No Bunny But You (Holiday Romance Series) (12 page)

After Silvio had yelled “cut!” and the camera guy
moved off to wherever camera guys went, Molly came forward to where
Drake still stood next to the toilet.

As soon as she’d threaded her way through the people
milling around, Drake reached out, catching her hand in his,
smiling and saying without preamble. “How did you think it
went?”

Molly looked at him with her level gaze and said with
characteristic honesty, “You did good. You look great, of course,
but you sounded a lot more like you knew what you were doing than
you usually sound when we’re talking about blog stuff. I liked the
humor. You know—like a real non-professional person, but not crazy
nervous.”

This was Molly, his long-time friend, but also the
woman he’d had terrific, amazing sex with in the last week. Moved
by the thought, Drake bent forward and kissed her on the mouth.

She went still, not responding to the quick kiss, but
not jerking back.

Drake decided to ignore his impression that this had
been a possibility.

“Thanks,” he said, straightening, but keeping her
hand in his. He didn’t bother denying his nerves. She’d have known
he was lying, just as she knew most things about him. “I tried to
channel you when I was talking about the toilet repair, except the
part where I tried to convey that I’m a bozo about this stuff
sometimes.”

“That really played well, I think.” She stepped aside
as a guy went by, pulling cables after him.

Stepping closer as the film crew bustled around them,
he lowered his voice. “How have you been?”

A look of constraint descended on her features,
quickly replaced by a smile that seemed a little stiff.

“I’m fine.”

He looked around at the television set, the crew
coiling cable and bustling past. He had no idea what was actually
going on. “Let me tell Mike I’m leaving and we’ll grab some
lunch.”

“Oh, okay,” she said.

“You stay here. I’ll be right back.” Drake gestured
with both palms, like he was telling a dog to stay.

“Right here.” Molly confirmed, a little smile tugging
at her mouth.

Drake jogged across the sound stage, coming up to his
boss as Mike was talking excitedly on his phone.

“Really?” Mike asked whoever he was talking with.
“That’s terrific! Yeah, okay. I’ll be back at the office in half an
hour or so. Okay.”

He shoved the phone into a jacket pocket and greeted
Drake. “That was really good! Terrific! The House Today people are
sure to pick you up, which will send the blog into the
stratosphere. You seemed—I don’t know—like a different person. More
engaging and less sure of yourself, at the same time. In a good
way, of course. Very identifiable to working people.”

“I don’t know any people who don’t work,” Drake said
with a dry inflection. He was just glad to have the test over.
There was no saying whether or not the spots would be picked up and
he wasn’t sure whether or not he even wanted that. “Listen, I’m
taking Molly to lunch. Let me know when they want to shoot the
other segments.”

“Okay, but wait, boy. I’ve got some really exciting
news.” Mike stood there nodding and smiling widely at him, bouncing
a little on his toes. He seemed suddenly like he could barely
contain himself.

“What do you mean, more?” Drake had never seen his
boss this excited. The man seemed almost giddy.

“Okay,” his boss said, clearly leading up to some big
announcement. “Here it is.”

“For a second, Drake wondered if Mike had already
heard good news from the network. As soon as the thought occurred
to him, he dismissed it. He’d just shot the thing.

“You’ve made it!” Mike exploded suddenly into speech.
He kept grinning and nodding. “You hit the big time!”

Still in the dark, Drake shook his head. “Mike, I
don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Of course, you don’t! They just called me. You
haven’t heard it yet!”

Drake started to laugh. “No, I haven’t. Want to tell
me?”

“Yes, yes, of course. You were nominated. Your blog!
They just announced the nominees for the awards—the Bloggies,
Drake! You’re up for a Bloggie! A Weblog award!”

* * *

Drake walked across the set to where Molly waited, a
stunned look on his face.

“What’s up?” she asked. Being here at the taping and
watching him direct the toilet repair as if he knew something about
it made her heart swell. She knew how he’d been dreading this.
Despite the awkwardness between them since they’d done the dirty—so
well, too—in the tent at the League garden, she’d had to be there
when they shot the test spot for House Today.

At this moment, though, she couldn’t tell what was
going on with him.

