The fact that they were seated in not only one of the fanciest restaurants but also one of the most romantic wasn’t lost on Kimber. Twin long-stemmed roses stood in the glass vases on every table. Flames from the single candles flickered in the cool breeze from the doors open to the outdoor seating area.
Kimber cleared her throat.
“There might be something in the medical books that we can diagnose you with one of these days. Maybe you’re a commitment-phobe...or just relationship shy.”
“There’s nothing wrong with me,” Kimber clarified. “I just don’t have time for dating. I’ve got a lot I want to do, like traveling, and most men our age are looking for the same thing.” Her mind flashed to Dario standing in his bedroom in his towel—turning down her offer to be friends with benefits. She thought about the way the water droplets trickled down his chest, over his pecs and down his washboard abs. Kimber’s mouth went dry.
Vin laughed. “It’s a good thing I’m a doctor. I can revive you if you pass out.”
“I’m not going to faint or anything,” she retorted with a smirk. “The talk of relationships makes me nervous.”
“Nothing has changed,” Vin said in a matter-of-fact tone.
The man was smart, good-looking and that was all in addition to his being a doctor. But Kimber wasn’t feeling it.
“I told you this wasn’t a date,” she warned him.
“Relax,” said Vin. “I understand where you’re coming from. I don’t have time for relationships either. It’s just easier to get through the holidays when you have someone keeping you company.”
Why did his words sound so familiar? Didn’t she hint at the same thing with Dario? “I am not that person,” Kimber assured him.
“Oh crap.” Vin apologized profusely. “All that came out totally wrong.”
“I think we better call this a night, Vin.” Kimber signaled for the waiter to come over and asked for their meals to be packed up, then suggested to Vin that it was best they end their evening.
* * *
One of the selling points of his particular condo was less noise from the amphitheater across the street. But Dario hated that his side of the building didn’t face the street. The problem with the more private side was that he wouldn’t be able to see the shiny piece of tin that that Vin joker would use to bring Kimber home from their date. So what if Dario timed his evening jog for a peek at what this clown wanted to do?
It would be presumptuous of him to show up at Kimber’s door and interrupt any good-night kiss. Dario clenched his fists together at the idea of anyone else’s lips on hers. Nothing worked to take his mind off her—not working out, lifting weights or knuckle punches. The only thing he fueled was his muscles. It was after midnight when Dario couldn’t take it anymore. Kimber hadn’t bothered to call him and let him know she was home. A thousand questions went through his head.
What if the doc had her pinned down on the bed?
What if she had the doctor pinned down?
What if she tripped over the throw rug from in front of her couch and couldn’t get to the phone or the door?
Dario paced the floor from the living room to the hallway. Hamilton marched right alongside him. “What do you think, Ham?”
The pig grunted up at him. Deciding the latter was a possibility, Dario grabbed his keys and fiddled with the strings of his gray sweatpants. The hell with it, he could tie them up when he was at her door. Yanking the knob, he pulled the door open and paused for a moment.
“We have to stop meeting like this,” Kimber said, chewing her bottom lip to keep from smiling.
The little minx had switched from a little black dress to a short pink terry cloth robe. Dario couldn’t help but recall those long, smooth brown legs of hers wrapped around his waist. He cleared his throat and observed the rest of her attire. The untied sash hung down by her legs, leaving the garment open to reveal a thin pair of pink shorts and a tank top—no bra. Dario gulped. She carried an oversized aluminum-foil swan.
“You brought me leftovers?” Dario asked, taking the dish. Hamilton begged Kimber to pick him up, which she did.
“Why do you have him naked?” Kimber asked, stroking the pink ears. “I know Alisha and I don’t see eye to eye, but I know she has a few tutus around here for him to wear.”
“He’s a pig,” said Dario with a dry sigh. “And a tutu?”
Ignoring him, Kimber tapped her chin. “I saw a Christmas one online. I think I’ll get it for him.”
