by Wendy Knight
No easy way to answer that one. “Yes.”
“And how did you say you broke it?”
She closed her eyes briefly, praying for—for what? The floor to open and swallow her whole, preferably. “With a bunny slipper.”
Jake snorted and turned away, trying unsuccessfully to turn it into a cough. Mr. Miller’s jaw dropped, and he stared at her for several long, agonizing seconds while his hands played restlessly with his keys, probably wondering if he still needed them as a weapon. “You need some sleep, dear,” he finally said, and turned to the broken window. Jake sent her one last, amused glance before he followed his dad.
“There’s no saving this,” Jake said, breaking out remaining bits of glass. “We’ll have to replace the whole window.”
“How soon can you do this?” Mr. Miller asked. “Apparently there are possessed dogs on the loose. We can’t have this covered by cardboard for long.” The last was said in an exaggerated whisper, and he grinned at Azura over his shoulder, gray eyes twinkling.
Jake pulled out his measuring tape, taking measurements and jotting them down in a notebook he pulled out of his back pocket. “If they have the window in stock at Home Depot, I could have this done by tomorrow night, but it won’t be cheap. Windows this big are pretty costly.”
“I have renter’s insurance.” Azura sank onto the floor to watch with her back against the wall. She was too embarrassed to venture further into the living room and sit on the couch.
Jake nodded. “Of course you do.”
She had no idea how to take that, so she didn’t respond, but it sounded like he was less than impressed that she was so prepared. She hadn’t seen him since they’d broken up—a feat in and of itself since he was the building handyman. They hadn’t been together long, but Jake...
Well, he’d been ready for marriage and kids and family and Azura just wanted to graduate college and get a job.
Their difference of opinions had ended the relationship.
Jake tucked his notebook back into his pocket and his hammer in his belt. While Mr. Miller waved absently over his shoulder and made his way out of the apartment, Jake hesitated in the kitchen. “I didn’t see your car, or I wouldn’t have come.”
“It’s—having some issues.”
He frowned. “What kind of issues?”
Azura shrugged, twisting one stringy strand of hair around her finger and brushing popcorn from the folds of her shirt. Seriously, it was everywhere and the extra butter was leaving stains all over her clothes and fingers and probably around her mouth, too. “I don’t know. It wouldn’t start when I tried to come home from work this morning.”
He grunted. “You were working this morning? Sunday morning?”
It had driven him crazy how much she worked.
She nodded.
“How’d you get home?”
“I called a—” Hmm. What was Crew? A random stranger that had been unlucky enough to answer her text? They were more than that, though. He had run her off the road, after all.
And helped her clean up glass.
And turned up his truck heater full blast for her.
“—A friend.”
“You don’t have friends.” He narrowed his eyes. “Why didn’t you call me?”
“It was four in the morning, Jake. I didn’t want to wake you.”
Also, she hadn’t wanted to see him again. Ever.
Jake was nice enough on the surface. His dad was adorable and amazing, and Azura had figured Jake would be the same. But he was controlling and had a temper. He said cruel things when he got angry and never wanted her to work. He thought college was pointless—his dad hadn’t gone to college and he’d turned out well enough. Jake hadn’t gone to college and made a decent living.
Besides, she was a woman. In Jake’s mind, she was supposed to grow up, get married, and have babies. None of this learning nonsense. No thinking for herself. No education and definitely no career. Maybe, if she was lucky, he would have let her sell cute craft projects on Etsy. But that was the extent of it.
That was fine for some women, but not for her.
She’d left and never looked back.
He sighed, ran a hand through his blond hair, and turned to walk away. He paused at the door just as Holly ducked through, peering up at him with wide, confused eyes. “You can call me anytime, Azura. It doesn’t matter what time of day it is. You fell out of love with me, not the other way around. I’ll have your window fixed by tomorrow night. It might be easier if you’re not here.”
