by Deanna Chase
She and Silas had been home for a day and a half, and so far there hadn’t been a lick of trouble. After their plane had landed, they’d spent the rest of the day moving all of Shannon’s stuff back into her grandmother’s house—soon to be her house. The one that had been freshly painted and the broken windows replaced, though none of her neighbors seemed to have a clue who’d taken care of that job. Shannon would’ve suspected Brian, but he’d been out of town.
“What gave you that idea?” Hope asked. “He’s in town. He came in for a massage this morning. That shoulder of his really tightened up after all that painting he did.”
“Painting?” Shannon narrowed her eyes at her friend. “Are you saying he’s the one who fixed up my grandmother’s house?”
Hope leaned forward and gave her a puzzled look. “You mean you didn’t know?”
Shannon shook her head slowly. “He told me he had to go overseas for a bit and would be out of touch. I haven’t heard from him since.” But that didn’t make sense. If he’d painted her house and was in town, why hadn’t he returned her call or her text she’s sent letting him know she was headed home?
“Oh, honey.” Hope patted Shannon’s knee. “It sounds like the two of you need to talk.”
“No kidding. But if he isn’t returning my calls…” Frustration bubbled up and spilled over into a huff of irritation. “I don’t get it.”
“Of course you don’t,” Hope said, laughing. “He’s a man. You’re not supposed to.” She stood and held out her hand to help her friend out of the swing. “Tell you what… Why don’t you hop in that car of yours and head up to Brian’s beautiful house on the hill? Silas can stay here with us tonight. I’m sure he and Levi are going to want to play video games and eat junk food all night anyway. You go and find out what’s going on in Brian’s thick head and let me worry about the rest.”
Shannon didn’t hesitate. She pulled Hope into a quick hug, thanked her for being the best friend a girl could have, and then rushed to her car. It wasn’t until she was halfway down Main Street that she realized she didn’t even have Brian’s address. After a quick stop at Yvette’s bookstore to ask her for directions, she was back in her car and on her way up the mountain.
Brian read Shannon’s text for what seemed like the hundredth time. She was home, back at her grandmother’s cottage. And he was sitting in his house, acting as if that didn’t mean something to him. All he could ask himself was what the hell is wrong with me?
He knew the answer. But that didn’t mean he wanted to face the fact that he wasn’t any good for her. He hadn’t been able to protect her when crazy stalkers came for her. He’d even been the reason they’d harassed her. It was just like the fact he hadn’t been good for Sienna. She’d gotten sick, and he’d only made it worse by enabling her destructive behavior. If only he’d insisted on her seeing a psychologist sooner, things might not have gotten so bad. He was tired of being the man that caused issues for the women in his life; he wanted to be the one who made things better.
The phone grew warm in Brian’s hand. He moved his finger to delete Shannon’s latest message but found he couldn’t do it. It was too much like deleting her from his life. And as much as he was determined to leave her alone now, he couldn’t erase any of the traces of her. It was too painful.
Groaning, he dropped his phone onto the counter and headed for his kitchen. After tying on an apron, he pulled out his favorite stainless steel mixing bowl, flour, sugar, and butter, intending to make shortbread cookies. He wasn’t hungry. He hadn’t been since right about the time Shannon left town. But he needed to do something to keep his hands busy, or he’d—
The doorbell rang, followed by loud knocking on the door.
He dropped the stick of butter he’d been holding onto the granite countertop and went to find out who’d gone through the trouble to drive halfway up the mountain to see him in person. Brian wiped his hands on his apron and opened the door. “Shannon?”
She walked right in without even saying a word.
“Hey,” he said, joy warming him from the inside out like a ray of sunshine. Gods, he’d missed her even more than he’d realized.
She spun around and placed her hands on her hips and said, “Care to explain why you lied to me about going out of town?”
“Only if you care to explain to me why you were kissing Rex.” The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. He hadn’t had any intention of confronting her with what he saw on that news program, but there it was. He wasn’t even sure he wanted the answer, but it was too late now.
