Swept Away for Christmas

by M. J. Fredrick

  “You almost ready?”

  She looked over at Luke. Yep, that blue reminded her of his eyes. Somehow, she managed to come up with an appropriate response. “Yeah.”

  She was so going to blow him away with her sterling conversational skills. She’d interviewed celebrities when Chez featured their homes, and yet this small town contractor, the boy who used to wear Stargate T-shirts and didn’t seem to mind doing the actual dissecting of that frog when it had grossed her out, had her brain fritzing.

  When the store employee set the gallons of paint up on the counter, Luke grabbed them before she could.

  “I can carry those, you know.”

  He started walking backward away from her. “I’m sure you can, but then I wouldn’t look all manly, would I?”

  “I see your career path isn’t the only thing that’s changed since high school.”

  “I’m not an obvious nerd anymore?”

  “No, you got cocky.”

  “So I am still a nerd?”

  She stopped in the middle of the aisle and placed her hands on her hips. “I have no idea. For all I know, you speak Klingon and play World of Warcraft in your spare time.”

  He laughed. “I’m surprised you know what those things are.”

  “I lived in Atlanta for several years, home of Dragon*Con. I’ll have you know I even went to the parade wearing a Star Trek T-shirt.”

  “So you’re Queen of the Nerds now?”

  She rolled her eyes and strode past him. “No, but Karl Urban is hot, even with that Doctor McCoy hair.”

  His laughter followed her up the aisle toward the cash registers, and the smile spreading across her face made her feel better than she had in more than a week.

  Chapter Four

  Luke paused in removing the old tile in the motel’s breakfast room. He looked up just in time to see Avery stretch to reach a corner with her paint roller. Her T-shirt lifted at the hem, showing him a tantalizing bit of skin. Just that little hint reminded him of a day during their senior year.

  Determined to finally man up and ask her out, he’d gone to the beach where she and a lot of other members of their class were having a party. When he’d arrived, he’d literally tripped over his own feet and nearly face planted in the sand. She’d been wearing a black and white bikini and was playing volleyball. He’d challenge any teenage boy not to stumble at that sight.

  He’d sat in the sand at the edge of the crowd and watched the game, watched her. When it had ended, his heart rate had skyrocketed as she walked toward him. She was on the way to her beach chair, but she’d said, “Hey, Luke,” as she passed by. He shook his head now that he’d taken so much courage from two simple little words. But when he’d psyched himself up to go sit by her, to ask her out, his courage had disappeared in an instant.

  He remembered the moment as if it had happened in slow motion. When he turned to stand, he noticed Mike Hartnell had taken up residence beside Avery. Then Mike leaned over and kissed her, and Avery had kissed him back.

  Luke had walked away, disappearing from the party, probably without anyone noticing. Avery had only dated Mike for less than a month, but it didn’t matter. Despite the fact that she’d always been nice to Luke, he knew he didn’t have a chance with her.

  But what about now? Did he want to head down that road again? He knew full well that you couldn’t help whom you were attracted to. And while deep down he didn’t like the idea of her wanting him just for his looks, he was the one who’d set out to change them, wasn’t he? Maybe he owed himself the chance to take those steps he’d not taken that long-ago day on the beach.

  Before he lost his nerve, he stood and walked toward her. “Need help with that?”

  She turned toward him, but her knee bumped the paint tray. Before he could move out of the way, blue paint dumped onto his head and down his body.

  She gasped. “Oh, my God. I’m so sorry.”

  Luke heard Avery hurrying down the ladder, but couldn’t open his eyes or his mouth to respond. Then she touched his arm.

  “Stand still for a minute. I’ll be right back.”

  He listened to her footsteps as she hurried away. It took a moment to identify the next sound, but then it hit him—paper towels from the lobby bathroom. And then she was back, wiping the slimy, fumey paint from his face.

  “Luke, I’m so sorry.”

  With her hands on him, he was beginning to not mind wearing a little paint. When he could finally open his eyes, he saw how distressed she looked and fought the urge to pull her into his paint-covered arms.

  “It’s okay.”

  “I guess that job as your assistant is off the table now.”

  He smiled. “I don’t know. You could keep things interesting.”

  She shook her head as her gaze went down his shirt, then she waved for him to follow her. “Come on.”

  “Where are we going?”

  She stepped behind the front desk and ran a key card. “One of the empty rooms. You can use the shower, and I’ll find you something else to wear.”

  “Don’t you have to watch the front desk until Jenni gets back with her lunch?”

  “I don’t think we’re going to have a run on the office.”

  “Really, it’s okay.”

  “Nope, you look like a Smurf.”

  He snorted and followed her out the back entrance and to the beachside door to an unoccupied room. She slid the card through the reader and opened the door. He slipped his boots off and left them outside.

  “Not sure if I can find any pants, but we might have a shirt in the lost and found box.”

  “I could just go home, you know.”

  “I don’t want you getting paint all over your truck’s interior.”

  She might have gone off to the city to live a bigger life than she’d had in Starfish Shores, but Avery Phillips was still the nice, caring girl he remembered.

