Mick Jagger sang “Lonely Without You (This Christmas)” over the speakers, filling the car with more emotion than a simple car ride should have.
Somewhere in there, Miranda found her voice again.
“Harrison said it took a while to convince you.”
“Yeah. I had to give up on a few things. But eventually they wore me down.” He shifted in his seat. “It’s better this way. I sold the house, there’s no reason to pay for something no one is living in. And you know how the living cost in Boston only continues to skyrocket.”
She snorted in agreement.
“Staying at a hotel is cheaper for me overall. I only pay for what I need and I’m on the road more days than not. I keep some of my stuff, like my truck, in storage over at Luke’s place.”
“It’s not really home, though,” she pointed out.
“No,” he agreed.
They fell into silence as the drive continued. Miranda let her mind drift over all that had been revealed and wondered if she should add to it. They seemed to be in a sharing a mood and she didn’t hate it. Even though it made her uncomfortable.
But sometimes if she could push through discomfort, she’d find another little part of herself she liked.
“I have a little apartment in Thompson Square.”
He shifted to face her a little more. “Yeah? You always talked about living there.”
“It’s the size of a postage stamp but I like it.”
“The state must pay pretty well, huh?”
“I do all right.” She laughed. “I don’t have any ridiculous expenses though. Besides my car, the most I’ve spent money on is my phone.”
“How’d those school loans turn out for you? Finally get those paid off?”
She groaned. “Ugh. They are paid off finally. Thank God. Without the scholarships I’d had, I probably would still be living at home. I don’t know how other people do it.”
He didn’t reply and she wanted to kick herself. Carl had had to drop out of school before he finished his degree because his dad had died and his financials had fallen apart.
“Do you have roommates?” he asked.
“Nope. Just me. I keep thinking I might get a cat though. What about you? Do you have roommates…er, I mean. I know you’re in a hotel.” She shook her head at her silly slip up.
“Yeah, no roommates there.” He chuckled and Miranda’s cheeks heated.
She turned into the circle drive of the Marriot and parked by the main door.
“Thanks for the ride,” he said giving her a soft smile.
“Not a problem. I’ll see you tomorrow?” she asked sounding too hopeful.
“You can count on it.” He swung his legs out the door and twisted back to face her. “Ran? Just so you know, even when I had a house and I was looking to settle down, there wasn’t anyone.”
Wait.
Was he saying…?
“I’m not sure I know what you mean,” she admitted.
His brown eyes gazed at her in the sparkle of the lights of the overhang and she knew she should brace herself. But she didn’t.
“There’s only ever been you.”
Chapter 5
Footprints
MIRANDA
“Where’s Gerard? In Maine with Stella?”
“Ah, no. He’s in London on business. He should be home on Christmas Eve. Lift your end a little higher.”
Carl raised the end of the garland and held it there. Miranda twisted a branch around a hook and worked her way down the top of the doorway until she’d made it to his side.
“Thanks.”
He let go and stepped off the stool he’d been standing on.
She finished securing the end and got down from her own step ladder to admire her work.
“Perfect,” Carl complimented.
Miranda nodded in agreement and turned back to the list. She’d stayed up late last night writing down everything she needed to get done by the end of the day and so far, they were rocking it.
Though if it had only been her, this would have taken all week.
“What were your plans this week?”
She looked up at Carl and frowned, not understanding his question.
Carl picked up another roll of garland and began unraveling it. “Last night you said you had stuff going on this week that you’d need to move around,” he clarified for her.
“Oh, right.” She reached over and took the other end of the lengthy greenery and began to help. “It’s well, it’s not really public information yet. But I need to clean out my office at work. Because I got a new job.”
“Really? Where at?”
“The Fine Arts and Heritage Museum. As the curator.”
“Ran,” Carl said, awe in his voice. “That’s amazing.”
She smiled and looked away. “Thanks.”
It felt good to be complimented on her job decision, even if she wasn’t so sure about it herself.
“Are you excited about it?” he asked.
She made a clicking noise with her teeth as she thought how best to answer that.
“It’s going to be different. I’ll make more money. And I know I’ll be good at it. But it’s a big change.” She laughed to herself. “I almost didn’t take the interview. When they called me with the offer, I thought they were joking.”
Carl regarded her with careful affection. “You’ve never seen your own greatness as easily as the rest of us see it.”
Miranda swallowed and looked away. She decided to work on the big wreath that usually hung over the inside of the main entryway.
The sliding glass door off the side of the living room opened and commotion stumbled through.
“It’s a shame The Darkness hasn’t put out an entire Christmas Album.”
“It’s probably better for the church people if they don’t.”
“True story. Hey, Ran, where do you want the tree? Also, how many spiders is too many?”
Miranda set down the wreath she was working on and went over to where Blake and Sway were piecing together the artificial tree.
They’d only been at what one might consider “hard work” for about an hour.