“What?” Her face scrunched up in confusion. “I wasn’t kissing Rex. What makes you think that? I haven’t even seen him or talked to him since the day the vineyard was vandalized by those fire witches.”
“I saw it on the newscast, Shannon. He was cupping your face with both hands, and his lips were on yours.” He was pissed now. It was one thing to kiss one of his best friends. It was entirely another to act as if it hadn’t happened.
The crease in her forehead only deepened. “Rex did not kiss me,” she insisted. “He did cup my cheeks, but that’s because I was freaking out and he was trying to calm me down. But he definitely didn’t kiss me. Why would he do that? He’s your friend.”
She seemed so adamant, so sure. Had his eyes been deceiving him? He didn’t think so. He knew what he’d seen. Brian walked up to her, placed both hands on her cheeks and then bent his head so that his lips were just barely brushing hers. “Are you telling me this isn’t the exact scene I saw on my television?”
She lifted her gaze to his and, in a firm voice, said, “That’s exactly what I’m saying.” She knocked his hands away, placed hers on his cheeks, and brought her face really close to his as she looked him in the eye. “Rex was trying to calm me down. He did it by making me focus on him just like this. When he was done talking to me, he pressed a kiss to my forehead and then put me in my car. Just like this.” She pressed up onto her tiptoes and brushed a soft kiss over his skin.
His entire body started to tingle with desire from that slight kiss, and he let out a barely audible groan.
Shannon stepped back, taking her soft hands with her. “Is that why you’ve been avoiding me? Because you thought I had a thing with Rex?”
“Yes.” He grimaced and added, “No. Not really.”
“Then why?” she demanded.
“Because, Shannon.” He threw his hands up. “Do you think any of this would’ve happened to you if it weren’t for me? If you hadn’t been dragged into the drama with Cara, no one would’ve come for you. You wouldn’t have been hurt, Faith’s spa wouldn’t have had a brick thrown through the window, and the Pelshes' vineyard never would’ve been burned. I didn’t handle the problem with Cara very well. Not until it was too late, anyway. I… It seemed better for you if I kept my distance.”
Shannon was speechless. Was he kidding? “You can’t be serious.”
“I’m dead serious. First I didn’t handle things with Sienna well. Then I didn’t take the Cara situation seriously enough, and you almost got hurt because of me.”
Shannon shook her head and stepped close to him again, pressing her palms to his chest. “Brian, shut up.”
“What?” He couldn’t help but chuckle. Her response was so perfectly her.
“My mom was the reason the paparazzi was even here. If we want to blame anyone, it’s her. Not you. And before you go blaming yourself again, please try to remember you can’t be responsible for other people’s actions. Especially crazy people.”
“I didn’t want to bring you any more drama,” he said, sliding his arms around her waist, suddenly unable to keep from touching her.
“Silas and I brought plenty of our own. Can we drop this and move on? I’m feeling the need to settle up on that bet we made.”
“I’m more than happy to move on.” He dipped his head and ran his lips along her jawline before pressing a soft kiss to her lips. “But what do you mean settle up on that bet? By my
last count, we still have four dates to cover.”
“I’m surrendering. I already know I’m going to lose, so how about we take care of the naked massage portion right now? Because I can’t wait to get my hands on you.”
“Holy hell, Shannon,” Brian whispered as he started maneuvering her through his house toward the bedroom. “You do realize I’ll never be able to keep my hands to myself, right?”
“That’s what I was counting on.” The moment they were in his bedroom, Shannon turned him so that his back was pressed up against the wall. She removed his apron and ran her hands under his T-shirt, reveling in his well-defined chest. Then she slipped one hand down to cup his perfect butt while she kissed him with everything she had. When she finally broke away, Brian was breathing heavily, and his dark eyes were swimming with pure desire. She once again moved in close, pressed both of her palms to his cheeks, and when his breath caught, she said, “Get naked.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Shannon stood behind the counter at A Spoonful of Magic and tried to suppress her yawn. After her marathon completely naked massage session with Brian had turned into an all-night love fest, she’d ended up getting only a couple hours of sleep before heading into work. She’d didn’t mind though. Her time in Brian’s bed had been worth every delicious second.
