“How did it go?” he asked as Shannon invited him inside.
“Great. We got a few of his toys and books from next door, and we read together, stuff like that. I think he’s feeling a little better.”
“Uh-uh,” Jeremy declared immediately. “Not better. I wanna come back tomorrow.”
He let out an unconvincing cough and Alex covered a smile. Mr. Tibbles lay on the floor, over ten feet away from Jeremy, sending a surge of joy through him. After the disaster at the day-care center, he’d worried that Jeremy would be more bonded than ever to the stuffed rabbit, but everything seemed to be all right.
“Maybe Shannon can tell us how to decorate our own Christmas tree,” he said, trying to distract his determined son. “How about it, Shannon?”
Alex looked at Shannon in time to see another strange, altogether unreadable expression on her face. Honestly, how could a man have a prayer of figuring her out?
“I’ll give you mine. That’ll be easier,” she said. “And the train set, of course. That way you can have a tree right away.”
He’d expected anything from a polite “Sorry, I’m too busy,” to an enthusiastic “Yes,” but not such a generous offer.
He shook his head. “We couldn’t do that.”
“Daddy—”
“No, Jeremy, we can’t take Shannon’s tree. I know you like coming here because of the train and everything, but we have our own home.”
Shannon stayed silent, lips pressed together as Alex collected Jeremy’s things and said good-bye. Her eyes narrowed as the front door shut behind them, leaving her in silence.
I know you like coming here because of the train and everything…
Of all the insulting things to say.
Even if it was true, it was still rude. And it wasn’t only because of the Christmas tree and train set that Jeremy liked her. He’d liked her at the post office before they’d ever been inside her condo.
Shannon marched to the phone. Her family would think she was acting like a fool, but that was just too bad. She hadn’t known what to say when Alex asked for help with a Christmas tree, so she’d panicked and offered to give them her own tree.
Now she had a plan.
“Miranda? It’s Shannon. I have another job for you,” she said when her sister answered, then settled down to explain what she wanted.
The next day, Shannon waited until after nine in the evening before carrying various boxes out of her house and stacking them near the McKenzies’ front step.
She figured Alex was still awake since he seemed to be a night person. Lately she was even more aware of sounds on the other side of their shared wall. Bathwater ran every evening around eight, followed by rustles of noise in one of the smaller bedrooms—presumably Jeremy being put to bed. Later, long after she’d gone to bed herself, she’d hear muffled thuds and bumps and the sound of a shower from the master-bedroom suite that gradually quieted. Usually after midnight.
The lights were still on downstairs, so she tapped on the door and waited, stifling a yawn. Night was not her best time; she liked mornings.
“Shannon?” Alex said, swinging the door open. “Is something wrong?”
“Of course not. I have your tree.” She motioned to the boxes her sister had brought to the condo earlier.
“What are you talking about?”
“You wanted my help with a Christmas tree, so here it is.”
Alex blinked as Shannon grabbed a carton and pushed past him into the living room. He’d spent the evening listening to Jeremy chatter about Shannon, and couldn’t he go to her home tomorrow instead of calling the babysitter again? His son had finally gone to sleep, and now here was Shannon. In the flesh, so to speak, clad in tight black jeans and a black sweater embroidered with green and silver holly leaves across the breast and all that glorious red hair…
He let out a harsh breath.
“Where do you want me?” she asked.
He thought of saying he wanted her in his king-size bed. Much as he didn’t want to deal with those kinds of feelings, apparently he didn’t have any choice. But he didn’t have to act on them. He’d always prided himself on his self-control, determined to be different from his mother and father.
“I asked for advice on decorating a tree. I never thought you’d go out and buy something. How much do I owe you?”
She shrugged, her long hair glinting like fire. “You don’t owe me anything. This is a gift.”
“I can’t accept—”
“It isn’t for you, it’s a gift for Jeremy,” she said coolly. “I’ll set it up now, so he can be surprised in the morning when he wakes up.”
