Baby, It's Cold Outside

by Cathy Yardley

  She stared into his eyes and read the hurt there. Emily held her breath for a second, staring at him.

  “It ought to be,” she said softly. It was going to be trouble, she just knew it. Evelyn Albee, Ava Reese, all the busy women of Tall Pines and their gossip circles…

  With a slow, subtle motion, he reached forward and stroked the delicate skin on the inside of her wrist.

  She almost melted into a puddle right there in the lobby.

  “Okay. Put your bags in my room. We’ll figure it out.”

  Houston, she thought, watching him disappear down the hallway, we have a problem.

  4

  COLIN SUPPOSED HE ought to feel at least a little ashamed of himself for pushing the issue with Emily, knowing that the seeds of gossip were being sown. But as he sat down in the main dining room, helping himself to some pecan French toast, scrambled eggs and bacon, he was having a hard time feeling anything but satisfied.

  I get another night with her, he thought. And maybe more.And, as she herself had said, it wasn’t anybody’s business but Emily’s and his. The town might talk, but that’s all it would be. Talking never killed anyone.

  Sexual frustration probably never killed anyone, either—but he wasn’t taking any chances.

  “There you are!”

  He glanced over and promptly choked on a bite of bacon. “Mom?”

  His mother and father and the rest of his family quickly overtook the dining room, helping themselves to the buffet. “We decided to try the breakfast here at the hotel,” his mother said innocently. “Especially when you called and told us you were staying here.”

  “Your mother wants to find out what the inn has that we don’t seem to have at our house,” his father added, then winced at his mother’s responding glare. “Well, that’s what you said in the car.”

  There were only a few other guests enjoying the buffet—most of the rest were taking breakfast in their rooms, apparently—so his family was able to surround him at the large oak table. “Can we get a look at your room?” his mother asked.

  “Uh…” Colin felt his mind go blank. He was hardly going to show them Emily’s apartment. “I haven’t got a room.”

  “You don’t? Why not?”

  “There are a lot of people stranded,” he improvised hastily. “And they weren’t expecting me to stay, so I think they gave it away.”

  “Then you can come home,” his mother said as if the matter were settled.

  Now what? He couldn’t offer a logical explanation without revealing his new arrangement with Emily, and that was the last thing he wanted. “I think they’ll find a place for me,” he said. It sounded lame to his own mind.

  His mother’s mouth set in a tight line. “All right, son. What’s going on?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Don’t play coy with me. I’ve been on to you since you took my car the week before homecoming your junior year and went parking with Mary Sue Reynolds—didn’t think I knew about that, did you?”

  Colin gaped. “Mom!”

  “It would’ve been better if she hadn’t left her bra in the backseat.” His father snorted. “That was dumb, Colin.”

  “Why was there a bra in the backseat?” his niece Elizabeth asked.

  “Never mind,” his mother quickly replied. “Colin, the bottom line is, I know that there’s something going on. So either you can tell me or I’ll find out on my own.”

  Colin’s mind raced for an explanation. Before he could come up with something plausible, Emily walked in.

  For someone who hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep, she looked luminescent. Her pale skin glowed in the lights of the dining room’s chandelier. She was wearing a plum-colored V-neck cashmere sweater and a pair of black slacks. Her auburn hair was tied back with a matching plum-colored velvet ribbon. Combined with her glasses, she looked about eighteen years old—like a student, maybe headed off to the library.

  He definitely had a thing for girls with glasses.

  He smiled at her before he could stop himself and he caught his mother noticing his smile. He quickly schooled his expression, trying to redeem the situation.

  “Ava,” Emily said, smiling genially as she poured coffee into their cups. “It’s so nice to see you and your family here.”

  “I hope you don’t mind,” Ava said. “We thought we’d enjoy the hotel’s restaurant. I’ve heard good things about your brunch spread.”

  If Emily were suspicious, she didn’t act like it. She looked cool, refined—the perfect hostess. Colin was in awe of her reserve. “We’re happy to serve anytime,” she answered with grace. “You’ll have to try us in the spring. The cook does these fresh strawberry pancakes that are to die for.”

