Holiday Spice

by Samantha Chase

  “And would he do that? Say something just to appease you?” Okay, it was a stupid question—childish, really—but Darcy had to know if she was the only one getting the vibe that Ben was crushing on Savannah.

  The instant bark of laughter answered her question.

  “Normally, I’d say no. From what I know, Benjamin Tanner does not go out of his way to appease anyone. If anything, he makes things as complicated as possible!” She was laughing as she said it. “Trust me when I tell you that Ben likes things his own way and really doesn’t seem to know the meaning of appeasing others.” She paused, and her tone grew serious. “However, I know he’s in a tight spot right now, and I thought maybe he was just sort of saying what he had to in order to get the help.”

  That didn’t sound at all like the man Darcy had spent the evening with. “I don’t know about any of that, but he was very nice tonight—accommodating. I looked over the stuff, and we had dinner and talked, and he seemed easy enough to work with.”

  “Okay. Then…good. That’s good,” Savannah said cautiously.

  “But?”

  “I’m not trying to scare you off the job or anything—after all, you’re already there—but just know that he can be difficult.”

  Darcy chuckled. “So can I.”

  That had Savannah laughing too. “Oh lord, I can only imagine what this week is going to be like!”

  “It’s going to be fine, I’m sure. Don’t worry. We know what needs to get done, and we’ll get it done. Then I’m flying back to you to finish my vacation where it’s warm. It’s cold here. Did you know how cold it was here?”

  Savannah laughed again. “I did warn you. And gave you warm clothes to wear.”

  “Yeah, well, it was still a bit of a shock. A few days ago, I was walking around in shorts and a tank top.”

  “You’re probably wearing that right now. Stop complaining.”

  “To sleep in!” Darcy cried. “Two completely different things.”

  “Okay, okay, don’t go getting all snippy. You’ll be back here in the California sunshine before you know it.”

  “I am already counting down the days. And not because of the job, but I miss the weather. I’d love a white Christmas, but it isn’t even Halloween yet.”

  “And I promise we will totally make this up to you.” She paused. “Seriously, Darce, I really do appreciate you doing this. I know it was all kind of thrown at you, and I had offered up your help without asking you first.”

  “It’s okay. You know I’m looking to find a career, and this is really kind of in line with what I want to do. Not that working on Ben’s book is going to turn into a career, but I can see if being an assistant to someone other than my brother is something I’m interested in.”

  “Well, you’ve been a really good sport about it. And the pay’s not half bad either.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah.”

  “I know it’s late, and you’re probably tired, so go and get some sleep. But promise you’ll call if you have any questions or just to let me know you’re doing okay.”

  “Again with the mom mode?”

  “What can I say? I’m a mom.” And Darcy could hear the smile in Savannah’s voice.

  “I promise to call. Happy?” she asked with a smile of her own.

  “Very. Night, Darce.”

  “Night.”

  Putting her phone down, she pulled the pillows off the bed and considered her options.

  “Oh, right! Text Anna!” Walking across the room, she picked up her phone and quickly tapped out a message to Anna to call her in the morning—or now if she was up.

  Fifteen minutes later, Darcy was under the blankets, and no matter how much she stared at her phone and willed it to ding with an incoming message, it didn’t.

  Dammit.

  With nothing left to do, she placed it on the nightstand and picked up the television remote. Even though she was tired, it normally took an effort to fall asleep. Most nights, she’d read or watch a movie. She had picked up four Christmas romances at the airport bookstore, but they were in her satchel over on the chair in the corner. Her Kindle, also loaded with all the new holiday romances, was on the desk all the way on the other side of the room, so it was TV by default.

  Making herself more comfortable, Darcy scanned the channels and stopped on the local news when she saw the weather report.

  “No. No, no, no, no, no.” She paused and listened a little more and then groaned.

  The temperatures were going to drop, and there were snow flurries in the forecast.

  “Seriously?” she murmured. “I was poolside yesterday. Gloriously warm in the California sun, and now I’m going to be stuck in the snow?”

  She listened to the report and relaxed. The forecast was only calling for a few inches or less, so she figured they were going to be fine. It wasn’t too unusual for this area, so she felt pretty safe knowing no one was going to get upset over it.

  Except her.

  “Moving on,” she said with a small yawn, hoping to find something else to watch to help her relax. Getting worked up over the weather wasn’t the ideal way to make herself fall asleep, that was for sure.

  More channel surfing.

  The crystal-blue waters caught her eye, and Darcy’s hand instantly froze on the remote. It was some sort of travel show, and they were clearly in Hawaii. She sighed longingly. A couple talked about how this was their dream destination and how after living all their lives in Canada, they felt it was time for a change.

  “I hear ya,” she said softly. “I wouldn’t mind being there right now.” And as if on cue, she got a chill and shivered. Snuggling a little more under the blankets, a helpless moan escaped. “Note to self: next time you want to go on a vacation, skip the family.”

  “Who wouldn’t want to live in a tropical paradise year-round?” the perky voice on the television said.