“The condo needs to be decorated for the holidays, not the pig.” Dario headed down the hallway. “It looks like you didn’t even touch your meal.”
“I would have only given you what I had but when I asked the waiter to pack it up, Henri came over to the table with an entire meal. He wanted me to make sure you got this,” said Kimber, “and I am supposed to tell you that payback is coming.”
Cute. Henri Duvernay thought he was going to get an advantage by fattening Dario up and slowing him down in the ring this year.
“Want to tell me what Henri’s talking about?”
“No.” Dario turned to head into the kitchen. The pitter-patter of her fuzzy slippers caused a smile to spread across his face. “You’re home late from your date.”
“It ended a while ago,” Kimber confessed. “I took a shower.”
“Cold?” Dario turned to face her, gritting his teeth in case her taunting answer was, Not alone.
Kimber shook her head then pulled her long dark hair forward over her shoulders. He couldn’t help but notice the way the curls ended just at the swell of her breasts. “You sound like a man who is speaking from experience.”
“Helps keep the mind sharp,” Dario admitted. He set the food on the counter, tempted to dig into it. “So you decided to be sweet and bring this to me now, when we already had plans to meet up tomorrow to pick out stuff for the twins’ guest room. Was your date that bad?”
Kimber exhaled deeply. “It wasn’t a date, not like you thought, and less than what Vin thought.”
“What?” he demanded.
“You didn’t seem to care if I was going on a date with someone else, so don’t get huffy now,” said Kimber. “I told Vin from the get-go I wasn’t looking for a date but it turned out he had other plans.”
“And he expected more?” Dario exited the kitchen. “I’ll kill him.”
Kimber went after him and pressed her hand against his bare chest while she cradled Hamilton with the other. His nipples stood erect, as did other things, after just a simple touch of her fingertips. “You can’t kill him. He was just hopeful there’d be sparks between us.”
“And?”
“There weren’t.” Kimber shrugged her shoulders. “I didn’t expect there to be.”
Dario glanced at her arms and saw goose bumps. “You’ve experienced them before?”
Jutting her chin forward, Kimber nodded. “I’ve gotten them, thank you very much.”
He wasn’t going to point out the way the hairs on her forearms rose when she folded her arms across her chest. Relieved, he pressed on. “So, other than no sparks, how was your evening?”
“Interesting. Vin accused me of avoiding relationships.”
The last thing he wanted to do was agree with the doctor, but the man had a point. Dario opened the foil swan. A wave of steam rose through the air, bringing the scent of a big, fat, homemade steak burger—an item not found on Duvernay’s swanky menu. Henri brought the monster burgers over a summer or two ago to the gym. The fat to meat ratio was ridiculous and yet it was so damn good. Dario’s mouth watered.
“Did you hear me, Dario?” Kimber asked.
“Hey, as a victim of one of your ghosting episodes, I’m not having this conversation with you.”
Kimber crossed her arms. “You can’t be serious. I thought we’d gotten over this.”
Instea
d of discussing the matter, Dario picked up the burger with two hands and began eating. Grease ran down his arms and into the rosemary truffle fries. Damn Henri.
“Dario, you know I left because I needed to get serious about my future.”
Dario nodded and swallowed his big bite. “And even after I knew you landed that job on the pageant circuit, you never got back in touch with me.”
What Dario liked about Kimber, besides everything, was the fact that she wasn’t pretentious, especially when it came to eating food like this. Dario handed her a fry, which she took while he reached back into the fridge for two bottles of beer. He twisted the caps off before handing Kimber hers.
“So no, I’m not having that conversation with you, Kimber,” he said. “We can share a meal, share chores this holiday season, but I am not going down that road again.”
He lied through his teeth but he knew he had Kimber right where he wanted her. She saw he’d matured, had a job that didn’t require him to be under a car all day long. Now Kimber was going to witness his self-control. The goose bumps on her arm a moment ago told him she was going to cave any day and confess how she felt about him.