She seemed edgy, as if filled with suppressed emotion, and he frowned. “Is something wrong?”
“Heavens, what could be wrong?”
Her smile, like her voice, exuded false cheerfulness. Something was wrong, but she wouldn’t admit it. Moreover, he had the damnedest feeling she was furious.
With him.
What had he done?
Well…he had insulted her brother and generally tried to avoid her whenever he wasn’t asking a favor, both of which were probably enough to infuriate most women. But why would she go to all this trouble if she was so mad at him?
They worked in silence, carrying boxes into the house and setting up the artificial tree.
“I prefer real evergreen, but artificial trees are safer,” Shannon said as she tugged light strings around the branches. “Especially for children,” she added. “They want the lights on all the time, which dries out a cut tree and creates a fire hazard.” She sounded as if she was repeating something from a book, or something she’d heard.
It took awhile, but gradually the tree was decorated so it resembled a child’s toyland dream. Yet several boxes still remained, and when she unpacked the first two, he saw that they contained a toy train set that was far more elaborate than the one running around the base of Shannon’s own tree.
“No,” he said quietly. “I either pay for this, or you return it to the store.”
“My brother is a generous employer. I can afford it.”
“So can I.”
“I told you before, it’s a gift.”
“Why? You hardly know us.” Alex caught Shannon’s arm and pulled her around to face him. He was stunned to see unshed tears in her deep green eyes. “What’s going on?”
“You don’t want Jeremy wanting to come see me, so obviously you have to have a better tree and train set. Then he won’t want to come over and you can pretend we never met.”
Shocked, he stared into her hurt eyes, realizing how it must have sounded to Shannon the night before when he was trying to get Jeremy to leave without fussing. He hadn’t meant to suggest his son only wanted to visit her because of her tree and train. And he never would have imagined that Shannon O’Rourke, with her carefree smile and sophistication, would take his tactless words so hard.
But he should have guessed.
She’d told him that as a child she’d locked her hurt away, keeping it hidden from the world. It was obvious that she was still hiding the wounds and hurts from view.
“I didn’t mean it, not like that,” he said helplessly. “You’ve been great to Jeremy, and he really responds to you. It’s just that we’ve been through so much and he’s so little. He doesn’t understand some things. I worry about him getting attached and hoping that something will happen between us.”
“And that would be awful, wouldn’t it? Getting involved with me?” Shannon asked, the words dripping with injured sarcasm. She busied herself lifting out the train and assembling pieces of track.
Damnation.
It was his own fault for saying something so easily misinterpreted. Still, maybe he did want Shannon’s Christmas tree to be the reason Jeremy wanted to go to her home so badly. He’d spent so much of his son’s childhood in other parts of the world, then Kim had gotten sick, going so quickly, and he’d realized he had wasted three years. Three years when he could have been getting
to know his own child. And now Jeremy would rather spend time with Shannon than with his own father.
“I’m not interested in getting married again, that’s all,” he murmured. “It has nothing to do with you.”
“Of course not.”
But her hurt look hadn’t faded and he groaned silently. He didn’t deal well with mixed signals and sensitive feelings. Even with his wife he’d struggled, and Kim had been exceptionally calm and good-natured. They’d rarely argued, and then only about Jeremy.
With Shannon it seemed as if all his nerve endings were exposed. He didn’t know why, except she was alive and vibrant, and so obviously off-limits.
“You’re beautiful, Shannon, you have to know that,” Alex whispered.
“Beautiful.” She tested the word as if she’d never heard it before. “What has that got to do with anything?”
“Nothing. Everything. I was just trying to be clear.”
Shannon thought Alex was as clear as mud. She didn’t even know why she was so stirred up over such an unreasonable man. At her request, Miranda had spent half the day collecting ornaments and specialty items for that darned Christmas tree, and the second half showing Shannon how to properly decorate it.