“Stop smiling like you won the lottery. It’s making me cranky,” Miranda Moon said from her usual spot at one of the shop’s tables. She was a paranormal romance author who’d moved to town over the summer and had claimed one of A Spoonful of Magic’s tables as one of her favorite spots to work. “You look like you’ve been thoroughly… erm, satisfied.”
Shannon laughed. “I don’t kiss and tell.”
“There’s no reason to. It’s written all over you,” she said.
“Sorry?” Shannon picked up her wand and aimed it at Miranda’s empty dishes. They floated effortlessly past Shannon and right into the sink where they were rinsed and then placed into the dishwasher without Shannon having to lift a finger.
“Nice trick,” Miranda said. “I think I’m going to put it in this book. Any tips on how to get it right?”
Shannon held up her gorgeous whore-red wand. “You need a good connection with your wand, and the secret is in the wrist. This one is swish and flick and point.” Shannon demonstrated on the dirty napkin in front of Miranda. “Like this.” She aimed the wand and showed her the motions, and they both watched as the napkin floated through the air and landed in the nearby trash can.
“Awesome. I just have to hope it doesn’t go haywire, too.”
“What do you mean?” Shannon asked.
Miranda waved a hand, indicating it wasn’t important.
But Shannon was insistent. “Are you having trouble with your magic?”
“No not really. I just… I’ve never had trouble getting a date before. You know what I mean?” She stood up and twirled around, showing off her curvy figure that was laced up in a black corset dress. “This usually does all the work, you know?”
Shannon chuckled as she eyed the woman’s cleavage peeking out from the top of the dress. “I can imagine. That style really works for you.”
“Right?” Miranda glanced down at herself and sighed. “I’m starting to think I’m losing my touch, and it’s making me slightly crazy.”
The bells on the door chimed, and Rex Holiday strode in. A big smile broke out on his face when he spotted Shannon. “Hey there, stranger. It’s good to see you back in town.”
“Hi, Rex. It’s better than good to be back. How’s the vineyard?”
“It’s better,” he said. “Abby came by, and together we were able to salvage most of the damaged vines.”
“That’s good news.” Shannon helped him pick out a present for Abby Townsend as a thank you for her help, and while Shannon was wrapping it up, Miranda Moon made her way to the counter and brushed her arm up against Rex’s.
“Hey there, handsome.” She glanced up at him, all innocence, with her big dark eyes.
Rex smiled down at her, obvious interest flashing over his features as he scanned her from head to toe. Miranda was right, Shannon thought. That dress was a secret weapon.
But then just as Shannon tried to hand the package to Rex, Miranda reached out, accidentally knocking it to the ground.
“Oh, no. I’m so sorry.” She bent down to retrieve the package at the same time that Rex did, but as she grabbed for the package, she completely missed and instead grabbed an entirely different package.
Rex’s package.
Rex let out a yelp and scrambled back, pressing one hand against his crotch and clutching the package with the other.
Miranda’s face flushed bright red, and she stammered her apologies as Rex hurried out of the shop. “Oh. Em. Gee,” Miranda said as she slumped into her chair. “I can’t believe that just happened.”
Shannon couldn’t help the laughter that rumbled up from her chest. “Holy hell, Miranda. I see what you mean. That dress was doing its job, and then everything went to crap in ten seconds flat.”
Miranda pressed the back of her hand to her forehead. “I think I’m cursed. That’s the only explanation.”
“Or just klutzy,” Shannon teased. But she wondered if Miranda really was cursed. Not long ago, Miss Maple had neutralized a crude love spell that had been attached to Miranda’s preferred table.