Miranda had been more than surprised when she’d parked in the driveway that morning to find it already full of cars and people.
Apparently, Carl had gotten on the phone the night before and harangued Blake, Harrison, and Sway into coming over the next day to help.
At first Miranda had been a little disappointed that they weren’t going to be working alone together. All day.
Especially after her restless night filled with vivid dreams about brown eyes and reluctant smiles.
But when reality had finally sunk in, she decided having the boys there as a buffer was a much better option.
It would help keep her focused and help prevent her from, oh, say, falling off a ladder right into Carl’s waiting arms.
Because as much as she loved hearing those words from him last night, it was all still very uncertain.
They barely knew each other anymore.
It was one thing to make romantic platitudes based on feelings they had shared more than a decade ago. But both of them were in completely different lives and mindsets than they used to be.
It really wasn’t as simple as picking up where they’d left off.
Yeah, the twenty-year-old inside her was still over the moon for him.
It was easy to look at him and think in absolutes: always, forever, every.
But just as fast, he’d say or do something that was new to her and all those absolutes fell away.
It had to be similar for him.
Because she damn well knew she wasn’t the same as she used to be.
Every once in a while, she would catch this look on his face, like he was trying to figure her out. But then she’d blink, and it’d be gone.
“This is not good,” she said taking a large step back from the tree. “Get it out. Out of the house now.”
Blake hefted the
tree and hurled it through the sliding glass door from where they’d brought it.
Sway slammed the door shut and locked it as if the tree would try to come back.
“Wasn’t it covered or anything?” she asked resisting the urge to brush her hands down her arms to get rid of the creepy crawly feeling that had started.
Blake hummed as he thought. “Hmm, not really. There was a drop cloth sort of cast to the side.”
“Great.” Miranda filled her cheeks with air and blew it out. “We have no tree.”
“I could take the Shop Vac to it and try to get rid of the spiders,” Blake offered.
“I don’t want to risk it. They’ll be little kids here for the whole week. What if someone gets bit?”
“So what do we do?”
“Get a new one? And burn the old one?”
“I call the burning!” Sway volunteered, his hand shooting into the air.
“Yeah, ‘cause that’s what Massachusetts needs. More unjustified burnings,” Blake deadpanned.
“What’s going on? Who’s burning?” Carl joined them at the sliding glass door.
“I’m not really sure,” Miranda mumbled. “This really got away from me.”
Carl curled his hand around the back of her neck and gave it a gentle squeeze. “We’ll figure something out. Try not to worry.”
She swallowed hard if only to keep from having a very intense freak out.
Blake’s eyes bounced from Carl’s hand on her neck to her face and he shot her a wink. She wanted to throw something heavy at him.
Carl released her and herded Sway and Blake out the door.
Miranda took a centering breath and went back to work on the wreath.
A few moments later Carl came back inside.
“The tree is a problem.” His face was extra scowly and she had to focus on not smiling. Because it was too cute. “But I sent Blake and Harrison with my truck to get a new one.” He rubbed the space between his eyebrows with a middle finger. “Assuming they don’t want me to murder them later, they should be able to handle it.”
“That’s why you sent Harrison, isn’t it?” she guessed. “Because he’s the most responsive to death threats.”
Carl smirked and moved to the list to see where they were at. “I told them to get a pre-lit one to save time.”
“Those are expensive, Carl,” Miranda reminded him unnecessarily.
He rolled his eyes her direction. “I get to spend my bonus how I choose.”
She shrugged, trying to fight her smile. “Your call, babe.”
Sway opened the sliding glass door and stuck his head in. His long hair blended in with the cream-colored faux fur liner of his hood and his nose was red from the cold.
“You want me to put up all the lights?” he asked Carl.
“Not yet. Get in here and help Miranda hang this wreath,” Carl directed.
Miranda paused on her way up the ladder. Sway hurried and took his coat and gloves off but left his stocking cap on.
“Get down from there, beautiful,” Sway said with chin lift.
Had anyone else said that to her and she’d have given them a butt chewing. But it was Sway and that’s how he’d always spoken to her. And her mom. And her sister. He just liked women. He called them all beautiful because he honestly saw them that way.
She stepped off the ladder and Sway scurried up it like he’d done it a hundred times. He bent over, bracing one hand on the rail and making Miranda uncomfortable as he reached for the large wreath in her arms. But she handed it over anyway, trying to remember where she’d left her phone in case she needed to call 911 in the next five seconds.
But Sway balanced the wreath in one hand and finished climbing to the designated hook twelve feet up.
“Is it straight?” he asked over his shoulder.
“A little to the right,” she guided.
He made the adjustment and then it was perfect.
He came back down the ladder.
Carl was nowhere to be seen.
Miranda glanced at the pile of decorations they’d been working through and noticed the bin for the main floor bathroom was missing.
“So how are things going in here?” Sway asked, getting her attention.
“Great! We’re moving so fast through the list, we might get it all done today.”