  For some reason, that question struck her. Would she want to live in a tropical paradise? Back home in North Carolina, she lived on the coast, but it was far from tropical. But was tropical something she really wanted?

  “I wouldn’t exactly say no to it,” she murmured as she watched the couple frolicking on the beach with palm trees gently swaying in the background. The guy picked the girl up and swung her around before putting her back on her feet and kissing her soundly. Darcy heard herself sigh longingly.

  Right now, she wouldn’t mind being on a beach somewhere with a sexy guy swinging her around and kissing her.

  Someone like Ben.

  “Ugh. I so need to not have Ben on the brain right now.”

  Before she knew it, it wasn’t the cute couple on the TV she was seeing but her and Ben on the beach. She envisioned him being muscled under all those layers of flannel, and with a smooth chest.

  Mmm…

  He wasn’t tan, but he certainly didn’t have a fair complexion, either. Darcy imagined he would look good with a tan—and even better with her rubbing some sort of lotion all over him.

  “Who could say no to paradise?” the perky television voice asked again.

  Flipping off the television, Darcy tossed the remote aside.

  Who indeed.

  Chapter 2

  For two days, they worked nonstop.

  Ben had to give Darcy credit—she was prompt, and she really was a whiz with getting things organized. Once they had gotten through the basics of the book layout, she had talked him through the acknowledgments and the dedication and found a way to write them both up so they sounded more like him than a generic statement.

  She asked a ton of questions about his work, but rather than letting him take her to his workshop, she opted to stay focused on the work laid out on the table. And no matter how much he tried to explain that she’d have a better grasp of it all if she saw the work in person rather than in a photograph, she wouldn’t b
e swayed.

  So they worked.

  And worked.

  And worked.

  They ate breakfast while they worked, as well as lunch, and other than the first night, she hadn’t stayed for dinner again.

  Several times, Ben had tried to ask her if she was all right or if she wanted to take a break, but she always managed to turn the question around and bring it back to the work in front of them.

  It was maddening.

  She was maddening!

  He knew he had asked her to be here—or he’d asked Savannah to be here—but he was starting to lose his mind. The constant chatter, the way she questioned everything he did, and the way she was always moving things around under the guise of “organization” was killing him. They’d argued—out-and-out raised voices argued—multiple times. She never backed down, but he’d walked out to cool off more than once.

  Right now, Darcy was furiously texting back and forth with someone about something, and Ben was almost afraid to ask what was going on. She’d hardly gotten any messages or calls in the last two days, but this one seemed to have her tensing up. He was all set to mind his own business—because she was finally quiet—but then she began cursing under her breath.

  “Is everything all right?” he asked, secretly hoping she was just annoyed with the disruption. Like he was.

  “Can we turn on the television and find the weather channel or local news or something?”

  “What’s going on?”

  “Savannah just forwarded me some information about a fast-forming storm that’s coming our way. It looks like they’re predicting over a foot of snow three days from now, and that’s going to mean my flight will more than likely be canceled and—”

  “Okay, okay,” he said, doing his best to sound soothing. “Give me a minute, and I’ll see what I can find.” Ben turned on the television and immediately went to the local news channel. They were on a commercial break, so he decided to explain the local weather.

  “This time of year, it’s not unusual to get some snow. I’m sure that forecast is a little off. We don’t get that kind of accumulation this early in the season. But we know how to handle it, and there’s minimal disruption. It might not even come, so I’m sure you’ll be fine.”

  Ben could tell she was only half listening to him, because she nodded, but her focus was still on the phone in her hands. “Uh-huh.”

  Sighing, he walked over to her. “I’m sure your flight won’t be affected at all.” Then he caught himself. They had worked hard and gotten a lot done in a short amount of time. He was just telling himself how annoyed he was with her, so why was he arguing with her wanting to leave earlier? “You flew into Seattle, right?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  That was over a hundred miles away. “Maybe you should—” He stopped talking when the weather report came on, and he noticed Darcy looked up from her phone as well. Silently, they listened to the grim forecast. Ben wasn’t normally prone to paying attention to these predictions, but he had to admit it didn’t sound good.

  When the news broke away to another commercial, he muted the TV. “So…”

  “I’ve got to call the airline and get an earlier flight. I’m going to try for tomorrow. I know we still have so much to do, and I promise you I am going to continue to help you but from home.”

  “Darcy, it’s all right. Really.”

  She waved him off as she stood and began looking around for something. “No, it’s not. I hate that I started something here that I can’t finish. It makes me crazy. But we have a good foundation, and I’ll be able to do the rest remotely. If I have any questions, I can call you. Right?”

  Forcing a smile, he said, “Of course.”

  That seemed to relax her a bit.

  “Make your calls, and let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.”

  “Thanks, Ben.”

  For the next twenty minutes, Ben listened as Darcy talked, begged, and pleaded with whoever was on the other end of the phone to find her an earlier flight out of Seattle to Los Angeles. For the life of him, he couldn’t imagine it being this difficult. Judging from the exasperation in her voice, it was. When she finally hung up the phone, she put her head on the table and lightly banged it.