She could have pointed out that she’d never been in love with him, but now didn’t seem to be the time. “Thanks, Jake.”
CHAPTER SIX
“Crew, you’ve been staring at that blueprint for over an hour. That project isn’t going to design itself.”
Crew blinked and sat back, stretching. Since class was only fifty-five minutes long, he knew for a fact that he had not been staring blankly for an hour.
Close, but not quite.
“Got something on your mind?” The girl who sat next to him—Makenzie, maybe?—leaned closer, looking over the blueprints spread across his table. She was the only woman in the class and she was brilliant—but she downplayed it so all the guys could scramble all over each other to help her out. She sat back and watched in amusement, mostly, but Crew didn’t have time for crap like that. He had plans. He had to learn as much as possible so the company he had his internship through would hire him full-time after he graduated in the spring.
That meant he needed to get his degree and know what he was doing, or no one would take him seriously. Poor little rich kid was a thing. Everyone always thought he’d gotten everything he had in life because of his dad’s money. Yeah, he’d had a very comfortable life, but his parents had taught him to work. Crew and Katrina had both grown up helping at the magazine and they’d both had jobs the day they’d turned sixteen. They’d paid for their own cars, their own insurance, their own college tuition.
Sort of. Crew had gotten a football scholarship. But he’d earned that on his own.
“Hello?” Makenzie pursed her red lips, trying not to laugh and Crew shook his head.
“Sorry. Distracted today. Did you say something?” He shook his head like that could possibly clear the spiderwebs and let him think for the rest of the day. He’d been worried about Azura’s apartment with a broken window in the middle of winter, and only cardboard to cover it. He’d been worried about her stupid car and why it hadn’t run. He’d been worried about her anti-Christmas spirit.
The girl was a hot mess. An adorable hot mess.
Hell. She was a drop dead gorgeous hot mess.
“I said—never mind. What’s on your mind, Crew? Something I can help with? My project is almost done.” Makenzie glanced over her to her own table where not one, not two, but three guys were working on her blueprints. A wicked smile curved her lips and she winked at Crew.
He pushed away from his table and stood up. “I just need to move. I’ll be back.” She rose with him, but he was out the door and digging his phone out of his pocket before she made it past her chair.
“How are you recovering from yesterday’s chaos?”
He gnawed over the words for several seconds before he hit send, his heart racing. Never in his life could he remember being nervous to send a girl a text.
And yet, here he was.
He didn’t expect her to write back. The day before she’d only responded because she’d needed help.
Still, when his phone didn’t beep right away, he was disappointed. He jammed it back in his pocket and went back to class. For the rest of the hour, he focused on the lines in front of him and shoved any thought of a dark haired, green-eyed beauty to the back of his mind. He couldn’t be sidelined right now. He had work to do.
His phone buzzed as he was cleaning up his materials and he nearly dropped everything in his arms to dig it out of his pocket.
“I rode my bike to school. Fell three times. Someone splashed m
e with their car. I’m covered in mud.”
Crew’s eyes widened. Seriously, she had the worst luck in the world—it was almost unbelievable.
Actually, it was unbelievable.
“Chaos managed.”
He snorted, slinging his bag over his shoulder. “Need a ride home?”
“No. Thanks though.”
Of course she didn’t. Only if she was freezing to death in the middle of the night would she accept help.
“I did buy a winter coat though.”
He smiled down at his phone. “Good job. That’s the first step to Christmas acceptance.”
“Here’s your problem.” Garrett leaned across the table to point his fork toward Crew’s face. It was finals week and the cafeteria was amazingly crowded with students trying to gather their courage before their next test. Finals week sucked, but then they were done until after the new year.
Azura had never written him back after his last comment—which he was pretty sure she hadn’t been thrilled with. He’d never met anyone so anti-Christmas and he stupidly kept thinking it was a joke.
Clearly, it wasn’t a joke to her.
“You’re checking your phone again, aren’t you?” Garrett nodded. “See? I know how you work.”