Sway nodded and crossed his arms over his chest. “Yeah, but how are things?”
“What do you mean?” She narrowed her eyes, trying to decipher his tone.
“Things.” Sway bugged his eyes out. “You know. You and Carl things.”
Miranda rolled her eyes and shoved Sway towards the door. “You’re being ridiculous.”
“Am I?” Sway picked up his coat. “Or are you blushing?”
She shook her head and decided to ignore him. Crazy kid.
“You should know I saw him checking out your butt.”
Miranda spun around, agape. But Sway was already closing himself back outside, laughing hysterically.
That little shit.
“He sounds like a jackal when he thinks he has a secret,” Carl said returning to the living room.
Miranda sucked in a breath, suddenly self-conscious about being alone with Carl. She backed against a wall.
“What’s wrong with you?” he asked, noticing her nervous movements.
“Nothing,” she lied.
He flattened his expression, not believing her.
“Sway said you looked at my butt,” she confessed, her neck and cheeks flaming with heat.
Carl smirked. “He caught that?” He walked over to the table with the list and ran his finger down the piece of paper, scratching off one line. “But to be fair, I saw you looking at mine more than once. So maybe we can call it even.”
Miranda’s mouth hung open.
Carl grabbed the corresponding bin and headed for the hallway. He shot her a wink before turning around and giving her a view of the butt in question.
She resisted looking at it even as he did an exaggerated saunter down the hallway.
Well, maybe she looked a little.
***
The boys returned a short time later with a massive tree.
Flocked with glitter.
It wasn’t exactly what they’d been told to get.
It took all five of them to assemble it.
“I knew I should’ve gone with,” Carl said rubbing the furrow deepening on his brow.
Harrison huffed. “No. We have a plan, okay?” He held up two large rolls of white lights. “We got extra lights, and with the glitter on the tree, no will notice there’s no bulbs this year.” He pumped his eyebrows like he was impressed with his own idea. “Because, we need to be honest about our abilities here. No one has time for the hours it’ll take to decorate that beast.”
Miranda shrugged and exchanged a look with Carl.
“The kid makes sense,” she said.
Carl rolled his eyes, but she saw the twitch in his lips that said he agreed.
“Okay,” Carl put his hands on his hips and Miranda recognized it as his getting-down-to-business stance. He only used it on the guys. It was hilarious. “But here’s how it’s going to work. You get those lights on and looking good before you get to eat. Understand?”
Harrison’s face paled and he looked between the tree and Carl. Finally, he nodded.
***
CARL
Carl took a deep breath and smelled the freshly brewed coffee.
He spotted Miranda in the breakfast nook where they used to study back in the day.
She was curled up with a blanket over her lap and a steaming mug in her hands, her gaze pointed out the window.
She’d taken down her hair and it hung in soft, dark waves all around her shoulders.
She was a picture of beauty.
“I have some good news and some bad news.”
She turned to face him and with the full weight of that beauty aimed at him, he found his shoulders relaxing and his stomach uncurling.
“Hit me,” she said.
“The outdoor lights are almost finished. But Sway is the one on the roof.”
Miranda closed her eyes and tipped her head back, as if she were silently praying for deliverance. He knew that expression. He made it daily where the boys were concerned.
He chuckled because that was a connection he couldn’t really share with others.
“Mind if I help myself to some coffee?”
“Made it for you,” she replied.
Ah, heart, you old bastard. When are you gonna grow up?
He got a mug out of the cupboard, filled it, and hesitated by the counter.
“Come sit by me,” she invited, moving over on the window seat. “I’ll share my blanket.”
Carl chewed on his bottom lip as he kicked off his boots and hung his coat on the hook by the back door. Then he joined her.
True to her word, she unfolded the large knitted blanket and draped it over his jean clad legs.
“Good coffee,” he complimented after taking a careful sip.
She smiled her thanks and her gaze drifted out the window again.
Christmas music played softly from the speakers in the kitchen, surrounding them in a cocoon of warmth and holiday spirit.
“I wish it would snow,” she said softly.
Carl pictured her in the knit cap and mittens she’d been wearing earlier standing in a fresh snowfall with snowflakes landing on the apples of her cheeks and in her eyelashes.
See, this? This was a problem. Only Miranda could get him to daydream so vividly.
It’s not that he hadn’t wanted to spend the day alone with Miranda.
In all honesty, he wanted it too much.
So he’d demanded the guys come and help. It was the least they could do considering he was pretty sure they were responsible for this entire week even being a thing.
But all the poinsettias and ribbons and lights were making him feel…amorous.
And when he was alone with Miranda, he had a tendency to want very much.
“Thank for all your help today,” she said, flashing him that dimple he was starting to become very addicted to. “I wouldn’t have been able to pull this off without all the help you guys brought today.” She arched an eyebrow at him. “And don’t think I don’t know that you’re the one who made them come over.”
Matter of Fact Page 6