  “I’ve also heard good things about the hotel,” his mother said, and Colin braced himself. “Obviously it’s so incredible my son is hoping you’ll find room for him here.”

  Emily’s smile faltered slightly, but so imperceptibly that Colin felt as if only he would notice. “That’s flattering. We’re certainly trying to accommodate everyone who’s been stranded by the storm.” She paused. “It might mean some doubling up, I think….”

  Before she could continue, a blond woman walked into the dining room. She was obviously not a Tall Pines resident. She had all the look of a big city about her, like New York or Los Angeles. Hell, maybe even Milan. The bright red suit she was wearing, replete with tight skirt and matching heels, looked razor sharp and ready for business. Her makeup was flawless. He would have pegged her as a big executive—he’d run into the type before when he’d started to get some acclaim as an architect. When he’d designed and built a big new art gallery in London, the opening party had been almost entirely populated with women who’d looked like this. This polished, cosmopolitan blonde would’ve blended right in.

  “Good morning, everyone,” she said, her voice friendly. “Hey, Emily! This is a great spread. I can’t believe you pulled all this together on such short notice. Have I mentioned lately just how impressed I am with this hotel?”

  “Hi, Joy.” Emily was obviously grateful for the interruption. “These are a few of our Tall Pines townsfolk, the Reese family. Everyone, this is Joy Webster, a friend of mine from out of town.”

  “Well, hello,” Joy said when she saw Colin. Her eyes went low-lidded and she smiled. “Always nice to meet the locals.”

  “I’m not local,” Colin was quick to point out.

  “Are you staying here in the hotel?” she asked after nodding her hellos to the rest of his family.

  “Um…that remains to be seen.” He forced himself not to glance at Emily. He was trying to quell gossip here.

  “Well, if you need a place to crash, I’ve got a huge room.” The expression on her face was obviously extending a slightly more intimate invitation.

  “Uh, thanks,” he said before feeling a sharp kick under the table. “Ow!”

  His mother was studiously cutting her bacon and eggs with a fork and knife, pretending she hadn’t done a thing. “So how are you enjoying our town, Joy?” she asked, her voice as mild as milk.

  “I’m loving it,” Joy replied, sounding genuinely enthused. “It’s perfect. And have I mentioned how much I adore this hotel?”

  “Always nice to be admired,” Emily said.

  Colin finally looked at Emily. She looked…well, peeved wasn’t quite the right word, and it was hard to tell behind the smooth facade she seemed to habitually wear. But he could sense there was some kind of irritation hovering just below the surface.

  “Seems like the table’s pretty full. I’ll just take this up to my room, if that’s okay,” Joy said. “Nice meeting you all. And don’t forget—” she smiled privately at Colin “—if you need a place, I’m your girl.”

  Colin didn’t say anything, just smiled back weakly as she left the room. When she disappeared, he felt angry glares aimed in his direction from not one but two women.

  “So that’s why you’re waiting to stay in the hotel,” his mo
ther said, with a note of disgust. “Good grief. I might have known that even here in Tall Pines you’d find one of your…your women.”

  “What do you mean, one of my women?”

  “Please. I could have picked her out of a lineup,” his mother scoffed. “You always like those high-society, high-fashion, high-maintenance types. She fits the description of your usual dates down to a T.”

  “Hey, I resent that,” Colin protested. “I don’t have a type.”

  Emily’s eyes had widened at his mother’s very thorough diatribe. “I ought to get going,” she now said hastily. “Nice to see you again, Ava, Harry. Bring your family by anytime.”

  With that, she disappeared into the hallway.

  Great, Colin thought, glaring at his mother. “I am not staying here just to score with Joy,” he said, his tone curt.

  “What’s ‘score with’ mean?” his nephew asked.

  “Language, Colin,” his mother warned. “You don’t want the kids picking up that sort of thing.”

  “You’re the one that started it!”

  “She is pretty,” his father noted. “You’ll have to give our son that, Ava—he’s got good taste.”