“Maybe. I’m going to go home and drown my embarrassment in a bottle of wine. See you at the wedding Friday night?”
“Definitely. Brian and I will be there with bells on.” Shannon pulled a couple of chocolates out of the case and walked them over to Miranda. “Here. To go with the wine.”
Miranda gave her a grateful smile.
“Listen,” Shannon said, making an effort to expand her social circle. “I’m having a small pool party on Saturday, just us girls. Do you think you can make it? Hope, Wanda, Hanna and a Townsend sister or two should be there.”
“At your place?” Miranda asked.
“Yep. Early afternoon when the sun is warmest.”
Miranda grinned, “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
The wedding the night before had been a party to remember. Faith and Hunter had been stunning in their formal wedding gear, but what made it so special was the fact they had it at the spa they’d built together, and the place had been strung with thousands of fairy lights and candles. Shannon had never seen anything more beautiful. She’d spent the entire evening on the dancefloor with Brian and then the rest of the night with him in her bed.
Now she was sitting outside on one of her lounge chairs with five of her girlfriends, sipping mojitos and soaking up the sunshine.
“It’s too bad Rex isn’t staying in town,” Wanda said. “That man is hot.”
Hanna and Hope both nodded their agreement as they slathered on more sun screen.
“Where’s he going?” Miranda asked, her face flushing slightly as she sucked down a big sip of her drink. Shannon grinned at her, knowing the woman was still embarrassed by the fact she’d felt him up that day at the shop.
“Christmas Grove,” Yvette said. “He and Jacob have a friend there who owns a Christmas tree farm. Rex is going to give him a hand and help him heal a section of his farm that hasn’t been performing very well.”
“I’ve been to Christmas Grove once,” Shannon said. “It’s beautiful there. Such a sweet town, and the mountains are incredible.”
“Me, too,” Hanna said. “My parents used to take us during the holiday festivities. There’s a reindeer games event that is hilarious. Air magic witches animate stuffed reindeer and there’s a track and field event. I always wanted one as a pet until I realized they weren’t actually real.
“It really is incredible,” Yvette agreed. “Jacob and I are going out there right after Thanksgiving for a quick little getaway. You and Brian should come with us, Shannon. I’m sure Jacob and Rex would be thrilled.”
Shannon laughed and shook her head. “I’m sure you and Jacob d
on’t want us to crash your romantic getaway.”
It was Yvette’s turn to laugh. “Oh, no. It’s not like that. Skye is coming with us. It’s more of a family trip for a little fun. You guys should really come. It would be nice to spend a little more time with you when we all aren’t so busy working.”
“Well, when you put it that way—”
A collective gasp came from Shannon’s friends and was followed by hoots and hollers and what she could only describe as catcalls. She jerked her head up and almost swallowed her tongue when she saw Brian strutting across the pool deck in only a thong.
“Work it!” Wanda called, pumping her fist in the air as Brian swayed his hips and strutted over to where the pool net was hanging on the side of an outbuilding.
“Flex! Show us the guns,” Miranda added and started giggling when Brian took on a body builder’s pose and started flexing his muscles for her.
“Wow, Shannon. You really bring the entertainment when you throw a party,” Hope said with a laugh.
“Holy hell,” Shannon whispered to herself as her chest exploded with pure love. Leave it to Brian to pay up on the bet he’d never lost.
“Whoa, Shannon,” Yvette said. “He’s got ripples on top of ripples. How do you stand yourself?”
Shannon grinned at her and shrugged noncommittally. It wasn’t like Yvette wasn’t married to a hottie of her own. Besides, she knew the other woman was mostly teasing. Or was she? Because damn, Brian looked incredible. Had he oiled up his muscles for an exaggerated effect? The way the sun was making him shine, it sure looked like it. She sat up and cried, “Show us your moves!”
Brian stopped flexing, looked right at her, winked, and then started twerking.