She had it so bad for Alex, she hadn’t even tried to make light of things with her sister. She’d tersely explained the decorations were for her next-door neighbor and his little boy, and to please not ask any questions. By now everyone in the O’Rourke family would know she’d gone around the bend. They would tease and tease, and she’d toss her head and give it right back to them.
Her feelings didn’t get hurt.
She was too tough for that. Her heart might have gotten broken when she was younger, but at twenty-eight she’d seen enough of the world to know better.
Right.
And Santa Claus was going to climb down her chimney on Christmas Eve.
“These are stockings for the mantel,” she said, getting up quickly.
The mantel didn’t have anything on it. For that matter, aside from Jeremy’s bedroom, the inside of the condo was generally bleak, with only toys and books adding color to the off-white walls and beige furniture. She arranged the two stockings on their hooks, then stepped back and bumped into Alex.
“Sorry,” she muttered, jerking away as every atom in her body reacted to the contact.
Leaning down, she collected a garland of silk holly leaves and berries and arranged it on the mantel, then put two battery-operated candle lights on one end. With her sister’s design, Alex McKenzie’s living room looked quite festive.
“How’s that?” she asked.
When he didn’t say anything, she dusted her hands. “Guess I’d better get out of your way. You can finish putting the train together later.”
Before she could do something stupid like cry, she headed in a beeline for the door. She had it open a few inches when Alex’s hand slapped it shut, his breath coming raggedly as he arched over her. She twisted in the small space between him and the door and looked up.
Blue eyes, dark as a midnight sky, gazed down at her, eyes filled with regret and frustration…and heat.
“You get to me,” he said harshly. “You must know that. You’re a sexy woman and I haven’t been with anyone for over a year. But I can’t get involved with my next-door neighbor, not with my son looking on. Particularly when I don’t plan to get married again. Do you understand?”
Despite Alex’s declaration, she felt the hard bulge at the top of his thighs as he leaned into her. There seemed little difference between the muscled length of his body and the unyielding door, and an answering warmth radiated out from Shannon’s breasts.
Her arms found their way around his neck and bubbles seemed to be sliding through her veins instead of blood.
“I understand,” she said, though it wasn’t true.
Alex’s hand cupped her chin, and he pressed a kiss to her mouth, his tongue thrusting boldly inside, claiming her as easily as he breathed.
Shannon’s moan was lost in the dark, hot joining. It had never been like this with another man, so out-of-control, so improper, so very good. His thumb rubbed across her nipple, then the world spun and there was a sensation of going down, of weight descending on her. She squirmed, inviting it.
He shoved her sweater and bra out of the way and his hands closed over her breasts with a hungry demand. She arched into the caress. Suddenly, Alex froze…and a second later she knew the reason. From the second floor came the faint sound of coughing.
Alex stared at her as she breathed in deep gasps, trying to clear her head. His eyes darkened, his gaze lingering on the sensitive peaks of her breasts. Her nipples tightened as if they’d been stroked and a low moan rose from her throat. She couldn’t remember the last time she had felt anything close to the way he was making her feel.
“Daddy?” Jeremy called in the silence, still sounding hoarse from his cold. “Can I have a drink of water?”
“Stay where you are,” Alex ordered hastily. “I’ll be right up.”
Finally coming to her senses, Shannon bolted upright and yanked her clothing into place. Her first thought was escape, but Alex put a hand on her arm as she scrambled to her feet.
“You stay, too,” he said. “We have to talk.”
Chapter Six
What a mess.
Shannon sat on the floor, blindly assembling the toy train she’d brought, and tried to understand why she’d let Alex kiss her like that.
Because you wanted to kiss him, that’s why, you idiot, her conscience taunted, and she rolled her eyes. Kissing Alex was a lost cause. He’d made it clear he wasn’t getting married again, and she was tired of being single and pretending to like it.
The O’Rourkes were marrying kind of people.
