’re interested.”
A small knot rose in my throat. “Thanks, Uncle Nolan. I’m glad I could help.”
He nodded. “I know you’ve had a rough time of it, boy. But you’ve been steady here, no drinking or running wild with women. You’re a good example to Andy and Joe.” He raised one eyebrow. “Though I’ve noticed maybe you got your eye on a certain girl. Maybe a blonde-haired lawyer who likes to hang around Christmas trees?”
I almost swallowed my tongue. He’d noticed? I’d been careful to keep things casual between Elizabeth and me, even though how I was feeling about her was anything but. I’d come close to kissing her more than once, and I knew she could tell. But she didn’t push me. I didn’t know whether to be glad about that or not. Because I knew if Elizabeth gave me an opening, if she made the slightest move toward me . . . all bets were off. And her clothes would be, too.
Speaking of which, ever since I’d seen her in just her bra and jeans a few weeks back, that image had haunted my dreams nightly. I hadn’t been this horny without doing anything about it since I was in junior high.
My uncle was still waiting for a response. I swallowed hard and shrugged. “She’s a friend. She knows it can never go further than that between us. We’re just having fun, hanging out. Nothing more.” I emphasized those last words, just to be clear.