“Um, nothing.” Drake still wore that strange
expression. “Let’s get lunch before we talk.”

Finding his answer anything but comforting, she could
only turn toward the door and ask with unfamiliar uncertainty,
“Ready?”

The guy obviously had something to say to her and
just as obviously, didn’t want to get into it there.

“Yes. Let’s go.” He dug in his pocket for his car
keys as they walked through the lot.

He was very quiet on the drive to the nearest burger
place and Molly kept silently beating herself up for having come
today, having given into the temptation of his kisses. He must have
figured out that she’d fallen for him—like a bunch of other girls
in the past—and he wasn’t interested. She swallowed against a dry
throat, unable to stop replaying how she’d given herself away.
Sure, their sex had been amazing and beautiful, but Drake could get
good sex a lot of places.

Molly felt tears prickling behind her eyes and
struggled against giving in to them. She wasn’t the kind of girl
who cried when guys wanted out and, dammit, she wouldn’t this time
either. Even though she loved him. She brooded as she looked
sightlessly through the windshield.

As they drove to the nearest fast food place in his
Civic, little was said. It was as if the constraint she’d felt when
she first saw him had descended upon him, too. Molly reflected that
it was stupid, but she couldn’t help having fallen for him. She’d
even loved helping him with the blog. She’d only insisted on his
doing it himself because she knew he needed to feel capable and she
didn’t want him wanting her for
that.

Stupid, stupid pride. Maybe she should have just
accepted the friendship they had, instead of pining for the whole
enchilada. Maybe they just weren’t meant to be more than
friends.

It wasn’t until they sat under the orange umbrella
outside next to a busy Austin street—with a sharp spring breeze
against their backs—that he crinkled the burger paper between his
hands and blurted out, “You won’t believe this, but…Mike just told
me—I’m up for a Bloggie Award.
We’re
up for an Award. The
blog you’ve helped me write is up for a Bloggie. I can’t believe
it. I’m just blown away.”

Jolted by the news, Molly jumped up, running around
the table to hug him quickly. “Drake! That’s wonderful! A Bloggie?
How terrific!
Your blog
! The Bloggies are getting bigger and
bigger.”

She resumed her seat, beaming at him. “I’ve always
told you you’re a great writer. This confirms it!”

He grabbed a French Fry. “I only wrote about what you
told me. I feel a little like a fraud and I haven’t won anything
yet. It’s just a nomination.”

“You’re not a fraud! You wrote every word. See? This
is why I insisted you do this on your own. This is your success!
Not mine. Geez, this is great!” Letting go of his hand, Molly
seized his wrist, shaking his arm a little. “You should be proud
and thrilled. Heck, I’m thrilled for you!”

Putting his hand over hers, Drake tugged her closer
on the orange bench. “I am thrilled, but the pride should be partly
yours. Together, we make a hell of a team, Molly. You’ll go with me
to the ceremony, right?”

Bending, he brushed a kiss across her mouth and Molly
felt her heart lurch in her chest.

She tried to keep her smile from wobbling. “Sure.
It’ll give me a chance to dress up.”

Drawing back, Drake looked at her searchingly.
“I’ve—huh—been thinking about you a lot.”

He didn’t let go of her hand and Molly looked down at
the orange table. God, she’d been thinking about him, a lot
too.

“Yes.” It was all she could say around the lump in
her throat. Hot, sweaty dreams had haunted her and she kept
thinking about his kiss, about the laughter in his eyes afterwards.
Did he want a relationship with her or what this just a blip for
him? A quickie because they were both in the moment and he’d
discovered again that she could kiss…amongst other things.

“We need to talk, Molly.” Drake released her to stuff
his hand into a pants pocket.

“Okay,” she said, giving him a smile that felt
strained, “talk.”

How did she tell him that she wanted more? More
kisses and more of him.

He reached out, putting his hand over hers. “We’ve
been friends a long time, haven’t we?”

She looked up, meeting his eyes. “Yes, we have.”

And she didn’t want to lose that, but it wasn’t
enough anymore.

“Best friends, right?” It seemed important to him for
her to concede this.

“Yes. Best friends.”