  “Oh, Colin, when are you ever going to settle down?” She sighed melodramatically.

  “Okay, this is why I’m not staying at the house,” Colin declared. “Everything is always about why I won’t settle down, why I’m not married, who I’m dating and why I won’t move back to Tall Pines!”

  The rest of his family fell silent, staring at him. He felt like an ogre.

  “I love you guys,” he added. “Very, very much. But…I’m doing the best I can, okay? I know you worry about me and you want me to be happy, and I love you for it. But I have to do things my own way.”

  His mother bit her lip, looking uncomfortable. “I know I can be a tiny bit pushy….”

  His father’s eyes popped at that statement.

  “Harry, not one word,” she interrupted, frowning at him before winking. “Okay, I can be very pushy. But I really do want what’s best for you. If you’d rather stay here at the hotel, I’ll understand.”

  “Thank you,” he said gratefully.

  They all fell into more comfortable conversation, and he had to admit it was nice to spend more time together as a family, over a delicious meal. When they were done, they all hugged him goodbye.

  “I don’t suppose you’ll be at the town meeting tonight?” his mother asked, hugging him. “It’s a special one to deal with the storm.”

  Colin groaned. “You know I hate those things.”

  “Okay,” she said. “Well, we’ll do something before you leave. Good luck in finding a room.”

  “Thanks.” They all left, and feeling a wave of relief, he went to the front desk.

  “Excuse me,” he said to Sue, the woman running the reception desk. He seemed to remember her from high school. “Is Emily around?”

  “No,” the woman replied, looking at him suspiciously. “She had to run some errands. Is there anything I can help you with?”

  “Uh, no,” he answered quickly. “I’ll, er, catch up with her later. Thanks.” She was still staring at him strangely as he walked away.

  He sneaked back up to Emily’s apartment, hoping he’d find her there. But for the rest of the day she remained conspicuously absent. It got darker, and by dinner he still hadn’t seen her. The cook told him she would be gone until later—she was going to the town meeting.

  She was avoiding him, he knew it. He wouldn’t put it past her to find someplace else to stay that night just to miss dealing with him. All that talk about Joy, and her blatant invitation, had obviously upset Emily.

  Well, he’d have to set Emily straight. They might not have a relationship, but whatever weird thing they did have was pretty special.

  And if that meant going to the damned town meeting to tell her…He cringed.

  He’d just have to go there and face the fire.

  “THANKS FOR HAVING me to dinner, Sue,” Emily said, finishing the last of her coffee.

  “We love having you,” Sue said graciously. “Are you okay leaving Phillip to hold down the fort by himself?”Emily put her hand in her pocket, pulling out her cell phone. “The apron string he’s attached to is now cellular,” she answered, knowing Phillip’s penchant for panicking. “Besides, he’s handled us both being gone for a town meeting before. A little stress won’t kill him.”

  “I’m still surprised you didn’t stay at the inn. Especially after you convinced some of those people to double up with the strays.”

  Emily grinned at the term. “Well, since the highway patrol wouldn’t let the poor people leave, the least we could do was put them up.”

  “Sometimes, I swear, you could sweet-talk the Devil into buying thermal underwear.” Sue shook her head. “You’re charming, you’re persuasive—and yet you’re a bulldozer.”

  “Thanks?” Emily questioned, laughing.

  “I meant that in the good way,” Sue assured her.

  Sue’s husband, Vernon, stuck his head into the kitchen. “Honey, if we’re going to the town meeting, we’d better get a move on.”

  Emily swallowed hard. She’d been steeling herself to ask Sue her question since she got to the house, but somehow she couldn’t quite come up with a way of making it sound casual. Now it was make-or-break time. “Say, Sue, could I ask you a favor?”

  “Anything. What do you need?”

  “I was wondering if I could stay here tonight.”

  Sue looked at her, surprised. “Of course, sweetie. But what’s wrong with your apartment?” She rolled her eyes. “Don’t tell me. You gave it up to some of the strays, right?”