“And help me discover who the creator of the tiaras is,” Kimber added.
Dario stopped chewing his fry. How did he keep forgetting about that? He needed to make sure that he didn’t sign in at the front desk at the hospital. For the life of him, he couldn’t remember what he’d done. “Uh-huh,” he said, lifting his bottle to his lips.
“I don’t think it will take too much longer,” Kimber went on. “I have an idea as to who it is.”
Heart racing, Dario tried to maintain his cool and took a drink.
“I think it was Vin.”
Beer burned the back of his throat and shot up his nose as he choked on the brew. “What?” he sputtered.
Oblivious as to why he’d choked, Kimber reached for another fry. “Don’t worry. I’m going to be cool about it.”
“Why do you think he’s behind it?”
“There were certain things he said during dinner. Last year, Vin finished his residency at the hospital when all that crap happened with the crowns for the kids. I didn’t bring it up at the time, but the more I think about it, the more I’m leaning toward it being him.”
Dario drained his beer and belched. “He doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy who can bend steel.”
“He took a shop class in high school,” Kimber said with a bit of mischief behind her voice.
“Sounds like there’s more to that story.”
Kimber shrugged. “I’m just saying I know he took a shop class and passed with an A.”
“And you know this how?”
“Well,” Kimber began with a nibble on her bottom lip, “the class was a requirement back then, and he was struggling. But he had a tutor who helped out.”
“Southwood is a friendly town but why would another high school student help?”
“Oh, just because the guy who helped him pass did so to get Vin, who was Marvin at the time, to pretend to date me.”
Dario wished he had another beer. “Why?”
“You’ve met my uncles—there was no way I was going to be allowed to date the captain of the football team.” Hamilton tried pressing his snout toward her bottle of beer so Kimber set him down on the floor.
“This story just gets better and better.”
“Jealous?” Kimber playfully pinched his elbow.
Yes, he thought. “Hardly,” he answered. “So, what happened between you and the star football player?”
“We didn’t see eye to eye about a lot of things.”
“Like?”
“Like he wanted to use his scholarship and get a degree and come back here and teach PE.”
Dario chuckled. “You don’t like teachers?”
“I didn’t like the idea of settling back in Southwood, so I broke up with him when he went off to college.”
“Couples can work things out, you know,” said Dario, although if she had, she might be married with a few kids by now instead of at his place after midnight. Kimber’s heavy sigh told him it was a moot point. “You don’t seem bothered by it,” Dario noted.
Kimber shrugged his shoulders. “It was perfect timing for him to leave. Hey, let’s watch TV. There’s this great Christmas movie based off a book by Lacey Baker.”
Avoidance. Why wasn’t he surprised? “Hmph,” he huffed.
“What?”
“I don’t know—you were saying something earlier about commitment phobia.”
The playful pinch on his elbow turned into a harsher one. Dario grabbed Kimber’s beer and drained the rest of it, all while trying not to laugh.
Chapter 6
After staying up all night and talking after Kimber’s non-date with Vin, and the plans for moving the pageant to the hospital, Kimber and Dario headed down to the town center—like everyone else who wanted a fresh Christmas tree.
A tree stand stood next to City Hall and was packed with customers young and old, inspecting all the limbs, needles and height of the varieties. Kimber had looked forward to this as a child. Afterward, her parents would take her to get a hot chocolate at The Cupcakery. The tradition would still stand. But they still had work to do. Dario’s condo wasn’t fully decorated, the pageant contestant list wasn’t finalized and Kimber was no closer to ordering a tiara for Lexi.
“I think with the way y’all’s balcony opens up and has that beautiful view of the stream, this tree would be perfect,” Kimber said, standing in front of the six-and-a-half-foot tree with her hands on her hips. She craned her neck to see the top. The open space in Dario’s living room would be the ideal spot.