Crew could never tell if Garrett was drunk or just very odd. “How do I work?”
“You don’t like to be chased. You like to be the chaser. That’s why you have a sudden new obsession.” Garrett sat back in his seat, grinning broadly and very pleased with his assessment, practically glowing from the tips of his spiky hair to his chin and the start of a goatee he kept attempting. “She’s not interested. So you are. Perfect sense.” He spread his arms wide like they should all fall down and worship him.
Katrina swatted his hands away from where they hovered over her food. “Personal space, Garrett.”
Crew snickered. They’d all grown up together and Katrina had never had a problem holding her own as the only girl.
“He’s right, though. That’s probably not the only reason you keep checking your phone. I mean, I hang out with models all summer long. I know how to spot beauty. She’s hot, Garrett.”
Garrett shrugged, pushing his French fries through the fry sauce on his tray. “Lots of hot girls hit on Crew all the time.”
Katrina nodded slowly. “It’s true. You like to be the chaser.”
There was too much noise and Crew could feel his head starting to throb. Rubbing the bridge of his nose, he muttered, “Girls who chase people like me are after the money. That’s all.”
“Come on. You’re good-looking. You’re smart. You’re funny sometimes. You’re a football player. You just need to chill.” Katrina hesitated, biting her lip. “But I understand.”
Crew had been head over heels for a girl he’d met just out of high school. She’d integrated herself into his life, coming to football practices, showing up at the same restaurants, even enrolling at the same university. He’d bought a ring. He’d made plans.
He’d found out she was using him for his money.
It was the last relationship he’d had.
“Wait. What do you mean, sometimes?” He threw a fry at his sister, frowning. “I’m hilarious all the time.”
She grinned, but she was reading the pain in his eyes, he could tell, and he didn’t need her sympathy. “I need some air. Too loud in here.” He stood abruptly, grabbing his tray. “See you guys later.”
“Wait!” Katrina and Garrett shared a quick, unspoken thought and both leaped to their feet, hauling their trays with them. “We’re coming, too.”
Katrina’s attempt to keep him from thinking of Shay.
He hadn’t thought of Shay in months. It didn’t bring the pain it used to, but Katrina couldn’t know that. “You can finish your food.”
“It’s too loud in here. My head’s gonna explode and I still have one more final.” Garrett dumped his tray and dusted off his hands. They escaped to the brisk chill outside and Crew sucked in a breath, checking his phone one more time before he gave up. “You know, her bad luck is almost unbelievable. I don’t know how she’s survived so long with all the issues she keeps having.”
“Maybe it’s a recent thing,” Katrina said, digging her hands into her pockets as they turned toward the street. “It’s bad luck to refuse a mistletoe kiss. Everyone knows that.”
Garrett raised an eyebrow. “Everyone? Or just the Christmas obsessed who are currently editing an article on Christmas myths from around the globe for daddy’s magazine?”
Crew started to respond but the bike across the street caught his attention mid-word. Or the girl riding the bike, actually.
She was hard to ignore.
“Azura!” he yelled without meaning to. Even from across the street, he could see that she was mud-splattered. She turned her head toward him, the green eyes narrowed while she searched the crowd. He could feel the second her gaze landed on him—everything got hot and he suddenly didn’t need the thick coat he’d pulled on when they’d left the cafeteria.
“Look out!” Katrina yelled.
Too late.
Azura’s bike sailed under a giant Christmas candy cane but Azura’s face wasn’t so lucky. She smashed head-first into the candy cane’s glittery, curled top and was knocked backward, landing on her butt in the snow.
“Oh my gosh!” Katrina’s hand flew to her mouth while Crew darted through the crowd and into oncoming traffic, weaving through cars as he crossed the street.
She was pulling herself to her feet when he finally made it to her side. “Are you okay?”