  “That good, huh?” he asked.

  Looking up at him, she looked defeated. “I’m not the only one wanting to move up a flight. Even without the weather, there weren’t many open seats. I found that out from booking my flight here on such short notice. The best they can do is put me on standby.”

  “Is that what you’re going to do?”

  “I don’t have a choice,” she said wearily. “I hate it because it’s a whole lot of hanging out at the airport and a chance of not getting on a plane. And all that not knowing makes it even more stressful.”

  “Darcy,” he began. “You don’t have to freak out and rush out of here. So you stay a couple of extra days. It’s not a big deal. Hell, you can stay here if it’s better for you.”

  Are you crazy? he admonished himself. Help her pack and get to the airport now!

  “Ben, I appreciate the offer. I do. But it’s important for me to get home or at least back to LA. I don’t want to get stuck here indefinitely, and I’ve got things planned for next week with Riley and Savannah.” She looked at him apologetically. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s fine.” Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he did his best to give her a smile. “Why don’t you call Riley and let him know what’s going on? Maybe he can find a way to get you home.”

  Her eyes went wide. “You’re right! Why didn’t I think of that?” Walking over, she gave him a loud, smacking kiss on the cheek. “You’re a genius!”

  Of that, he wasn’t so sure, but at least she seemed to perk up. And maybe she didn’t mean to kiss him but that stupidly worked to perk him up too.

  With nothing to do, Ben went and made himself a cup of coffee before walking over and looking out the wall of windows. The sky was gray, and as much as he wasn’t an alarmist, it certainly looked like the kind of weather that promised some heavy snow.

  If it were just him, he wouldn’t mind. The house was well-stocked with food, and he had a generator and an abundance of firewood. Getting snowed in would not affect him in any way, shape, or form. Getting snowed in with Darcy? That was a whole other story. It would affect him in every way, shape, and form.

  A sigh came out before he could stop it. None of it mattered. He was never going to know, because he wasn’t going to see Darcy Shaughnessy again, and it was probably for the best. It had been obvious she had an issue with him, and to be honest, he had one with her. She was bossy and outspoken and irritating as hell. And even though they had worked well together for the last couple of days, it was very different from the easy camaraderie they had shared on her first night here.

  He knew what his issues were with her, but for the life of him, Ben couldn’t figure out what he’d said or done to make her so against him. He’d replayed that night at least a dozen times in his head and came up empty every time.

  Not that he wasn’t used to this sort of thing. He wasn’t exactly a warm and fuzzy guy. People had been telling him for years he came off as cold and standoffish. Savannah had been the only one to try to push past that—and succeeded. For the most part, Ben was fine with being viewed that way. It was who he was.

  Except this time he didn’t want to be seen that way.

  He had put in an effort that night. He’d worked hard to prepare a nice dinner and made sure he was polite and kept up the conversation. Hell, he’d been the perfect host. So what was her deal? What the hell did he say or do?

  “For crying out loud,” he murmured, “obsess much?” Behind him, he heard Darcy saying goodbye to Riley. He turned and gave her a smile. “Any luck?”

  “He’s making some calls,” she said with a sigh.

 
“I’m sure Riley could charter a plane.”

  It was Darcy’s turn to laugh. “He’s going to look into that too. I hate to think of spending that kind of money. It seems too frivolous.”

  “It’s not frivolous,” he corrected. “It’s important to him that you get home safely. I’m sure Riley would do anything to make that happen.” There. That sounded nice, right?

  She took it for the compliment that it was. “Thank you.” After a minute, she said, “Let’s try to get some more work done. I think if we make some notes on each picture, I can take them with me, rewrite it once I’m home, and get it all together for you.”

  And there was something different in her tone as well. Maybe they could finish out her time here on better terms. If he looked at the big picture, she was helping him, and she’d be leaving soon. He knew he could hang on and get through it.

  “You have no idea how much I appreciate your help, Darcy.” Unable to help himself, he reached out and took her hand in his and squeezed it. “There is no way I could have gotten this done without you.”

  She squeezed his hand in return before walking toward the kitchen table. “You would have done just fine with whoever your publisher sent to work with you. You might not have liked it, and I’m sure you would have given them hell like you’ve been giving me, but you would have gotten it done.”

  With a small laugh, Ben followed her. “Maybe.”

  She gave him a smile and then went back to sorting through her notes.

  “Can I ask you something?”

  “Sure.”

  “Did I do something wrong the other night?”

  She looked at him oddly.

  “I thought everything went well. We had a nice dinner, we talked and laughed, and yet by the time you left, you seemed to have a definite problem with me.”

  Those big, beautiful eyes went wide at his bluntness. “Did I? I honestly don’t remember.”

  Seriously? Was he making more out of this than there was?

  “Are you telling me that we’re good? That you don’t have some sort of issue with me? Because you seem to be acting a little distant. You won’t stay for dinner and—”