“You like this one?” Dario asked, standing close behind her.
The weather in Southwood had begun to reflect the time of year. It was never cold enough to snow, but chilly enough for Kimber to make use of her camel-colored wool jacket. Even through the thick material, the warmth of Dario’s body was welcome.
“I think it’s great. Look how the lower branches are high enough that Ariana and Justin won’t get into them.”
“Don’t be too sure,” Dario said stroking his chin. “They may be three, but they give their parents a run for their money at the playgrounds.”
The image of a tiny Dario giving his parents hell brought a giggle to her throat. Kimber glanced upward and inhaled deeply at the sight. A few gray strands of hair stood out in his shadow on his rugged jaw. When he noticed her stare, he looked down and smiled. Without taking his eyes off her, Dario spoke to the kid. “We’ll take this one.”
Kimber beamed. “You sure?”
“You said it was perfect,” Dario said with a shrug, “That’s good enough for me. How about some hot chocolate before we meet up with the photographers?”
The change of venue had opened up the Christmas Pageant for more entrants. People did not care that they had three weeks to get ready. This was pageant territory—everyone came prepared. Dario had suggested she interview camera crews from the local area. With Lexi’s early morning blessings, they’d updated Grits and Glam’s Instagram page to inform their followers of where they’d be later to talk to photographers. It made sense. She wondered if this was part of the urban planning skills he’d picked up from his job in Dubai, something he’d mentioned as they’d talked until sunrise. When Dario clarified what he’d been doing there, Kimber felt silly for thinking he’d been looking for a job. Hell, he had a job—a serious job too.
“Do we have time?”
“I’m driving,” said Dario. “So, of course we do. Let me finish up here with the delivery.”
Kimber stepped aside to admire a few of the wreaths. She figured she needed one for her door and one for Dario too. Picking a couple with full pine-green needles and a fresh wintery scent, she took them up to the counter, not intending to eaves
drop on Dario’s conversation.
“And a dozen of the five-foot ones delivered on the twenty-third,” Dario said on the low before pushing a business card across the countertop with his blunt index finger. He tossed a glance over his shoulder and straightened up in a sketchy way.
“While you’ve surprised me with a lot about your life in the last twenty-four hours,” Kimber began, cocking her head to the side, “I never pegged you as a botanist.”
Brows furrowed together, Dario chuckled. “What?”
“Or forestry guy. Whatever they’re called. All those trees you just ordered,” she said, pointing at the makeshift counter. “I’m assuming you’re going to do something special with them out at the ranch?” When a light shade of red tinted Dario’s cheeks, Kimber narrowed her eyes at him. “Want to tell me what’s going on?”
“Like you said, you learned a lot about me last night,” Dario said, tapping the slope of her nose with his index finger. “Now, how about we head over to Peachville now and get that hot chocolate.”
“Did I hear my name?”
Lilly Stringer stepped between Kimber and Dario on the straw-covered path that led back to his black Hummer. Kimber swatted long strands of bright candy cane–red hair that caught on her glossy lips when Lilly flipped it over her shoulder. Kimber wondered if Lilly taught her kids to be this petty. She probably did, Kimber thought. A few years ago, Philly had had her first taste of bullying at the hands of Lilly’s sixth grader. Kimber had taken the lead after a visit with the principal did not work out. She made a deal with Lilly that if her kid didn’t stop bullying Philly, she’d personally see to it that the congregation at Southwood Baptist would learn exactly how Lilly had earned her coveted position as the choir director’s assistant.
It was no secret that after Lilly’s divorce she’d made friends with Dario. The Crownes began to migrate to Southwood five years ago, when Dario was still in college. He came up from Miami during the breaks and managed to make a lot of lady friends—which was why Kimber had kept her distance from Dario in the beginning. Though she knew firsthand how easy it was to fall under the spell of his charm.
Christmas with the Billionaire ; A Tiara for Christmas Page 23