Even Neil had accepted the truth, and sooner or later her youngest brother and three sisters would find their soul mates, as well. The brides would toss their bouquets and they’d go on their honeymoons and start their families. She was happy for them, but it was hard feeling left behind.
She wanted to believe she had a soul mate, too, but she’d stubbed her romantic toes too many times to have much hope of finding someone to love her as she was, domestic limitations and all.
Face grim, Alex walked down the staircase and sat on the bottom step. He didn’t say anything and Shannon tried to calm her queasiness. Was he angry, blaming her for that brief moment when the needs of his body had outweighed the caution in his mind?
Taking a deep breath, she squared her shoulders. “Aren’t you glad we got that out of our systems?” Her voice cracked a couple of times, but it was the best quip she could devise in her current state of mind.
“Did we?”
Her eyes narrowed.
If Alex said something chauvinistic or crude, she was going to kick him. “At least you could pretend.”
He sighed. “I’m not good at pretending, Shannon. I spent my childhood in a marital war zone, followed by divorced-parent hell, never knowing when the screaming was going to start. I got lucky with Kim, but I don’t expect to get lucky a second time. That’s just one of the reasons I’m not getting married again.”
“I don’t remember asking you to marry me.”
“I can’t have an affair, either. It’s nothing against you, but I have to think about Jeremy.”
Shannon glared. The male half of the human race was so arrogant, she didn’t know why women bothered with them. “That’s fine, because I also didn’t ask you for an affair. Have you forgotten I was leaving when you stopped me? Besides, it was just a kiss.”
“I’m not so sure.” Alex let out a low curse. “This isn’t going to work. I can’t let Jeremy start hoping for something that isn’t going to happen.”
“What isn’t going to work? We’re agreed we aren’t getting married, and we aren’t having an affair. So I wouldn’t worry about Jeremy getting his hopes up about anything.”
“You heard him that first night.” He gave her a moody look. “If Sh
annon was my new mommy, we could eat pizza whenever we wanted.”
Shannon sighed. Even she knew children said things they didn’t understand. “That was just wishful thinking. It surprised me, but he would have said the same thing to a ninety-five-year-old grandmother who suggested pizza for dinner.”
A faint smile pulled at Alex’s mouth. “Ninety-five?”
“Yes. You don’t actually think Jeremy knows why people get married, do you? He’s too young for that.”
“I should hope he doesn’t,” Alex said fervently. He had a sudden vision of trying to explain the birds and bees to Jeremy in a few years. It was enough to turn him gray. With his luck, his precocious little boy would start noticing girls by the time he was five.
Shannon chuckled and he looked at her. “What’s so funny?”
“You look as if you’re contemplating a snake-infested swamp.”
“Worse, I was imagining having to explain sex to my son. It’s pure luck that I’m not explaining it right now. The modified version, of course.”
“Of course.” She laughed harder, and after a moment he grinned, as well. There was nothing coy or shy about Shannon and it was surprisingly refreshing.
“Hey, someday you’ll be in my shoes and it won’t seem so funny.”
“Maybe, but it’s further away in my future.”
“Don’t you want kids?”
Her smile faltered. “One day. Maybe.” She began working on the train again and he sat next to her, fitting pieces together, as well. The town took shape, along with a small forest of trees and a mountain with a tunnel.
He sighed. “You were supposed to take this back. And here I am, helping put it together.”
“Call it a permanent loan. I don’t need two toy trains.”
He opened his mouth, then closed it again, instead snapping together the last piece of track. Jeremy would love the tree and train, but he doubted his son would talk less about Shannon just because they now had their own Christmas wonderland.
There was something about Shannon that was hard to forget. The more Alex saw of her, the less he saw the breezy sophisticate from their first meeting. He wasn’t sure if that was good or bad, because the woman beneath the surface was intelligent, charming…and ever so appealing.
Meet Me Under The Mistletoe (O'Rourke Family 5) Page 6