Baby It's Cold Outside

by Yardley, Cathy

  My father would be so ashamed of me.

  She closed her eyes against the pain of that observation.

  Colin was insistent, though, finally holding her in a careful embrace. “I’m sorry,” he said softly. “I’m sorry. You’re absolutely right. I’ve got no reason whatsoever to be jealous or to take it out on you. I’m sorry.”

  She didn’t say anything. Instead she leaned her head against his shoulder.

  “I might not like the town. But I like you. More than I realized, until tonight.

  More than I thought I could, especially in such a short period of time.”

  At that, she laughed weakly. “Well, technically, we’ve known each other for years.”

  “Not like this.” He tipped her chin up, pressing a slow, gentle kiss against her pliant lips. “It’s more than physical. I feel like I’ve gotten to know you better in the past week than in the past ten years.”

  “I know,” she marveled.

  “I don’t want you to feel like what we’re doing is something you should be embarrassed about,” he said, looking deep into her eyes.

  She couldn’t help it. She looked away.

  She heard him growl softly with frustration, and he rubbed his chin over the top of her head as he held her tight. “This is more than just a fling,” he said.

  “You’ve got to know that.”

  Emily wanted to believe it. But wasn’t that the characteristic of a good fling? Feeling as though it would go on forever—and at the same time that intensity of knowing that it was going to end abruptly?

  She’d never had one before, but that was what she’d always assumed—and whatever she had with Colin seemed to be no exception.

  “I know it’s selfish—and jealous,” he said. “But I don’t want you to go out tonight. Not out with some other man.”

  She shook her head, pulling herself gently away. “How many times do I have to tell you? It’s not like that. It’s not anything.”

  “It’s enough,” he argued.

  Her phone rang and she answered it gratefully. “Hello?”

  “Hi, Em,” Tim said cheerfully. “I’m downstairs, ready for our date.”

  She winced at the term. “Okay. Let me get my coat on. I’ll be down in a minute.” She hung up, then looked up at Colin.

  “I’ll be back soon,” she said. “And if you still want to enjoy our last night together, then we will. But I’m not putting my life on hold for you, Colin. Not when I know this can’t go anywhere.”

  With that, Emily walked out the door, feeling a lot less sure than she sounded…especially when she had to turn her back on the gorgeous man staring at her each step of the way.

  * * *

  “This ought to be fun,” Joy enthused. “Thanks so much for asking me. I’ve been dying to check out the town’s festivals—and I hear the Holiday Ball is one of their favorite occasions.”

  “No problem,” Colin said, adjusting his tie.

  This was probably a bad idea, but he was trying to prove a point. Seeing Emily walk out the door tonight felt wrong. Even though she’d assured him that nothing would happen—and correctly pointed out that it wasn’t his business if anything did happen—it still felt wrong.

  He wanted a relationship with her. He had no idea how that was going to work, but he knew damned well that it wasn’t going to work at all if she insisted on dating other guys. Call him funny, but he felt pretty strongly about that.

  “Am I dressed okay?”

  He looked at Joy. She was dressed to kill in a midnight-blue velvet cocktail dress that left little to the imagination. Her blond hair was pulled up in a sexy chignon.

  “You’re stunning,” he said. “You’ll be the talk of the party.”

  More to the point, they would be the talk of the party, he thought as they walked into the mayor’s mansion, where the Holiday Ball was held. The beautiful out-of-towner with the town’s notoriously commitment-shy black sheep. It would probably be Tall Pines’s juiciest gossip of the night. There was no way Emily wouldn’t hear about it.

  If she couldn’t understand how he felt, then he’d have to give her a taste of her own medicine. She’d see how it felt to watch someone you cared about in the arms of someone else, platonic or not.

  “Well, Colin!” Evelyn Albee was working the door, signing people in. “Of all the people I expected to see here, I certainly wasn’t expecting you. And who’s your lovely companion?”

  “This is Joy Webster. She’s a guest over at the hotel,” he said, paying the entrance fee. “She had nothing to do tonight, so we figured we’d enjoy the party.”