“Then we should be able to talk about this. I-I’m
just going to be straight with you, Molly. That night with you was
freaking amazing.” He made an expansive gesture. “Really, really
amazing.”

“Ooookay?” She drew the word out, hiding behind an
attitude of flippancy. “Is this some kind of recommendation? I can
have potential bedmates call you for a reference?”

“Of course, not.” Drake looked annoyed. “I didn’t
mean that. I just meant I don’t regret anything and—“

He stopped before going on. “And I want to do it
again real soon. Can I see you tonight?”

Molly took a minute before saying, her brain racing.
Did he want to change their relationship? Was this the beginning of
all she wanted?

The smile she felt tugging hopefully at her mouth
took over. “Okay. Okay, let’s see where this goes.”

* * * * * * * * *

Later that day, Drake stared at the basketball
players on the gigantic flat panel. March Madness had never seemed
so large. On the other end of the couch in Aaron’s man cave, Levi
sprawled.

“You guys want another beer?” Standing behind the bar
with the refrigerator open, Aaron juggled a bowl of chips as he
peered inside.

“I’m good.” As the game went to commercial, Levi held
up a bottle still half full.

“Me, too.” Drake propped a foot on the already
scarred table in front of him. “It was a great idea to put your
college furniture in here.”

Aaron set the bowl down and dropped into a nearby
chair, just as ratty as the couch.

“Yeah. I had to pitch the idea pretty hard for
several weeks, but it just makes sense.” He took a swallow from the
bottle he’d brought in from the kitchenette. “Emma kind of went
crazy, decorating the rest of the house, but I pointed out that, if
this was my space, I should get to put whatever I wanted in
it.”

The trio sat in silence for a few minutes, watching a
commercial with a schleppy guy kissing a gorgeous woman.

“Geez, I wonder if they had to pay her extra,” Levi
mused, staring at the television.

Scooting into a more comfortable posture in his
chair, Aaron said complacently, “Reminds me of Emma and me.”

His friends gave shouts of laughter at this.

“When you guys got engaged, I told the girl she could
do better,” Levi admitted, “but she said something silly about
loving you.”

When the game came back on, they watched in silence
and Drake’s thoughts wandered back to the job application for a
news blogger that he’d put in that morning. He’d thought about
calling Molly to talk about it beforehand, but then he’d just
filled it out on an impulse. Things couldn’t be going better with
the home improvement blog—what with being nominated for the award
and all—but he couldn’t help feeling like a sham.

Writing about national and international events felt
so much more natural to him, even after all the time he’d spent
blogging about home improvement projects.

He thought of Molly and the sweet kiss they shared
when she left the sound stage the day before after promising to go
to the award ceremony at the South By Southwest Festival. The woman
made him hotter than any other female had ever done. He’d ended up
with his hand up her shirt and hard as a rock—and they’d just been
kissing goodbye.

Drake wondered what she was doing right now and if
she were naked at the moment.

At the next commercial break, Aaron leaned over to
ask him, “So, when is the award thing you’re up for?”

“In two weeks.” His eyes on the television, he didn’t
say more, yanked out of a fantasy about a naked Molly.

“What if you win this thing?” Levi raised his brows
as he looked over. “Wouldn’t that be a fun turn of events? Mr.
Know-Nothing-about-Home-Repair winning a home repair blog
award.”

“Yeah. Fun.” Drake brooded at the screen in front of
them. “I did something crazy this morning.”

His friends both turned to look at him curiously.

“What?” Aaron shifted in his chair. “Like fix your
toilet again?”

“Ha ha.” Drake took a drink from the bottle in his
hand. “No, not toilet-related actually and if there were any
plumbing repairs at my house, it should be the faucet in the
kitchen. Damn thing still drips. I need to ask Molly over for
dinner. Maybe she’ll bring her tools.”

Maybe she’d kiss him again like she’d never tasted
anything better. Possibly do some plumbing in the nude….

“So, if it wasn’t plumbing, what did you do?” Levi
asked.

‘I applied for a real job. You know, journalism and
reporting on significant things in the world?” He thought for a
moment about enjoying writing again, about not writing blindly
about subjects he knew nothing about.