Her right cheek and across her forehead were skinned and already swelling, but the curve of the candy cane had missed her eyes and nose, luckily. “I—I ran into a candy cane.”
“You did. It was my fault. I shouldn’t have distracted you.” He took her arm, helping her to stand because he wasn’t at all sure she could do it on her own. Garrett picked up her bike and wheeled it back to her, holding it out wordlessly.
She took it with one hand, carefully probing at her injuries with her other hand. “Am I bleeding?” she winced. “I don’t like blood.”
Crew brushed her hair away from her forehead while she stared up at him in apprehension. “No blood, but it’s not going to be pretty in the morning.”
“Oh honey. I’m so sorry. My brother is an idiot. Let’s get you somewhere warm and we’ll assess your injuries.” Katrina looped her arm through Azura’s, leading her to the nearest building. Garrett leaned her bike against the orange brick wall and followed them inside, helpfully holding the door while Crew led Azura to a chair. “I’m even wearing a winter coat,” she was mumbling. “And appropriate footwear.”
Katrina smiled at Crew over Azura’s head.
“I know. It was my fault,” Crew said again, hoping she wouldn’t suddenly hate him like she had when she’d realized he was the one who had run her off the road. “I shouldn’t have yelled.”
She blinked at him. “How many times have you said hi to someone and they magically did not run into a giant candy cane?”
They found a line of empty chairs—probably for students to sit in while they waited for their next class to open, but the entire hallway was empty now. “I—always? I think?” Crew pulled a chair toward Azura and she lowered herself into it, still gently brushing her fingers across her face as she tried to assess the damage.
“It wasn’t your fault. It was mine. Embarrassing just doesn’t cover it these days.”
Katrina clucked her tongue sympathetically.
Crew knelt next to Azura to survey the damage. “Garrett, can you find a bathroom and maybe get some wet paper towels? Not dripping, just cool to put against her face. Katrina, my truck has a first aid kit in it.”
“I’m on it,” his sister said and disappeared in the opposite direction Garrett went. Luckily, he’d given her a ride that day or he would have just sent her off to look for a truck on a campus with several different parking lots and about 3,500 spaces. He was all f
or sibling pranks but that was just mean.
“How do you feel?” He searched Azura’s face, looking for glitter that may have gotten in the wounds. It looked like road rash, no blood but painful and would be worse the next day. Glitter would impair healing, or worse, cause an infection. Luckily, he didn’t see any.
She closed her eyes. “Like an idiot. I don’t know what’s wrong with me lately.”
Crew smiled. “Bad weather, the stress of finals and the holidays can do it to anybody.”
“Bad weather doesn’t make you break a window with a bunny slipper.”
“Well, no.” He brushed her hair away from the wounds, twisting it into the braid it had escaped from. It seemed to have a mind of its own, the way it kept trying to get caught in her new injuries. Her breath caught in her throat, but she said nothing. “But superhuman hulk strength can.”
She smiled, breathed an almost laugh, and leaned her head back against the brick. “Thank you. Again.”
“Well, it was my fault. If I hadn’t distracted you, you wouldn’t have face planted into a candy cane.” Even with road rash, she was beautiful. How was that even possible?
She winced. “I didn’t even see it. I would have run into it either way.”
She smelled like winter and ice and the barest hint of lilacs, but whenever her hair slid through his fingers, he could smell roses. It was a heady sense of a winter garden and flowers frozen in ethereal beauty.
“Here,” Garrett jogged back from the opposite end of the hall, carrying soggy brown paper towels in his hands. “Is this enough?” He knelt next to Crew and carefully spread them across her forehead and right cheek. Azura’s eyes closed again and her fingers clenched in her lap. “Does that help?”
She nodded.
Crew couldn’t remember ever being jealous of his cousin, and maybe that wasn’t what he was feeling then, but something in him ignited at Garrett’s closeness to Azura. He knew Garrett was only helping and it was completely irrational to feel anything resembling annoyance, and yet he did.