  “They’ve outdone themselves this year,” she said as she checked in their coats—and took a long, scrutinizing look at Joy’s dress—or lack thereof. “You two have a good time.”

  “We plan to,” he replied with a wink.

  If that didn’t get tongues wagging, nothing would.

  He led Joy into the room, and for a split second the sound was reduced to a murmur as they walked in. He felt uncomfortably conspicuous and remembered abruptly why he particularly disliked these town functions. He was a bit of an introvert by nature, and while business had toughened him up, he still didn’t love being in a loud and noisy crowd.

  Especially now. After the initial surprise, people descended on the two of them like hawks on baby chickens.

  “Colin!” This from Mr. Rutledge, one of the oldest and most venerable of the town’s citizens. “It’s been years! What have you been doing with yourself? And more importantly, who’s this pretty lady?”

  Colin introduced Joy around, and she was winning, charming and very, very outgoing—something of a relief, since it took the pressure off him. He endured several winks and nudges. Automatically, it seemed, they’d paired the two off.

  The place was probably ripe with conjecture: Were they having an affair? Had Colin Reese finally fallen in love?

  The damned thing being he was pretty sure he had fallen in love. Just not with Joy Webster.

  “I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

  He turned at the masculine comment, only to find that the mayor himself had made the comment…and Emily was right there by his side.

  “I’m getting that a lot tonight,” Colin said, his voice wry. “We didn’t have anything else to do and thought we’d drop by.”

  “Emily, this is fantastic,” Joy gushed. “And your town does stuff like this all the time? It’s like being transported into a Norman Rockwell painting!”

  “So glad we’re entertaining,” Emily said.

  Joy looked taken aback by Emily’s chilly demeanor. “I’m not being condescending.

  I mean it. I love it here.”

  Her sincerity must have made Emily feel guilty. “I’m sorry,” she said.

  “Sometimes people get the mistaken impression that because we’re quaint, we’re also hicks, and they write Tall Pines off as a lame small town.”

  Colin was the one who felt guilty, even though Emily hadn’t glanced his way once as she’d made the comment.

  “Beautiful, sure. But lame?” Joy shook her head. “What idiot would think this gorgeous little place was lame?”

  Now Emily looked at Colin. He cleared his throat, uncomfortable.

  “I could live here,” Joy enthused, smiling brightly. Colin stared at her, surprised. He knew that she was bubbly by nature, but he hadn’t realized just how much she really loved the small town. “This has been just the change of pace I’ve been looking for…and I didn’t know how badly I needed it until I got here.” She gave Colin’s arm a squeeze.

  “Well, I’m glad you’re having a good time,” Emily replied.

  There it was again—that tone. This time Joy didn’t pick up on it, but Colin felt it like an ice pick in his chest.

  “Could you direct me to the ladies’ room? I want to make sure my hair’s okay,” Joy asked Emily, and Emily excused herself, leaving Colin with Tim.

  “It’s good to see you here tonight,” Tim said, taki
ng a sip of his drink. “Your parents are such huge supporters of the town, and I know they miss seeing you.”

  Colin felt like a world-class jerk. “It’s good to be here,” he responded, trying hard not to sound like a sham.

  “And that’s some date,” Tim said, letting out a low, appreciative whistle. “Your mom always said you dated supermodels.”

  “She’s an acquaintance,” Colin pointed out quickly. “Someone I met at the inn. She didn’t have anything to do, so I thought I’d take her out for a bit. Nothing more than that.”

  Tim’s face showed he wasn’t buying it. “Must be nice. Living the dream, huh?”

  “What about you?” Colin said. “Here you are, mayor for two terms and you’re just, what, thirty-six?” He paused. “And now dating Emily.”

  “Yeah,” Tim said, taking another sip. “It’s all falling into place. The thing is, she’s like royalty around here. Not to mention she’d be a perfect politician’s wife.”

  Colin stared at him, aghast. “You’re going to marry her?”

  The crowd went quiet at that statement. Tim rubbed at his temples with his fingertips.