  And still one he wanted to kiss.

  He wondered if she could see his thoughts in his eyes because she suddenly looked flustered and hurried to retrace her steps.

  Luke smiled, liking the feeling of making Avery Phillips nervous.

  * * *

  Avery felt equal parts embarrassed and jittery as she fled the look on Luke’s face, one that she half wanted him to act on. She reminded herself that she wasn’t staying in Starfish Shores, that if she gave in to her attraction it would be nothing more than a fling. And that might be awkward for her grandparents after she left, especially since Luke’s father was their doctor.

  Before she searched for a replacement shirt for him, she needed to clean up the mess she’d made. As she grabbed a bunch of paper towels and a trash can, Jenni walked in the front door with a large pizza from Joey’s.

  “Thought you all might be hungry, too,” she said, then stopped in her tracks when she saw the mess. “What in the world? I leave for ten minutes and you destroy the place.”

  “Let us all be glad my dream wasn’t to become a ballerina because graceful I am not.” Avery got down on her hands and knees and started wiping up the paint before it dried. “Can you wet some paper towels for me?”

  Jenni placed the pizza on the front counter and went for towels. “Where’s Luke?”

  “Showering in one of the rooms. I dumped paint all over him.”

  “On purpose?”

  Avery looked up at Jenni. “Of course not on purpose.”

  “I thought it might have been a clever plan to get him out of his shirt.”

  “Jenni!”

  “What, that man’s hot as fire.”

  Avery’s mouth dropped. “And what would Andrew think if he heard you say that?”

  “Probably nothing.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes, really. We have a rule. We can look all we want as long as we don’t touch.”

  Avery laughed a little. “Well, that’s very understanding of you both.”

  “We live at the beach. Beautiful people stroll through this town all the time, es
pecially in the summer. How realistic is it to expect anyone to not look? We’re only human.”

  “I guess.”

  “I mean, you’re looking.”

  Before she could think better of it, Avery shot a glance at the short hallway that led to the back door.

  Jenni chuckled. “My advice, grab that boy before someone else around here wises up and does it first.”

  “I can’t do that. I’m only here for a visit.”

  “You sure about that?” Jenni waved at the renovation in progress.

  “I’m just helping out a little while I’m here.”

  “Whatever you say.” Jenni headed for her post behind the desk when the phone started ringing, but she didn’t even attempt to hide the mischievous grin on her face.

  Because of Jenni’s teasing, Avery took longer than she’d planned to clean up after her mishap. Without meeting the other woman’s gaze, she went into the storage area next. She maneuvered her way around all the furniture from the lobby to the shelf that held the box full of items left behind by guests.

  Avery shoved aside beach toys, a disposable camera, several pairs of sunglasses. Geez, was that a Speedo? She picked it up by the least amount of contact possible and tossed it in the trash. It could have been brand new, but she was doing everyone a favor by tossing it. Lots of people might like them, but from her point of view no one, no matter how good looking, should wear one. Below some kids’ clothing, she finally found a T-shirt. When she pulled it free, she barked out a laugh. It was huge with the words “Redneck Romeo” written across it.

  She smiled all the way back to the guestroom but pulled it under wraps before she knocked.

  “Come in.”

  She ran the card key through the reader and pushed the door open. She was halfway into the room when Luke stepped out of the bathroom, wearing only his jeans. Avery’s mouth literally watered at the sight of his cut abs and arms with just the right amount of muscle definition. All that taut skin was still damp and most likely warm from the shower. As he ran a towel over his wet hair, she very nearly moaned.

  He caught her staring, but for a couple of stunned seconds she still couldn’t look away. When she did, she jerked her gaze away from him so quickly she had no doubt it was obvious.

  Needing to distract him, she lifted the shirt she held. “I found you a replacement.” She let it unfurl in front of her and forced herself to keep her gaze locked on his face and not the scrumptious display of male skin farther down. Good Lord, nothing got her hot and bothered faster than a handsome man in jeans and nothing else, even if those jeans were paint splattered.

  Luke lifted an eyebrow. “That’s not a shirt. It’s a tent.”

  “It was this or a baby onesie.” She would not mention the Speedo, wouldn’t even think about what it would cover.

  Yeah, right. Her brain just went there.

  Unwilling to get any closer to him, she tossed the shirt his direction. He caught it and held it up to cover his chest then looked at her and grinned. “I think we could both fit in here.”

  Now why did he have to go and say things like that?

  He shook his head and slipped the shirt over his head. She couldn’t help laughing at the result.

  Luke spread his arms wide. “What, you don’t like it?”

  “You look ridiculous.”

  “And whose fault is that?”

  She raised her hand. “Guilty as charged.”

  “So I think you owe me.”

  “What, more than that classic shirt?”

  “You owe me more because of this shirt.”

  She crossed her arms. “You going to have me start roofing a house now?”

  Luke took a few steps toward her, and she refused to move. Backing up would only proclaim that his nearness bothered her. She just had to get through the holidays, find a new job, and get out of town before she did something stupid.

  “No, I was thinking more like we go out to dinner.”