  “One of them,” Emily answered, feeling relieved. “I figured it’d be less awkward if I could camp out on your couch.”

  “We’ve got the guest bedroom, silly. Don’t even worry about it,” Sue replied.

  Emily felt relief wash through her. Sue was her best friend and had been since grade school. As a result of all those years together, she tended to be frighteningly adept at reading her like a book. Emily had never kept a secret from her about even the smallest thing, much less something of this magnitude.

  “Who wound up in your place, anyway?” Sue asked, clearing away the dinner dishes. “The cabdriver? That lost delivery guy?”

  Emily briefly considered lying. Instead she decided to try and brazen it out, quickly loading the dishwasher. “Colin Reese, actually.”

  There was a long pause. Emily deliberately avoided eye contact as she made quick work of helping Sue clean up. When all the dishes were stowed away and she had nothing else to do, she finally met Sue’s gaze.

  Her eyes had the piercing quality of an Interpol interrogator. “Colin Reese?”

  “Yeah.” Emily glanced around. “You don’t have any cookies left over, do you? I feel like something sweet.”

  “Colin Reese,” Sue repeated, refusing to be sidetracked. “Colin I’m-too-sexy-for-Tall-Pines, guy-you’ve-crushed-on-since-high-school Reese.”

  Emily sighed. She should have known she wouldn’t get away with this. “That’s the one.”

  Sue let out a frustrated huff. “Weren’t you the one that was telling me you want to break your celibacy streak?”

  “Colin isn’t a candidate,” Emily countered. At least he shouldn’t have been. “Besides, he’s just staying in my apartment, that’s all.”

  Sue rolled her eyes. “Don’t kid a kidder, Em. You’ve got a sexy guy in your apartment. Even out of practice, you can’t tell me you haven’t considered simply seducing the guy.”

  Emily bit her lip. I’ve done more than consider it. That was the problem. “It’s complicated.”

  “Doesn’t have to be.”

  She frowned. “Remember J. P. Webster? The hotelier that I’ve been e-mailing?”

  “The woman?”

  “Yes,” Emily said, grimacing. “Well, she offered to share her room with Colin already.” She put obvious emphasis on the w
ord share. “And apparently she’s completely his type, so he’s probably going to take her up on it.”

  “Oh,” Sue said. Then her eyes narrowed. “So if he’s probably not going to use your place…why are you asking to stay here?”

  Emily froze. “Uh…”

  “Oh. My. God.” Sue let out a squeal of excitement. “You guys already did it!”

  There was a problem with having a hair-trigger blush reflex, Emily realized. It was like walking around attached to a lie detector. Her cheeks heated, and she braced herself for the onslaught.

  “Details!” Sue crowed, tugging Emily toward the kitchen table and nudging her into a chair. “I want details!”

  Her husband stuck his head in again. “Honey…”

  “Not now!” Sue said. “Emily has dirt to dish!”

  Smirking, he retreated.

  “I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone,” Emily said. “And you’d better not say anything to anybody, got that?”

  “Of course,” Sue reassured her. “So spill. How was it?”

  Emily sighed…then smiled. “There are no words.”

  “So that’s why you looked so floaty and happy this morning,” Sue marveled. “I should’ve guessed you’d gotten laid.”

  “I wouldn’t quite put it that way,” Emily said. Then grinned. “But, yeah.”

  “How many times?”

  Emily’s blush intensified. “Er…four.” She mentally counted again—her body tingling with each memory. “Wait—five. I forgot the shower.”

  “In the shower!” Sue clapped her hands girlishly. “And five times? What, were you guys popping vitamin E every hour or what?”

  “I’ve been saving up for two years, you know,” Emily said wryly. “I don’t know what his excuse was, but he certainly didn’t seem tired.” If anything, he’d been as good the last time as he was the first.

  She wondered how he’d hold up a second night.

  Not that you’re going to find out.

  “So what’s the deal?” Sue said. “Why aren’t you going back there and trying to break your record with six in one night?”

  Emily fidgeted. “It was supposed to be the one night, nothing more.”