  “Why does everyone feel compelled to yell that particular observation?” he asked, sounding embarrassed yet amused. “I don’t know if I’m going to marry her.

  All I know is we’re good friends, I haven’t met anybody who fits the bill better and she’d be a great politician’s wife. That doesn’t necessarily mean she’d be my great politician’s wife.”

  “But you’re trying it on,” Colin supplied, feeling ire bubble through his bloodstream. He strongly repressed the urge to clock good old Tim with a strong right hook.

  “No. She’s trying it on,” Tim corrected, and Colin didn’t feel any better.

  “Despite what town gossip spreads, we’re just friends.”

  Colin felt his heart rate slowly calm back down. Until Tim’s next statement.

  “For now, anyway,” he amended. “By Valentine’s Day, I imagine, we’ll know if it’s more than that.”

  Colin saw red, and it had nothing to do with Valentine’s.

  Joy returned to them, but Emily was nowhere to be seen. “Where’s Emily?” he asked.

  Joy looked at them, puzzled. “She said she needed to get some fresh air. I think she headed out for the balcony.”

  “Fresh air?” Tim sounded aghast. “It’s twenty degrees out!”

  “Will you excuse me?” Colin said. “I, er, need to…use the restroom.”

  With that lame exit, he left Joy happily chatting with Mayor Tim, who looked flustered at the beautiful blonde’s attentions. Colin quickly went in search of Emily, who no doubt didn’t feel the cold. She had fury to keep her warm.

  * * *

  Emily wandered the upstairs hallway. She’d gone out on the balcony, but without a coat, the below-freezing weather had turned her back. Still, for a second the cold air had been a welcome balm on her burning skin. She wasn’t burning with embarrassment, she was red-hot with indignation.

  How dare he! She’d been miserable most of the night, despite Tim’s obvious efforts at being a good host and fun date. The problem was she’d felt guilty at leaving Colin alone. At treating him like a booty call, some kind of convenient sex toy. She tried to soothe her bruised conscience by telling herself that the arrangement was one they’d both agreed to, the sex was phenomenal, but he was leaving and there was no way they could have anything more permanent.

  Nonetheless, she’d still felt lousy.

  Then, all of a sudden, she’d heard the buzzing of people around her at the ball, at around the same time she’d been about to plead a headache and head back to the hotel and Colin’s supposed waiting arms. Only to find that he had gone and asked Joy Webster, her guest and his “type,” to come to the Holiday Ball instead.

  Apparently waiting wasn’t really his thing.

  Jealousy reared its ugly head, but it was dwarfed by the magnitude of her anger at his attempts to manipulate her. The statement he was trying to make was patently obvious: what was good for the goose, aka Emily, was good for the gander. Otherwise known as Colin. And Joy was giving Colin and the rest of the guests a real gander with that dress.

  That wasn’t nice, especially since she actually liked Joy. But she still felt the fires of competition, which was stupid, since it wasn’t as if she could keep Colin anyway—he was leaving. Tomorrow, in fact. Therefore, he wasn’t even hers to fight for.

  She gritted her teeth, rubbing the back of her neck, the base of her skull. At this rate, she wasn’t going to have to fake that headache.

  “Emily?”

  “Oh, great. Just the person I needed to see,” she said sarcastically, turning her back on Colin as he hurried toward her. “You didn’t abandon Joy, did you?”

  “I had to find you,” he said. “I needed to explain.”

  Her eyes widened. “You’ve got an explanation for this?”

  “Yeah.” He stroked her shoulder. “I’m an idiot.”

  “I knew that!” She jerked away from him.

  “I only asked her because I wanted you to know how I felt,” he confessed.

  “That’s small, I know. But I hated seeing you go off with another guy.”

  She bit her lip. “I didn’t like seeing you with Joy,” she admitted.

  “Thank God for that.” He tentatively put an arm around her shoulders, and she didn’t move away. He pressed a quick kiss on her temple, and she felt her headache recede. “I ran into Joy in the dining room, and she said that she wished she was doing something tonight, and I thought I’d ask her here. That way, she’d have something to do, and you’d finally realize why I was so upset when you left with Tim.”