  Oh, hell, did he just ask her out? Like on a date? Butterflies the size of 747s started fluttering in her stomach.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  “For old time’s sake. I mean, I did dissect that frog for you.”

  “Oh, you’re bringing up old debts now?”

  “At least I don’t charge interest.”

  “I don’t remember you being this pushy in high school.”

  A grin tugged at the edge of his lips. “Lots of things have changed since then.”

  Indeed they had, things that had her nodding and saying yes to dinner before her common sense could rein her in.

  He walked past her, coming so close that she smelled the clean, warm, soapy scent of him.

  “Where we go to eat will depend on how well you do this afternoon.”

  She reached for a comeback to this new, teasing Luke, but she had nothing. Instead, she watched as he walked out of the room, leaving her with visions of that gorgeous chest of his underneath the running water of the shower. She sank onto the end of the bed and flopped back. It didn’t matter that she wouldn’t be staying in Starfish Shores, didn’t matter that they’d known each other for years, didn’t matter that he was technically working for her. She wanted Luke Taylor. She wanted him bad.

  * * *

  Avery somehow managed to make it the rest of the day without dumping anything else on Luke. But even more extraordinary was how she didn’t act as if going out to dinner with him was any big deal. When he started packing up for the day, part of her wanted to whimper. But the other part was glad for a reprieve in which she could breathe normally.

  “Pick you up at six?” he asked as they walked out to the parking lot.

  “I can just meet you somewhere.”

  “And spoil the surprise?”

  “What surprise?”

  “Which restaurant your efforts today warrant.”

  She wrinkled her nose and forehead at him, which only made him smile and her heart start beating extra fast.

  “Fine, I’ll be ready at six.” She forced herself to walk at a casual pace and to not look back as she headed toward the house.

  When she stepped inside, she found her grandmother slicing potatoes and her grandfather searching one of the kitchen drawers. He looked up and met her gaze.

  “I’m grilling steaks tonight.”

  “Oh.” Now Avery glanced over her shoulder, but she couldn’t see the motel parking lot from where she stood.

  “You do still like steak, don’t you?”

  “Yeah. I just need to make a phone call.”

  “Did you already have plans for dinner?” Her grandmother wore a hint of a smile, and Avery got the impression Alice knew exactly what was going on. Had Jenni said something?

  “Not really. Luke said something about grabbing a bite to eat, but I’ll just call him and say I’ve got other plans.”

  “No,” both of her grandparents said at the same time.

  Avery’s stomach knotted. There was way too much hope in that single word from the two people who meant the most to her. “It’s no big deal.”

  “Luke’s a nice boy,” Alice said. “You two should go out, have some fun. Reward yourself for working so hard.”

  Avery propped her hands atop the kitchen island. “Don’t think this is more than it is, okay? We’ll probably just chat about all the people we went to school with.”

  Her grandmother gave her a shooing motion. “Yeah, that sounds good. Now go get ready.”

  Avery wanted to reiterate that she couldn’t stay in Starfish Shores. Other than them, there was nothing for her here.

  Except Luke.

  She gritted her teeth as she walked toward her bedroom for some clean clothes. Luke wasn’t hers, would never be hers, could never be hers. He had a business here, a life.

  Then why was she so nervous about simply sharing a meal with him?

  She told herself that she wouldn’t put any extra effort into getting ready. A shower and clean clothes were enough for a dinne
r with a friend, right? But damned if she didn’t find herself carefully applying makeup and fussing with her hair. Frustrated with herself, she finally decided to pull her hair up into a ponytail. But then she found herself digging through her bags of clothes for just the right thing to wear. When she uncovered the Star Trek shirt she’d mentioned, she laughed and knew it was perfect. She pulled it on and paired it with jeans and her sneakers.

  “Little underdressed for a hot date, aren’t you?” her grandpa asked as she walked into the living room.

  Avery stopped, planted her hands against her hips and stared at him. He just laughed.

  “It’s not a date.”

  “Uh-huh.” He went back to preparing the steaks for the grill as if he didn’t believe a word she said.

  Deep down, she didn’t believe it either. Didn’t want to believe it. There were worse things in the world than imagining going on a real date with Luke Taylor. She had a feeling a lifetime supply of free cupcakes and ice cream was worse than a date with Luke.

  Unable to stand the little smiles her grandparents were shooting each other, Avery grabbed her jacket and went to wait outside. The temperature had dropped some since the sun had gone down, but it was nowhere near enough to make her go back inside. Luckily, she didn’t have to wait long. Only when she saw Luke pulling into the drive, however, did she realize how it might look with her sitting outside, like she couldn’t wait to see him again.

  Okay, so that was true, but he didn’t need to know that. She didn’t need him getting any wrong ideas.

  As she stood, the door to the house opened behind her. “Have fun, dear,” her grandmother said, humor in her voice. Then she waved at Luke, who smiled and waved back.

  Once Avery was in the truck and Luke had pulled back out onto the street, he asked, “How are Jerry and Alice doing?”

  “Good. Grandpa was grilling steaks. I almost stood you up for that.”