  Put that way, it didn’t sound half as selfish and petty as she wanted to believe it was.

  Colin paused, irritation crossing his handsome face. “Did you know the mayor’s thinking about marrying you?”

  She rubbed at her eyes. “Actually, yeah.”

  “And you’re okay with that?” Colin sounded outraged.

  “It’s only come up the once,” Emily said lamely.

  Colin stared at her intently. “I want you, Emily.”

  Her body reacted like a furnace kicking on. “I want you, too,” she whispered.

  “But more than that,” he said, holding her in a loose embrace. “I care about you. I can’t believe how much or how quickly…but I do.”

  Now the heat in her body settled into a strong, steady warmth in her chest. “I care about you, too. It’s weird, isn’t it?”

  He laughed, hugging her. “Yeah. It’s pretty strange.”

  They stood like that, hugging casually. She rested her head against his chest, hearing his strong, steady heartbeat pulsing beneath her ear.

  “You did all this just to get even with me,” she said, and she heard his low chuckle reverberate through his rib cage.

  “I never said I was the sharpest knife in the drawer.”

  She laughed, too. “Well, it worked. When you walked in with her, I was furious.

  I’ve never been so jealous in my life.”

  He leaned down, expertly pressing a kiss on the nape of her neck and causing her to gasp at the sensation. “Now you know how I felt. The idea of anybody else touching you…”

  She hated the thought of it. Of him touching Joy. Or anybody.

  For that matter, of anybody else touching her.

  You’re getting in way too deep.

  “You’re still leaving tomorrow,” she said softly as his kisses grew more insistent, tracing down the exposed flesh of her back. His hands followed the path his mouth took, as if smoothing his kisses into her skin.

  “I know.” He sighed, pulling away.

  “So we’ve only got tonight.”

  “I know,” he repeated.

  She paused. “I was going to tell Tim I wanted to go home.”

  “I told Joy that I wouldn’t stay long,” he said. “She said she’d go back to the hotel later without me.”

>   Emily felt a fever of anticipation start to bloom through her, starting with her stomach and radiating outward, pulsing between her legs. One last night. One last, memorable night.

  “Let’s go, then.” Turning to him and getting on tiptoe, she kissed him softly…then with growing urgency.

  He growled against her lips, his hands roaming her back. She pressed herself fully against him, her hands jetting inside his jacket and wrapping around his waist, holding him to her. The kiss got out of control quickly, like a match held to dry kindling. It was all Emily could do not to undo some of his buttons then and there.

  She’d never responded this way to anyone. It was as if he were a walking, breathing aphrodisiac, and she simply couldn’t get enough.

  “I don’t suppose the mayor’s got a convenient boiler room nearby,” Colin finally said shakily, resting his forehead against hers. “I’d settle for a broom closet.”

  “We need to get back to the hotel.” Her own voice was unsettled. “In the next few minutes. If not sooner.”

  “Maybe the cab…” he teased.

  She had an image of the two of them in the darkened back of a taxi, their hands roaming under cover of the night. His fingers dipping into her through the slit in her dress. He’d find out soon enough that she was wearing garters instead of stockings, and she’d picked out the underwear with him in mind….

  She moaned softly, biting her lip. As if reading her mind, he grabbed her for one last, long, lingering kiss. She rubbed her pelvis against his, just a suggestion of what she really wanted to do. He groaned, and she felt the hardness of his cock jutting against the fabric of his pants, pressing into her stomach.

  “Now,” she insisted. “We’ve got to leave now.”

  They turned…and promptly bumped into Evelyn Albee.

  “I hope I’m not interrupting anything,” she said, and from her tone, it was obvious that she’d already witnessed more than they’d intended.

  “No,” Emily lied, fighting to keep her voice calm and her cheeks pale. If she blushed now, it would probably be the rosy blossom of desire, not embarrassment…but it’d be a close call as to which was stronger. “We were just, er, leaving.”

  “What were you two doing off by yourselves?”